Cambodia, Part 1
Angkor temples and Khmer Empire.
1. Laos – Siem Reap (9h by mini bus)
2. Siem Reap to Pnom Penh (5h by bus)
3. Pnom Penh to Kampot (4h by mini bus)
4. Kampot to Sihanoukville (2.5h by mini bus)
5. Sihanoukville to Koh Rong Sanloem (30 min by boat)
6. Sihanoukville to Bangkok (Thailand) by bus, too long!!!
We entered Cambodia over land via the Stung Treng border crossing. A lovely place! Known as maybe the most corrupt border in South-East Asia, we luckily knew beforehand what was waiting for us.
After fighting with the border officials for a while and getting our passports thrown back at us a couple of times, we begrudgingly agreed to pay, since we were risking to miss our bus.
Anyway… Our first stop was Siem Reap, and the Angkor Archaeological park. This is the place to be, the center of the Kmer Empire (or Angkor Empire).
The majestic monuments of Angkor, such as Angkor Wat and Bayon, bear testimony to the Khmer Empire’s immense power and wealth, impressive art and culture. Angkor, during its peak in the 11th to 13th centuries, was the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world!
So, we took the 3-day ticket, it’s pricy but it’s worth it. Angkor is HUGE. Lots and lots of different temples.
Attention! The article contains an overdose of temples pictures.
Pregnant women and people with unstable mentality are not recommended to look.
On day 1 we took a Tuk-Tuk to do the “Big circuit” around Angkor. These temples are a little less visited than the “Small circuit”.
The picture below is a 360 photo, click and drag to look around, scroll to zoom!
A lot of Angkor is being rebuilt and renovated, so sometimes temples that were once overgrown ruins are now cleaned up. Luckily there’s still lots of charm to go around.
The picture below is a 360 photo, click and drag to look around, scroll to zoom!
The area is very touristic of course, but this also comes with a bit of luxury, as the hotels we booked here were a bit different from what we had in the past months:
A pool beer is a wonderful invention. This hotel was 11 euro per night!
For day 2, we wanted to have some autonomy, so we rented some bicycles to do the Small circuit. This is where the most famous temples are: Bayon, Baphuon, and Angkor Wat.
The picture below is a 360 photo, click and drag to look around, scroll to zoom!
After Angkor Wat we met up with some German / Russian friends, Julia and Paul, whom we first met in North Laos, and we kept in touch. They checked into the same hotel as us and we went out, looking for a way to get to our next destination. At a scooter rental place we met two Belgians, Hanne and Dieter, and they thought our plan was solid, so they tagged along 🙂 It was a perfect balance: 3 women, 3 men, 3 Russians, 3 Belgians, 3 scooters.
The place to be: a small finisher to the Angkor circuit called the “Roluos Group”, but the main attraction was a temple about 40km away called “Beng Mealea”, untouched, non-restored temple ruins.
The picture below is a 360 photo, click and drag to look around, scroll to zoom!
Beng Mealea 
Julia & Alena 
The L for… Love 
Fueling up after an intensive day of riding
We stopped at a small fruit market afterwards to try all the local specialities like rambutan, mangosteen, dragonfruit, jackfruit, longan, and papaya.
The picture below is a 360 photo, click and drag to look around, scroll to zoom!
Okay, that was it for Siem Reap and the Angkor region, more to come in Part 2!