The Temples of a Country Lost
The first time I saw pictures of the Angkor temples I knew I had to see them in person one day.
The grandeur of Angkor made such an impression on me that my desire to see it in person one day never wavered. The temples of Angkor are still the largest Buddhist temples in the world, spanning over 400 acres. What I didn’t know was that Angkor is a site of 72 major temples and ruins of hundreds of minor temples as well.
Seeing the temples in person was truly a sight for the eyes. There’s precision in the walls as if lasers had cut them. There are beautifully detailed hand carvings all throughout the temple walls of stories long ago. Not to mention just the sheer size of the temples are something that only can be grasped by first-hand experience. Angkor is an unbelievable manmade accomplishment and somehow it was completed in just 30 years, some 900 years ago.
With such incredible feats, it is hard to fathom how Cambodia just emerged from the dark past of the Khmer Rouge not more than 30 years ago. The genocide wiped out a quarter of the country’s population as well as a lot of its history and intellectuals. Learning about this made us appreciate Angkor and its storied history even more. While this isn’t a blog post about the details of the Khmer Rouge and Cambodia I would highly recommend those of you to read or watch about what transpired.
We came, we saw, we loved the country of Cambodia
While we had always planned to go to Siem Reap and see the temples of Angkor, the timing of it came up sporadically. We fit in a four-day trip to Cambodia during our Vietnam trip because we realized that our Vietnam visas were only good for 30 days and were also single entries. So, in order to get new visas we had to leave and re-enter Vietnam.
Here’s a breakdown of our trip details for Cambodia:
Airfare
Getting to Siem Reap is currently limited and the usual Asian discount airlines weren’t flying there when we were looking to go. The only direct flight we could find was on Cambodia Angkor Air. For the ~1 hour flight it costs us $242 USD per adult and $192 USD per child. Thankfully the flight times were both in the afternoon so we didn’t have to struggle with early AM times. The flight to Siem Reap was on a new Airbus 330 and the flight back to Vietnam was on an old-school puddle hopper.
Travel Tip: Cambodia Angkor Air’s systems aren’t always known to be reliable so it’s recommended to re-confirm your tickets with the airline before you depart. You can do this over email, phone, or FB messenger. I would recommend FB messenger as the email for Cambodia Angkor Air would work at first for me and then later my emails would get bounced back saying the email address was no longer valid.
Visas
Visas into Cambodia are a flat $30 USD per person. They only accept cash for US Dollars or Euros. There are no credit cards or really any other form of payment that was being accepted. In addition, the bills need to be in good shape. One of our bills had a small tear and so we were asked to swap it out with another one. Regardless, the process was really simple and easy and the Cambodian immigration had the NICEST people we’ve ever met.
Data plan
We purchased a 30gb data plan at the airport for only $10 from Smart. It was simple and easy to do as Smart had a sales booth right outside the airport exit. You just had to show your passport and they accepted credit card payments. Coverage throughout our stay was good so no worries there.
Airport transfers
Our hotel, the Shintana Saya Residence, provided free airport transfer service and it was amazing. They picked us up in a brand new SUV, provided fresh, cold coconut water, and also handed out cool towels to freshen up. After being on a flight, this was so incredibly needed and brought everyone back to life.
For the ride back to the airport our hotel owner, David, personally drove us back in his 7-series BMW. He tries his best to provide personalized service to all his guests and is always looking for ways to go above and beyond.
Lodging
We stayed for 3 nights at the Shintana Saya Residence for just $75 USD/night. This was one of the most amazing stays we’ve had on our travels so far. The Shintana Saya, a family-owned business, was started about 5 years ago and is beautifully designed with an exceptional level of service.
We booked the family room which included a sitting area and two incredibly comfortable king-size beds. The hotel also provided a great welcome gift which included a bottle of red wine and freshly cut fruits.
There was a wonderful pool onsite as well as a great restaurant that served dishes ranging from traditional Cambodian cuisine to delicious burgers. While the food wasn’t the cheapest compared to what we were paying in Vietnam (e.g. $9 USD for an entree), the quality was definitely worth it. I highly recommend ordering the pineapple smoothie!
nightly turndown service
Each night they provided turn-down service by making our beds, setting out robes for everyone, and providing fresh fruit.
They also were able to provide us with free transport into the city center and also helped us set up tours and transport for Angkor. For anyone thinking of going to Siem Reap, I would emphatically recommend the Shintana Saya Residence. The service and quality were unmatched by any other place we’ve stayed.
Tours/Attractions
Seeing the temples of Angkor requires a few expenses. First was hiring a tour guide to see the temples. You don’t have to do this to see Angkor but we wanted to learn more about the history of Angkor. Our tour guide, Tiger (his nickname was Tiger because everyone said that he looked like a Cambodian Tiger Woods) cost us $40 USD for the day.
You will need to hire a driver because you’ll have to travel a good amount of distance to see the various templates in Angkor. Although Angkor was only 15 minutes from where we were staying, going to all the temples requires transport.
Since we had 5 people, our family plus our tour guide, we hired a minivan to take us all around. It cost us $40 USD for the van. You can hire a Tuk Tuk, a small motor vehicle to take you around if you have 4 or fewer in your party. This was around $20 USD.
You also need to purchase admission tickets to Angkor. This was $37 USD for anyone 12 years or older. In order to promote more tourism, Cambodia is allowing access for two days on one ticket but this runs out at the end of 2022.
Food
Food in Cambodia, like most Southeast Asian countries, is pretty cheap for local eats but everything else costs much more. Our meals ranged from $3 to $10 USD for an entree and drinks and appetizers were around $2 - 5 USD. We didn’t have a bad meal in Cambodia and although our experience was limited, we all enjoyed everything we ate there. I recommend trying the Fish Amok, an outstanding creamy fish curry.
Cambodia was a short trip for us, yet we left learning so much and appreciating every minute of our time in the country. Traveling to Siem Reap was an experience I think we will never forget. The kindness of the Cambodian people makes it hard to believe there was such a dark past just 30+ years ago with the Khmer Rouge genocide.
While our trip expenses were higher than expected we wish we had dedicated more time to Cambodia. It’s a country with a lot to offer and so we would definitely consider traveling to other parts of the country again in the future.
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