In the Footsteps of Lara Croft

The movie Lara Croft:Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie, popularised Angkor Wat as a must-see tourist attraction, and brought Siem Reap into prominence.

Once a sleepy small town with only a handful of guesthouses to service the few adventurous tourists, Siem Reap now boasts more than 20 three- to five-stars hotels (and counting), and numerous guesthouses lining the roads leading to Angkor Wat.

The must see attractions for all visitors to Siem Reap would be Angkor Wat. For fans of the movie Tomb Raider, the sites of Ta Phrom and Angkor Thom is a must, with a stop at the Red Piano in town for a drink and a glimpse of the autographed photo of Angelina Jolie.

In the aftermath of the movie, Siem Reap has become increasingly commercialised with hotels, spas and restaurants sprouting-up and around Angkor Wat, to cater to every whim and fancy of visitors on a variety of budgets. By the end of 2006, a new airport terminal will be opened to better cope with the increase influx of tourists to Siem Reap.

We booked our guide and car via Mr Viseth Leoung of Royal Holidays at visethloeung@hotmail.com. We paid a total of for a 1.5 day guided tour to Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Phrom, Banteay Srey, Phnom Bakheng, and Tonle Sap (split three ways); and an additional charge of per person for the cruise at Lake Tonle Sap. It was money well spent.

The trip was hectic, and tiring, as we tried to squeeze in most of the main attractions in 1.5 days. It was an interesting trip, as we learnt the history and culture of Cambodia (although we only scratched the surface). Alas, it was marred by the coach-loads of Korean tourists who seemed to be everywhere.

Quick Tips:

Visa:
Except for citizens of Singapore and Malaysia, a visa is required for all other citizens. It costs and can be applied upon arrival at the airport (look for the signage in English).

Permit pass to Angkor Wat:

1 day pass-
3 day pass-
7 day pass-

Purchase only at the checkpoint at Angkor Wat. A passport size photograph is required but there is a free photograph service there.

The pass must be produced before entry to the temples. Best bring along a lanyard to hang the pass around the neck to avoid being hassled.

If you intend to visit Phnom Kulen, an additional is charged.

Tips:
Sunblock, hat, insect repellent, and a good pair of walking shoes are essentials. Though Angkor Wat is relatively tamed now, there is still some climbing and lots of walking involved.

US dollar is the preferred currency. From tuk-tuk drivers to even beggars along the road, they usually approach tourists asking for US dollars. When I asked if I could pay in Riel (Khr) at the old market, the vendor’s face literally turned sour. In fact, paying in Riel makes for a more expensive purchase than paying in US, as the Riel seemed to fluctuate between Khr to Khr for US. Do carry lots of or for tips and small purchases.

Bring along passport-sized photographs for application of visa and entry permit into Angkor Wat.

For more information, this website has some useful tips.

Best Way To Get Around:

Siem Reap is a small town. With just two sets of traffic lights and one highway (No.6) that leads to the capital city. It is fairly easy to navigate around, however, there are no public transport leading to the major sights.

If you are travelling in small groups, it would be more cost-effective to hire a car and guide. You will probably learn and understand more of Angkor Wat through a well-informed guide than from flipping the pages of the Lonely planet or whatever guide book that you bring along. Certainly, we appreciated Angkor Wat and the Cambodian culture, history, as well as flora and fauna through our lively and informative guide, Mr Thy. He even showed us the best spots to take postcard perfect photographs!

Alternatively, for the physically fit, there are electric bikes and scooters for rent in town.

For short distances the tuk-tuk, a hybrid of scooter with a trishaw attached, makes for an interesting and convenient way to move around town. However, the roads are very dusty, especially during the dry season.

We were charged per person from our hotel to the old market in town (15-minute ride). If you intend to hire a tuk-tuk for longer distances, like to Angkor Wat and surroundings, do agree on a price before setting out, and be prepared for a long dusty ride.

This modern, 4 star hotel, opened in November 2004 and is located just 15 minutes by car from the airport, and 15 minutes by tuk-tuk to the city. It is a stone’s throw away from the latest attraction—the Cambodia Cultural Village, and the War Museum.

