Siem Reap

In most cases, Angkor Wat is the reason that travelers come to Cambodia. It’s located right outside Siem Reap which has benefitted immensely from the tourism created by the Angkor Archaeological Park. The religious site was built by King Suryavarman II nearly 900 years ago and is one of the most impressive architectural feats in the world today. 

Watching sunrise at Angkor Wat temple

We just bought one-day tickets, which were 37 USD each to get into the park. This didn’t include a tour or transportation or anything, but we paid a tuk-tuk driver to take us around and he waited for us while we went into the temples and greeted us with cold water when we were done, which we were extremely grateful for. 

We visited at the end of April/beginning of May, which is basically the end of the hot season and the transition period to the rainy season. I knew it was going to be hot, so I was prepared for it, but I think the day we toured Angkor Wat was the hottest and stickiest I have ever felt, and this was at around 7 AM! 

Apparently, Siem Reap is hot and humid at most times throughout the year, but January sees the coolest temperatures which are still around 80 degrees F. Of course, this is also the “high season” which means higher prices and larger crowds. For the most part, I’m quite happy traveling anywhere in the lower or shoulder seasons. It was pretty busy around the Angkor Wat temple at sunrise, but other than that I never felt like it was too crowded around the rest of the grounds.

There was hardly anyone at the Bayon temple ruins!

Watching the sun come up over the iconic Angkor Wat Temple was amazing, but our favorite temple was Bayon. We also drove through Angkor Thom, climbed up Pre Rup, and meandered around Ta Prohm (the Tomb Raider Temple). We probably would’ve explored more if we weren’t yearning for a shower so badly. 

We aren’t night owls but I wouldn’t say we’re super early risers either. In other words, waking up at 4:30 am did not align with my circadian rhythm. We were dead by 1 pm this day and took a nice nap after some cold showers in our air-conditioned room. 

Beyond Angkor, Siem Reap was a pretty, nice, and small city. As with many backpacker towns, there’s a street dedicated to raucous nightlife. Here they actually just named it Pub Street. Fair enough. 

We could only manage one night out on Pub Street.

I liked Siem Reap more than I thought I would, honestly. There are several other places to explore in Cambodia, but we are heading back to Thailand to spend a month in Chiang Mai - a city you could call the world’s first digital nomad hub.