Wednesday, June 07, 2006

i dream of angkor...



nicked the above pix off muffy's flickr site (sorry hor, bro :P)...

the missus and i were discussing going to siemreap to (finally) see angkor wat...before it gets well and truly run over by the hordes of tourists (not that it isn't right now though)... now all we gotta do is figure out whether to do a 4D3N or a 5D4N and to fly either silkair or jetstar...

the hotel that we are eyeing is the
HOTEL DE LA PAIX right smack in downtown siemreap...5* but at relatively reasonable rates...we might do 2 nights at a cheaper one with the package and get another 2 nights at the DLP...see how finances do first... this will probably be the once in a lifetime trip for siemreap, so it does make sense to see as much and not skimp too much, of course...

what else is there to be seen besides angkor wat, the killing fields and the ton le sap floating market??? can anyone out there enlighten this poor chap? =))

3 comments:

FlyingMuffyn said...

my 2 cts...

1. try to fly into Siem Reap and fly out from Phnom Penh. Or vice versa. U can always take the bus frm city to city and take the opportunity to see rural cambodia in the process

2. Siem Reap is nothing except for Angkor Wat. But rem dat AW is only one temple out of the many on the Angkor Plain. So if ur gg to stay in a nice hotel, budget a day of relaxation at the hotel itself. We stayed at the Raffles Group's Royal Palace D'Angkor.

3. Multiple trips to AW is gd. Slowly take it in the whole complex. see it in the morning, see it in the evening. although they say the best time is after lunch when the light casts as little shadows as possible. But i lurve it in the evening.

4. Another must see is Angkor Thom (which is actually a walled city) and its central masterpiece, The Bayon. Surreal. AT and its temples should take u another day.

5. There are other magnificent temples besides AW and outside AT. We particurlarly liked Banteay Srei, Ta Prohm (the Tomb Raider temple) and Ta Keo.

6. If you hv the time. there is another group of temples called the Roulos Group that is a little way off frm the main Angkor Plain. Must go by car. Not as magnificent but nice to see nonetheless.

7. At Phnom Penh, my 2 reccs would be the Killing Fields and The Tuol Sleng S21 museum. Very sad and sobering. The Killing fields is abt 35mins by tuk tuk out of the city. u can do the the KF in the morning and TL S21 in the evening. Phnom penh is quite barren otherwise and u wld prob wan to see downtown at nite for some chow. a number of quaint restaurants.

FlyingMuffyn said...

oh yeah Ton Le Sap floating village is forgettable unless u really hv the time. Not priority. But u noe me, like to squeeze in as much things as possible.

kona said...

many thanks muffy...much appreciated ;)