We literally breezed through customs, and found ourselves at the hotel in less than 20 minutes. Upon arrival, we were greeted and ushered to the spacious lobby where a waitress served us orange juice, while the receptionist checked us in. We were impressed with their service, and could feel the tension from our daily grind begin to slowly seep away.

The room we were ushered into was spacious and could easily accommodate up to four people. It was on the first level, with a good view of the main road. We approached the front desk for assistance on where to go, and the staff was helpful in their suggestions and offered some tips on where to go and eat. A map was also given to us with clear directions marked, and they even arranged for a tuk-tuk to bring us into town.

On our last day, we were too tired to eat out and ordered room service from a rather limited menu. Again, the service was prompt and made up for the rather bland meal.

Thumbs up for the warm service, spacious rooms, and laid-back atmosphere. This is one hotel I wouldn't mind coming back to stay again.

Go to HERE for more details.

This restaurant comes highly recommended from our guide and the hotel staff. If you are looking for some local culture and food, this restaurant serves a mean buffet, consisting of mainly local and South-east Asian, with nightly traditional performances by apsara dancers.

The buffet costs $12 per person, with separate charges for drinks. Our reservations were made on the same day by our guide. The performance began at 7pm and last about 1 hour. It features dances performed in the royal court, folk dancing, and dances depicting local myths and legends.

We arrived to a crowded restaurant and were given a table by the side. On various occasions, our view was obscured by guests from other tables who had made their way nearer to the stage for photo-taking. The noises from the guests were at times louder than the traditional music, and this marred our enjoyment somewhat.

The service staff, however, was more discrete and prompt. The food was, well, so-so. Although there were a wide selection of dishes; like fried rice, noodles, grilled chicken, beef, stir-fried vegetables, assorted salad and fruits, the emphasis seemed more on quantity than quality.

As the evening progressed, the restaurant became rowdy and warm. We left as soon as the performance was over.

We were looking for reasonably priced local food with a quiet ambiance in the old market area. The Balcony cafe attracted our attention, situated diagonally across the more popular and crowded restaurant called the Red Piano.

The main cafe is situated on the second floor (away from the dust and noise of the ongoing road construction), and as its name implied has a balcony overlooking the old market and pub street. The cafe serves local Khmer as well as Western food, and has a wide selection of fruit juices and some cocktails. The menu is in English, with photos attached.

We chose to try the Khmer dishes, and selected amok fish, vegetable Khmer curry, and spring rolls. The first two dishes came with steamed rice, we ordered another plate of rice (there were three of us), which we learnt upon paying the bill, was on the house. Service-wise, the staff was friendly and attentive, and we had little difficulty making our orders in English.

The amok fish is a dish served traditionally to guests by the Cambodians. The ingredients included local freshwater fish slices with assorted vegetables cooked in sweet, coconut curry, topped with crushed peanuts, and served in a coconut shell. It tasted sweet and spicy, but was not chili-hot. Similarly, the vegetable curry was sweet and tame (compared to the fiery Thai or Indian curries at home); it reminded us of the Thai green curry, more coconut than spicy-hot... good news for those who cannot take spicy-hot foods. The spring rolls were very similar to the Vietnamese spring rolls, with strips of carrots, basil leaves, lettuce, and radish, rolled in paper thin rice crepes. They were very refreshing. The portions were generous and we enjoyed our meal a lot. In all, we paid only $10.

The cafe is opened from 6am until very late.

The royal residence of Jayavarman VII, Angkor Thom, is another must-see sight in Siem Reap. Much of the royal palace remains in ruins. Restoration, however, is underway.

Terrace of the Leper King
This was postulated to be a cremation site for the aristocracy of Angkor. The Terrace is built to reflect death and hell, while bas-reliefs depict scenes of royal pageantry, apsaras, nagas, and garudas on the slopes of Mount Mera (home of the Gods).

Terrance of the Elephants
Located opposite of the Terrace of the Leper King, this is also known as the Royal Terrace. It was built in the 12th century by Suryavarman I. It was originally the raised base of a hall and is decorated with a bas-relief of elephants and hunting scenes.

