Here's the final part of our Laos-Cambodia trip, including my three days in Cambodia in Siem Reap to discover Tonle Sap Lake , the Siem Reap markets , the Water Festival , and, most importantly, the most beautiful temples at Angkor . But since I'm not a specialist in Khmer architecture, let alone a historian, I'm not going to give you a lecture on the temples of Angkor … You'll learn much more from a Lonely Planet guide or a local guide! I'll simply tell you how I organized my visits and share some practical information about my Angkor temple itinerary.
For all your transportation needs in Asia, here's a very useful link: 12go.asia
Cambodia in 3 days - Tonle Sap Lake
The largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, Tonle Sap Lake is a site of prime economic and ecological importance for Cambodia. The river (also called Tonle Sap) is 120 km long, floods the lake and then connects it to that of the Mekong. It is impossible to delimit the river and the lake. This forms an important hydrological system in a floodplain that extends over 12 km876.
How to visit Tonle Sap Lake?
All the travel agencies in Siem Reap offer excursions to Tonlé Sap Lake . We chose Hello Bird Tour, which was located on the street opposite our hotel (Psar Krom), Tel 012 555 978. For USD 18 per person, here is our morning's itinerary:
- 8:30 am: A mini van picks us up from the hotel and takes us about fifteen kilometers to take a boat.
- Stop in the flooded forest for a canoe ride.
- Traditional boat tour by Kompong Pluk, village located on the banks of the river Tonle which becomes a lake when inundated.
- Return to the hotel around 13 p.m.
Cambodia in 3 days - Angkor
How to visit the immense site of Angkor? One thing was certain: I didn't want to dedicate three full days to visiting the temples of Angkor using the standard tours offered by all the agencies and guides. Indeed, although the temples of Angkor are all magnificent and grandiose, I knew perfectly well that after ten or so temples, I would have become truly weary of all those stones… Furthermore, when you see too many, you end up mixing everything up: the places, the names, the dates…
However, I still bought the 3-day pass (72 USD) because it was the same price as the 2-day pass and would also allow me (if the sky was nice) to go see the sunrise over the mountains. temples ...
Selection of the most beautiful temples of Angkor to visit
Since I didn't want to do what everyone else did by visiting the GRAND CIRCUIT and the SMALL CIRCUIT of Angkor , I trusted my copy Marie (whom I thank again) who had prepared the list of the most beautiful temples to visit as a priority.
Then we determined our own itinerary, which was reduced to a day and a half of visiting the most beautiful temples of Angkor :
- 1 afternoon in tuc tuc (USD 7 per person) to visit just a small part of the big Angkor circuit;
- 1 full day with French speaking guide (10 USD / person) and private van (10 USD per person) to visit part of the small Angkor circuit including ANGKOR VAT that we had saved for the end.
Most beautiful Temples of Angkor in 1 afternoon
We decided to start with one of the most beautiful, but also one of the most remote: the temple of Banteay Srei , located on the site of the ancient city of Iśvarapura, 25 km northeast of Angkor (45 minutes by tuk-tuk, 30 minutes to visit, 45 minutes to return). Then we continued with the temple of Preah Khan , my favorite of all (1 hour visit), and finally Banteay Samre (30 minutes), which was also on our way back.
Most beautiful Temples of Angkor in 1 day - The next day
8h00: Our guide is waiting for us at the foot of our hotel with the van.
8:30 am: Visit to Angkor Thom :
The former capital of the Khmer Empire, it is a fortified city surrounded by 8-meter-high walls and a moat. The tour includes: the Victory Gate, the Bayon temple , the Baphuon , the Phimeanakas (visited very briefly), and the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King.
10:30 am: Visit to the Ta Prohm temple surrounded by jungle and whose roots of immense kapok trees climb and decorate the walls (I loved it!).
12h00: Lunch
14:00 p.m.: Bakheng Temple (blah blah)
15:30 pm: Visit to the Angkor Wat temple . Because we wanted to save the best for last, but for me, the most beautiful of all was the Preah Khan temple!
Our French-speaking guide to visit the temples of Angkor
To avoid making a mistake in choosing a guide, I had done some research on forums and found a good contact: Samouth Norm samouthnorm888@gmail.com Tel: +855 86738650. We communicated by email before our departure and everything was OK on the day.
Samouth has lived up to its reputation: he speaks perfect French, he is very cultivated and has been able to adapt to our requirements… In addition, his prices are well below the prices offered by our hotel! I therefore recommend it with my eyes closed.
Cambodia in 3 days - Siem Reap - Old market - Water festival
Our last day in Cambodia revolved around the water festival . Bon Om Touk is one of Cambodia's biggest festivals and is celebrated at the end of the rainy season. We were lucky enough to be there for its first day: November 10th. All the riverbanks were set up with bars, games, competitions, music… the bridges were lavishly decorated and the atmosphere was joyous.
Then we continued with a visit to the colorful old market! It will be our last good moments spent in Cambodia because we unfortunately have to leave in the afternoon towards Siem Reap Airport for return to France.
Find out now: