Not much planning is needed to visit. We asked our Uber driver who drove us from the airport the night before whether he was interested to show us around Ubud. We settled on 500’000 IDR (€34) for the day and agreed to meet at 7.45 (we wanted to leave at 8, so thought it was smart to tell him 15mins earlier). Turns out he wasn’t as reliable as he seemed and by 8.45 we walked to the main road and flagged down a regular taxi (driver’s name was Goodday). For the same price he would drive us around for a day and considering the fact how quickly he agreed on the price it seemed to be a very fair deal for him.

Our first stop was the Monkey Forest, a forest full of monkeys (who would have guessed that) and some temples in between:

Mandala Suci Wenara Wana

The number of monkeys living inside the sanctuary is impressive and they are not shy at all.

Monkey inside the Ubud Monkey Forest

They get fed (too) well by tourists and are even somewhat picky in regards to which bananas they eat.

But besides the monkeys, the temples are also very much worth checking out:

Plan on spending at least an hour inside the Monkey Forest. From there it was a short drive past many local artist shops to the rice paddies.

Rice paddies near Ubud

Not only does it make a perfect background for photos, but walking around the rice paddies is a nice experience.

Before returning, wanted wanted to make one more stop at Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave.

Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave

The main attraction is a cave of which the entrance resembles a demon’s mouth. While I don’t remember too much of the history surrounding the cave, it was worthwhile seeing although probably lesser so than the rice paddies and the monkey forest.

Entrance to the Elephant Cave

Pools next to the Elephant Cave

After this, we drove back to Seminyak. Traffic was much worse now and we took nearly two hours, double of how long it took in the morning.

Do go see Ubud, it is a beautiful area and great change of scenery from the stunning beachers. There is much more to see, so I am sure I’ll be back at some point.

While we read up in our guide book, we let our tuk-tuk driver plan our visit. After all, he has been doing this nonstop for over 10 years and chances are he knows what tourists want to see. I won’t go into the details of each temple here. We read up briefly in the Lonely Planet before visiting each temple and then had a more thorough book (Ancient Angkor by Michael Freeman) to read up in our hotel room. To us it seemed like to best way to soak up the awesomeness of the temples without being overloaded with information and then learning more where we where truly interested later on.

Our first stop was Pre Rup.

Pre Rup

Which was sort of on the way to our next temple, Banteay Srei. This temple is a bit further away from the bulk of the other temples, around 30km and it took us almost an hour to get there. The temple is famous and worth visiting for being in relatively good shape and the intricate rock carvings.

Banteay Srei

Close-up rock carving at Banteay Srei

We then drove back and had lunch (overpriced and nothing to write home about) before heading to Banteay Samre.

Banteay Samre

Just look at the amount of rocks that had to be carried here for the construction!

Banteay Samre

The highlight of the day then had to be the mighty Angkor Wat, the largest religious building ever constructed:

Gatway to Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat can be seen from far away due to its characteristic five towers.

Rock carvings along the walls of Angkor Wat – amazing artwork

Nowadays you can climb up to the towers (this wasn’t possible during my last visit in 2009).

One of the five towers

View from the top towards the main gate

Close-up of rock carvings

Outside view of one of the towers

Four of the five towers shortly before sunset.

Initially we wanted to watch the sunset just across from Angkor Wat but then decided to climb up Phnom Bakheng (a temple on a hill) where I had watched a great sunset in 2009. Bad idea in 2015. The crowds have gotten so massive that we queued for an hour and then missed the sunset. At least we still got a glimpse of Angkor Wat:

Angkor Wat as seen from Phnom Bakheng

The walk up the hill takes around 15 minutes and is not too difficult. Alternatively you can take an elephant for USD20.

These guys will take you up the hill to watch the sunset

This was it for day one and we were happy to head back to our hotel and for dinner before meeting up with our driver again the next morning.

Since I only had half a day left we tweaked the tour to include as many highlights as possible, namely Angkor Thom South Gate, Bayon, Baphuon, Royal Enclosure & Phimeanakas as well as Ta Prohm.

First stop was the South Gate leading to Angkor Thom:

South Gate Angkor Thom

Bayon was our next stop:

Bayon

Tales carved into the rock

Again breathtaking how many rocks had to be carried here

Characteristic for Bayon: the many faces (over 200) carved into the rock

Bayon

Around there corner we then visited Baphuon. Again a completely different style as this temple reminds you of a pyramid:

Approaching Baphuon

You can climb up all the way to the top where you’ll find a mini-pyramid:

At the top of Baphuon

Last stop, and another highlight, was Ta Prohm – famous from movies as it is characteristically overgrown by trees:

Entrance to Ta Prohm

Inside Ta Prohm

Nature has clearly left its mark

A very unique atmosphere inside this temple

The classic postcard shot of Ta Prohm

Since my last visit in 2009 they have quite of bit of restoration in certain areas. For example this structure was still mostly collapsed at the time:

Reconstruction ongoing at Ta Prohm

Since noon was approaching, we had a quick bite to eat before I headed out to the airport. The park is actually on the way to the airport from the city so if you managed to take your luggage with you in the tuk-tuk you could save some time.

The 1.5 days inside the park were a bit too short. There were a couple of temples I would have liked to visit as well or maybe see Angkor Wat again during a different time of day. All-in-all it was a fantastic visit and apart from the increasing masses of tourists, there is absolutely no reason not to visit!

