Cambodia was our last (gasp!) stop on our honeymoon. We felt that it would be unconscionable to skip Angkor Wat when we were already in SEA so we made a quick 5-day detour into Siem Reap for ancient temple touring.

Touring

At the end of our trip, we didn’t feel like overextending ourselves so we took our days really easy. Other than a few days exploring the Angkor temples, we didn’t do much. Instead, we went to the gym, ate avocado smoothies, and enjoyed each other’s company.

Angkor Temples

There are a few ways to explore the Angkor temples. You can pedal bike, take a tuk-tuk (driver included), or drive a motorbike. Well, kind of, it’s illegal for tourists to rent motorbikes in Siem Reap (though lots of shops still have motorbikes for lending). As a result, there’s really only pedal biking or tuk-tuks.

Based on recommendations from travelers we met in Vietnam, we decided to start with a day pedaling around the “small loop”, which visits a good selection of the best temples. This loop is 18 km long but it starts 10 km from the city so we ended up biking 35 km in 95*F (35*C) weather. All things considered, we really enjoyed the casual pace but we decided the “grand loop” (20 km larger) would be too much. As a result, we hired a tuk-tuk for the next day (only $20).

The temples at Angkor are undeniably amazing. Built in the 9th-12th centuries, it’s hard to fathom how they have held up so well over the intervening centuries. In fact, many are in such good shape that we got to climb their steps, walk their halls, and admire their still discernable carvings.

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Observations

70% Vietnam, 20% Thailand, 10% Other

It should come as no surprise that we came to view Cambodia through the lens of our time in Vietnam and Thailand. While we saw little of the country, the part we did see felt like a mixture of Vietnam and Thailand.

• Vietnams roads are mostly filled by motorbikes, Thailand’s are mostly filled by cars, and Cambodia is a near equal mixture.
• Cambodian cuisine is called “Khmer” but we found a lot of Vietnamese and Thai food. Furthermore, Khmer cuisine tasted like a blend of the two.
• Cambodian’s generally spoke better English than Vietnamese people but worse than Thai people.
• Cambodia was more expensive than Vietnam but cheaper than Thailand.

Tuk Tuk Drivers

In our previous post, we noted that the 7/11 density in Thailand is unreal. Well, in Cambodia, it’s the tuk-tuk density that’s out of control. We literally got asked if we wanted a tut-tuk ride at least two times per block. No, really, we’re using literally in the original sense here, every block has several waiting tuk-tuk drivers.

No Restaurant Lines

This is a general SEA observation but we’re going to miss restaurants never having lines. It’s pretty remarkable, actually, that no one cooks at home in SEA cities and yet the restaurants are NEVER full. We suspect this is largely due to:

1. Street food – it’s fast, cheap, and everywhere so people can get fed fast.
2. Restaurant density – especially in the touristy cities, restaurant density is so high that there’s plenty of capacity for diners.

Conclusion

All told, Siem Reap was a nice enough city with a good selection of food and coffee. While we can’t conclude much about Cambodia from our short time there, we can say that Angkor Wat is definitely worth a visit, though we personally wouldn’t fly to SEA just to see Angkor. Next up…. back to Boston!

So… this is the end of our trip. We’ve had an extraordinary 5 months in Europe and SEA but now we’re excited to go home and return to normal life. Gymnastics calls, we miss friends/family, and it would be best if our bank accounts started going in the upward direction again 😀

Thanks to everyone that’s followed along with our travels!

Bonus