The Phimeanakas or the Flying Palace
This pyramidal temple in the center of the Royal palace stands mostly in ruins. Visitors can climb to the pinnacle via the back approach, although we saw a few adventurous souls who chose to risk injuries by climbing from the front. Here, we learnt from Mr Thy of a local myth where the Angkor kings were required to sleep in the tower every night with the nine-headed naga, in a form of a woman. Should he fail in this duty, the kingdom would suffer.

The Sras Srei
The Sras Srei or "swimming pool" as our guide likes to refer it as, was once a royal bath pool. Nowadays, it is the monks and local children who bath in it.

The Baphuon
This temple was built by Udayadityavarman II and is currently under major restoration, and currently off-limits to all visitors. The scented flowers of the Sleng trees encircling the temple permeate the air as we passed by and headed for the famed Bayon.

The Bayon
Another not-to-be-missed sight of Angkor is the Bayon, or the Temple of the faces. It is indeed a marvellous sight to behold. Images of Jayavarman VII as Bodhisattra facing four compass points, carved on blocks of stones towers high above smiling down on visitors. The intricate bas-reliefs of the outer walls, depicting scenes of daily life and major battle, were brought to life by our guide’s commentary.

Visiting Angkor Thom was a somewhat exhausting but exhilarating experience. Although there was less climbing compared to the previous day, we were overwhelmed by the expanse of the Royal complex. We returned to town for lunch, and a short break at the hotel, before commencing our afternoon tour of Banteay Srei and Tonle Sap.

Angkor Wat is the ancient capital city of the Khmer Empire, dating back to 9th century, under Jayavarman VII (1181-1218). It epitomises Cambodian spirituality, culture, and history. Despite centuries of pilferage by colonial masters, neighbours, and in modern history, by the Khmer Rouge, the beauty and magnificence of Angkor Wat remains undisputed in South East Asia.

Angkor Wat has always evoked an image of a lost city amidst thick jungle, and the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raiders depicts it perfectly. In reality, Angkor Wat is under constant restoration, aided by different agencies from across the globe. The jungle has been tamed into manicured lawns and pavements for the convenience of tourists exploring the grounds. During our weekend sojourn, we lost count of the number of coaches bearing noisy Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, and European tourists, not to mention independent travellers like us pouring into every corner of Angkor Wat.

We arrived at the checkpoint before Angkor Wat in less than 20 minutes from our hotel. There, we headed into the office for a head-shot, needed for the application of the permit pass into Angkor Wat. The whole process took less than 10 minutes and was hassle-free.

Upon arriving at Angkor Wat, we were swept away by the vista before us. We showed our newly minted pass to the guards, and made our way across the moat via the causeway. The moat seemed more like a river and is a favourite spot for local children to swim in and cool off, especially during the warmer seasons. Welcoming visitors at the end of the causeway are the impressive nagas, or the seven-headed serpents (each representing a day of the week).

Appreciating Angkor Wat became a challenge for us. We had to navigate around the large number of tourists, vying for spots to view the intricate carvings of the bas-reliefs, waiting our turns to climb up and down the temples, and of course, taking photographs. The latter proved especially challenging, as we tried to capture the beauty of Angkor Wat and tourists who had a knack of walking into the frame at the exact moment our fingers pressed the trigger—thank God for digital and the delete button.

Our guide, Mr. Thy was quick to point out the various interest points which we might have otherwise missed had we chose to see the sights on our own. He regaled us with local tidbits and stories, especially those depicted on the bas-reliefs and was patient in answering our questions. We spent a leisurely 2 hours exploring the grounds before heading for Phnom Bakheng for a sunset view of Angkor Wat and the Lake Tonle Sap.

This website gives a succinct summary of each temple in Siem Reap.

Banteay Srei

This little temple is about 25km north of Angkor, and is about 1 hours drive from our hotel. The journey took us into the country side, past quaint little villages, padi fields, and vegetable farms. The temple was built, and dedicated to the Brahma. Though lacking in the grandeur of Angkor Wat, this temple is known for its fine Khmer sculptures, and the carvings on its pink sandstone walls. It depicts Hindu legends and myths. The tour took less than 1 hour to complete. Again, we played cat and mouse with the coach-loads of tourists, but it was a little difficult given the smallness of the temple.