Neglected and off limits during the regime of the Khmer Rouge, Angkor Wat has only gotten back on the tourist map in the late 1990s. But the real surge in tourism only started around 10 years ago. I visited off-season in 2009 and while crowded, the tourist numbers where nowhere near to what I experienced this year. If you haven’t been, go now or wait until the authorities implement some kind of crowd control measure (Machu Picchu for example does a fairly good job at this).

This blog post will share my thoughts on how to be approach your visit. You might want to read about my travel style as you might approach things differently.

The path leading up to the mighty Angkor Wat – the largest religious building ever built

When to go

Take my advice and go during off season. The weather might be very hot and humid and it might rain (actually it should as otherwise the farmers will suffer). However, by now you absolutely want to avoid the crowds during peak season. Even though the area of interest is huge, people congregate at the main temples and you end up pushing and shoving each other. Despite lots and lots of hotels being built, hotel rates surge by 20-30% and it can even be difficult to find a (good) tuk-tuk driver during high season. I’ve now been twice in July/August and would recommend it.

Crowds at Bayon

How to get there / where to stay

Back in 2009 Bangkok Airways still had more or less a monopoly to Siem Reap airport and we travelled overland. Although it was exciting at the time, it is not a particularly scenic drive and I wouldn’t do it again now that low-fare airlines fly into Siem Reap (the town whose sole reason for existence seems to be the temples of Angkor Wat). Hence unless you feel particularly adventurous (if coming from Thailand) or coming from Phnom Penh, just fly. The airport is around 20 minutes outside of town on National Highway 6 and it is easy and quick getting into town.

There are hundreds of accommodation options and you know where to get your recommendation on the internet. In terms of location, you can either stay fairly close to the “centre” of Siem Reap (with its restaurants, bars and markets), along Highway 6 (which is basically just the main road of the town) or along the road towards the temples. Even though not all is walkable, it doesn’t matter so much where you end up since tuk-tuks are everywhere and cheap (round US$2 for a trip in the city).

How to approach your visit to the temples

First of all I’d say that less than two days don’t do the temples justice. Other large religious sites, such as the temples of Hampi in India or Prambanan on Java, can be visited in one day if one wants to. In Angkor Wat this would be a bad idea – the number of breathtaking temples is just so large and the variety so big that you’d not want to squeeze everything in one day but instead buy a three day pass (US$40).

There are various options to visit the temples, ranging from renting a bicycle, to hiring a tuk-tuk or a proper car. All options you can do with or without a guide. In both my visits I rented a tuk-tuk without a guide and do it again this way for a number of reasons:

• Tuk-tuk is the right mix between going very slow (bicycle) but not as fast as in a car so that you can still appreciate the ride and the scenery
• The place is big and the tuk-tuk lets you cover more ground
• You can pack up to four people into a tuk-tuk comfortably, so it can end up fairly cheap (more on that below)
• Especially during off-season, it can get very hot (>30°C with high humidity) – as good as the exercise can be on a bicycle… you will struggle.
• I decided against a guide because the impressions are so overwhelming already and the days can be exhausting that I don’t think I’d be able to absorb much of the information given. I prefer to read up before the visit and then again after having visited. If you do take a guide, be prepared to cover less ground.

Banteay Srei, slightly further away from the rest

How to find a tuk-tuk driver

Don’t worry, you won’t have to search for them – they will find you. There are hundreds of tuk-tuk drivers, waiting along every road of Siem Reap. You’ll be offered a ride every five meters at least. Often people end of taking a tuk-tuk inside Siem Reap and end up sticking with the driver for the rest of their visit if they like them.

I did this during my first visit. While the driver spoke very little English and made excessive use of the tuk-tuk’s horn, he was reliable. This year I went with the recommendation of a friend and booked a driver beforehand. There are also some savvy drivers who have gone to Tripadvisor or built their own websites. While you have a higher chance of knowing what you’ll get, you’ll also likely pay a premium.  The basic rate for the main temples seems to be around USD12-15 nowadays. If you want to go to the temples further away (around 30km, i.e. almost an hour drive) or want to stay longer in the evening for the sunset, you might be charged an additional USD5.

Our driver, Mr. Pheng Kunthea (his contact details can be found at http://www.angkortuktukdriver.net) , charged us US$45 for a two day tour that went to the temples further away as well stayed with us to see the sunset. Stay tuned for a post on our tour. He was reliable, friendly and spoke English well. Don’t expect a tour guide for the money however.

Our ride for the two days

Things to remember

• Prepare for the climate: It can get very hot and will always be humid. If the sun is out it can get brutally hot. Bring plenty of water (our driver carried over two liters per person per day with him) but you can buy drinks around the temples
• Avoid the crowds as much as you can: no matter what season, it will always be crowded. But it will we super crowded at the Angkor Wat temple at sunrise/sunset. Besides the main temples, also visit at least one of the lesser known temples and enjoy some time alone
• Don’t get annoyed by the tourism: Siem Reap probably only exists because of tourism. I found it impossible to find non-touristic corners. Every restaurant will cater for tourists. Accept the fact and don’t get annoyed by the hundreds of t-shirt and cold drinks seller. Don’t get annoyed by inflated prices (for Cambodian standards) or bad-value-for-money food around the temples
• Don’t forget how awesome this place is: keep reminding yourself how old the temples are and how much of a masterpiece it was constructing them

If you haven’t been, start planning your visit! If you have any advice for seeing the temples, please feel free to share in the comments.