A Holiday in Cambodia, one of the best things you will ever do.

Its been some years since I passed through Siem Reap on one of my many trips around South East Asia but it is still something I think back to and reminisce about such was the effect it had on me.

From someone who has been around most of South East Asia, I have seen a lot of temples but no where compares to the scale or majesty of Siem Reap and its temples.

Angkor Wat is the one that people think of mostly and it is so grand and beautiful that it is the centrepiece of the Cambodian flag but whilst Angkor Wat is the main temple, people forget that the surrounding area is a treasure trove of different shapes and sizes of temple as well as there being a rich history in and around the city of Siem Reap to take in as well.

Firstly the one temple people always think of apart from Angkor Wat is Ta Prohm, which I am pictured next to below and is the famous temple from the Tomb Raider film. This is a stunning triumph of architecture but also the ability of nature to overtake man-made buildings.

When we went to Siem Reap it was actually Buddha day so it meant that the temples had been descended on by thousands of Buddhist monks especially around Angkor Wat. In fact the morning we did actually go and see sunrise at Angkor Wat it was so packed that we actually found it hard to explore the temple and was so loud that it was hard to take in which was funny considering most of the noise was monks!

So which are my favourite temples at Siem Reap?

Apart from Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm I really liked Bayon (to the right) it is actually a labyrinth of rooms inside but is stunning on the outside as well and just has a very symmetrical design I felt so was very pleasing on the eye rather than the big sprawling Angkor Wat it was a bit more compact and easy to digest.

A fair way from the central temples is Banteay Srei or “citadel of the women”, this temple wasnt one of the major ones culturally but is called this because of the delicacy and beauty of the carvings on display.

There are many others to see within the realms of Siem Reap and even stretching miles to the outskirts though!

Aside from temples Siem Reap has lots of other things to see in the city and outside. The bar street is compact, flowing and fun, we enjoyed pizza (of all things) at http://www.letigredepapier.com/en/ which also offers Khymer food and a cookery school. Aside from that the french food in Cambodia is great and some cheese and baguette is a cheap lunch or for the more adventurous try the local Khymer fish amok curry! 

Another good thing to go and see in Siem Reap is the Cambodia Land Mine Museum, this is an amazing way to find out about the more recent history of Cambodia and the atrocities committed by the communist Khymer rouge. The man running the museum at the time had been a child soldier in the Khymer rouge (and also Viet Cong I believe) and told us about his experiences during that time. The pure volume of landmines laid (and bombs dropped by the Americans) in Indochina at that time means that they are still clearing to this day and this is a great place also to find out about the works that is done towards ridding Cambodia of its landmines.

We were very lucky to have the services of an attentive and reliable tuk tuk driver who we hired outside our hotel. He wore a pink helmet with”rookie” written on the back which might not have filled some with confidence and his tuk tuk seemed to only go at a max of about 35 miles an hour but it was a great experience.

The fact that our transport went quite slowly meant that rather than being in an enclosed air conditioned car we actually got to take in the culture and surroundings in and around the city. The poverty was pretty stark in places and we noted this and tried to give to people as much as possible whilst we were there as well.

A long day trip for us was going out to the Mekong basin at Tonle Sap, going at 30 miles an hour this took a while but it was worth it for the boat ride, the incredible floating village (pictured below) and absolutely wonderful sunset. Im still not sure the purpose of the crocodiles underneath the village but it did give it a certain Bond film baddie threat level as well which was exciting!

So overall I loved Cambodia and would love to go back and see other places. Being that most of Cambodia is inland (the only regular cruise ship port is Sihanoukville in the south) Cruise.co.uk offer new extensions on any of our Far East cruises to take you to Siem Reap and beyond (perhaps without the tuk tuk driver guide and crocodiles so a bit more sedate!) at Cambodia cruise extension