Lake Tonle Sap

Tonle Sap is known as one of the natural wonders, and the largest freshwater lake in Asia. It is a tributary of the Mekong, and reverses its flow every 6 months, shrinking and expanding according to the dry and wet seasons. Tonle Sap is also home to the Vietnamese and Khmer floating villages and fishing is the main source of income.

Our main purpose in going to Tonle Sap, was to view the sunset in the middle of the lake. We made a brief stop at the old central market area where our guide purchased boat tickets for $15 per person. The drive from town to Tonle Sap took another 45 minutes. Upon arriving, we were hardly surprised to see the coaches of tourists already there. What did hit us when we alighted out of the car, was the strong stench of dead fish that stuck to us, even after we left. Had we not paid for the tickets, we would have turned around and left in the blink of an eye.

Unfortunately, we had little choice but to follow our guide, leading us towards the boat. The narrow canal leading to the lake was almost ink black, and crowded with similar tourist boats, leading tourists to and from the lake. It was not exactly a pleasure cruise, at least not for us. It took some manoeuvring by the boatman before we entered the lake. The water was quite shallow and passing by houseboats, it was obviously put to many uses. Once into the lake, the waters turned a muddy brown, and it became obvious to us that we would not have the sunset, as the sky turned cloudy. Out in the open waters, we felt as if we were in the open ocean rather than a lake. The cruise brought us to a larger boat with a viewing platform parked in the middle of the lake. There were a few clustered nearby, and it was obviously meant for tourists. We chose to forgo the views from the larger boat, and turned around. En route, we saw young children in round tubs paddling frantically towards these boats, beggars, we were told. It was a heart-breaking sight. We were only too glad to return back to shore and to town.

As Angkor Wat began to take on a golden hue, we made our way to Phnom Bakheng, the oldest temple by Ysaovarman, set atop a hill 60m high. It offers good views of Angkor Wat and the surroundings, particularly at sunset and sunrise. The journey was less than 5 minutes by car from Angkor Wat.

We were naive to think that we would have the hill almost to ourselves. Alas, for a small fee of $15, tourists are able to avoid the tiring, and sometimes steep climb uphill by taking an elephant ride up. *sigh* We took about 15 to 20minutes to climb uphill. The view, however, was almost worth the climb. Here, we saw the romanticised sight of Angkor amidst the jungle, somewhat marred by the haze. There is not much to explore, as much of the temple is now in ruins.

Near sunset, we chose a spot to view it. By then, the crowd had also settled down. It was like a regular United Nations meeting, as tourists occupied almost every available space. The sunset was not as spectacular as we expected, as the sun was mostly hidden by the clouds. We left soon afterwards, disappointed and a little annoyed at the pushy tourists who tried to elbow their way to the front and down the steep steps. Our enterprising guide came to our rescue, and led us to another flight of steps at the side of the temple, and safely down the hill. We ended our day with a dinner and cultural show at the Jasmine restaurant.

We began our tour for the day early to avoid the hordes of tourists. Our first stop was the much anticipated Ta Phrom. This temple was built in honour of the Queen Mother, and is one of the most beautiful temples in Angkor Wat. It had retained much of its original charm as authorities deliberately left the ancient strangling fig and sponge trees growing in the temple.

This was also the location of the movie, "Lara Croft: Tomb raider." Our guide pointed to us the various locations in the movie, as well as briefed us on the history and inscriptions in the complex. We were awed by the juxtaposition between survival of nature and man, how the roots of the fig and sponge trees were both supporting and destroying the temple. Of particular interests, look out for the smiling apsara hidden among the roots of the ancient fig tree, the dinosaur-like imprint on one of the walls, the chamber where the thump of your heart beat is echoed within the walls, and the serpentine roots that resembled a man’s buttock and legs attempting to climb over the wall. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves here, at least, until the arrival of the tourists. Before we leave for the royal city of Angkor Thom, our guide also amusingly pointed out the various spots where tourists from different countries like to pose, either for good luck or for fun.

Even if you are not a fan of Lara Croft, this temple is a must see.