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Travel tips/ideas for Siem Reap/Angkor Wat- Self or guided?
by FluteHolder Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:00 am
Any travel/tips/ideas for Siem Reap /Angkor Wat?
Flying from US West Coast to India or while returning flight with a stop over at Singapore + days required to Siem Reap?
Self or guided tour better?
How many days would be ideal to see that place?
Any tips from those who have traveled to this place.
TIA
Flying from US West Coast to India or while returning flight with a stop over at Singapore + days required to Siem Reap?
Self or guided tour better?
How many days would be ideal to see that place?
Any tips from those who have traveled to this place.
TIA
FluteHolder- Posts : 2355
Join date : 2011-06-03
Re: Travel tips/ideas for Siem Reap/Angkor Wat- Self or guided?
by Idéfix Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:27 am
I was there more than a decade ago, so some of these tips may be outdated.
Singapore is a good place to go from. There was a direct flight to Siem Reap. Return flight wasn't direct though; it stopped in Danang, Vietnam. Indian and US citizens get a visa on arrival by paying a fee. You will need at least two days. I would recommend four if you like walking around old temples.
Get the Lonely Planet guide to Cambodia, it is great. We stayed at a cheap hotel recommended by that guide. Nowadays airbnb probably has good options. There was an old French colonial hotel we couldn't afford to stay at, and a newer Le Meridien as well. US dollar was the de facto currency.
You can get a guide for the entire trip or just get guides at individual temples as needed. We did the latter because we wanted to be on our own schedule, and we had done the research to figure out which temples to visit. We hired an autorickshaw (local name tuk-tuk) to drive us around for the whole trip. The driver spoke OK English so he was our overall guide.
Temples to see: Phnom Bakheng, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Banteay Srei (sp?). Angkor Wat is very crowded at sunrise, but worth seeing at that time. Recommend going back there in the early afternoon if you want to really look around without too many people milling about. When go from the town of Siem Reap, you will hit the first three temples within a couple of kilometers of each other. Banteay Srei is a little out of the way, but a real gem.
Other things to do: look around the local market, get a drink or meal at the old French colonial hotel (or better yet stay there), get a boat to go on the Tonle Sap river. Depending on the season, you will see a huge lake with houses on it, or a smallish stream with houses on tall stilts.
Singapore is a good place to go from. There was a direct flight to Siem Reap. Return flight wasn't direct though; it stopped in Danang, Vietnam. Indian and US citizens get a visa on arrival by paying a fee. You will need at least two days. I would recommend four if you like walking around old temples.
Get the Lonely Planet guide to Cambodia, it is great. We stayed at a cheap hotel recommended by that guide. Nowadays airbnb probably has good options. There was an old French colonial hotel we couldn't afford to stay at, and a newer Le Meridien as well. US dollar was the de facto currency.
You can get a guide for the entire trip or just get guides at individual temples as needed. We did the latter because we wanted to be on our own schedule, and we had done the research to figure out which temples to visit. We hired an autorickshaw (local name tuk-tuk) to drive us around for the whole trip. The driver spoke OK English so he was our overall guide.
Temples to see: Phnom Bakheng, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Banteay Srei (sp?). Angkor Wat is very crowded at sunrise, but worth seeing at that time. Recommend going back there in the early afternoon if you want to really look around without too many people milling about. When go from the town of Siem Reap, you will hit the first three temples within a couple of kilometers of each other. Banteay Srei is a little out of the way, but a real gem.
Other things to do: look around the local market, get a drink or meal at the old French colonial hotel (or better yet stay there), get a boat to go on the Tonle Sap river. Depending on the season, you will see a huge lake with houses on it, or a smallish stream with houses on tall stilts.
Idéfix- Posts : 8808
Join date : 2012-04-26
Location : Berkeley, CA
Re: Travel tips/ideas for Siem Reap/Angkor Wat- Self or guided?
by FluteHolder Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:56 am
Thanks. There is a religious (mostly Tamil speaking) group/tour from Chennai which has flights from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur and from there to Siem Reap. Trying to see whether we can join them at Siem Reap directly. They cover most of the temples/locations (Bayon, Bakong, Preah Ko, Preah Khan, Prasat Kravan, Srah Sarang, Angkor Wat, Tao Prohm,Kbal Spean, Banteay Srei, & Banteay Samre) ( for 3+days but with everyday upanyasam (not sure all in my group will be interested 
).
Thanks again for the tips/info.
). Thanks again for the tips/info.
FluteHolder- Posts : 2355
Join date : 2011-06-03
Travel tips/ FH
by Kris Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:20 pm
Siem Reap is a very short flight from Bangkok. It may be a good idea to combine the two. For SR, I would give it three days and Bangkok 2 to 3 days. SR is definitely a must see for Angkor Wat. It will blow your mind. Get a guide. Usually comes with a driver.
They can organize the tour for you, but be prepared. You will see a lot of poverty. It is heartbreaking. Last tip: I am told you should see the sun come up behind AW. I wanted to do this the last day I was there, but we were running late to catch the flight to BK. Hope you have a good time.
They can organize the tour for you, but be prepared. You will see a lot of poverty. It is heartbreaking. Last tip: I am told you should see the sun come up behind AW. I wanted to do this the last day I was there, but we were running late to catch the flight to BK. Hope you have a good time.
Kris- Posts : 5461
Join date : 2011-04-28
Re: Travel tips/ideas for Siem Reap/Angkor Wat- Self or guided?
by Guest Tue Jul 24, 2018 7:11 pm
a kid got us excited to go to bangkok + phuket for a winter vacation, but now is no longer 'feeling it', coz 'the snap pics of thailand are not as great as the insta pics'
anyhoos, everytime the topic comes up, i end up playing this song... heh
anyhoos, everytime the topic comes up, i end up playing this song... heh
Guest- Guest
Re: Travel tips/ideas for Siem Reap/Angkor Wat- Self or guided?
by FluteHolder Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:19 pm
Kris,
Thanks for the tips.
Thanks for the tips.
FluteHolder- Posts : 2355
Join date : 2011-06-03
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