We flew Cambodia Angkor Air for a short 1h45m flight from Hanoi to Siem Reap in Cambodia. We exited the plane on the tarmac and walked directly into the airport. The air was warm – as were the people welcoming us. The airport was small and exotic looking. After getting our luggage and some cash at an ATM, we were offered a ride to our hotel via either car or tuk tuk. We opted for the tuk tuk so we could enjoy the warm night air and the scenery. The Cambodian tuk tuks were two-wheeled carts attached to a small motorcycle. They were not very powerful, but very comfortable to ride in. Our tuk tuk fit us and our two suitcases just fine.
Our hotel was the Sarai Resort and Spa, which was luxurious compared to Cambodian standards. All our drivers and tour guides commented that we were staying in a very nice hotel. It was $80 per night and included a nice breakfast in the restaurant each morning. I learned that the average wage is only about $1200 per year here, if one was lucky enough to have a job. During Covid, tourism nearly stopped and many were without a job for over two years. There was no government assistance here as the country is too poor. People had to sell what they could to make money. It sounded very difficult. Tourism is not back yet, but I hope for them it gets busier soon.
We booked a bike tour of the local temples for our first day. Our guide picked us up at 4:30AM so we could get to the temple early to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. They took us there by tuk tuk, and the bikes were attached to the back for us to use later. We were the first ones to arrive at a prime viewing spot on the outside of a moat where the towers of the primary Angkor Wat temples would reflect in the water. Sunrise wasn’t until 6:30, so we had plenty of time to wait. Unfortunately, the horizon was cloudy that day so we didn’t end up seeing the sunrise. By then, there were lots of people near us all waiting for the golden moment that didn’t come. They all left with their guides as soon as they didn’t see the sun. Our guide, named Mr. Sum, said it was better if we hang back and let the crowds go first. We ended up talking to him there another hour and suddenly the sun peaked through a hole in the clouds and we got some nice shots. We were the only ones there.
The Angkor Wat temple complex is the largest religious monument in the world encompassing over 400 acres. It is square, surrounded by a wide, 3-mile moat with centrally located bridges running exactly east, west, north and south from the center. It was originally built as a Hindu temple city in the early 1100’s by a very successful king named Suryavarman II. It was gradually converted to a Buddhist temple over the next century, so it incorporates both religious elements. All the stones to build the temple were quarried from mountains many miles away, then floated down a nearby river in bamboo rafts. The large moat was all dug by hand, of course.
While very impressive to see, it’s hard to imagine just how amazing it once was as there had been many more statues, carvings and buildings throughout that were destroyed or looted over Cambodia’s turbulent history. Prior to the 12th century, the Cambodian empire was one of the most developed and powerful in the world. Since then, they have been on the losing side of many wars against outside invaders including relentless bombing campaigns by the U.S. during the Vietnam war. And then the devastating civil war and genocide of the 1970s and 80s when up to 2 million people died at the hands of the communist Khmer Rouge. They purged all the cities and made the proletariat work in the rice fields thinking they would become an agrarian society. 25% of the population were killed. It wasn’t until the early 90s after they lost a war with Vietnam that things stabilized. Unfortunately, the country was devastated by then, and they were unable to stop looters from stealing anything they could carry from the Angkor Wat and other temples. Nearly every head and arms were gone from the Buddha statues left standing. To think this happened as recently as 20 to 30 years ago!
After visiting Angkor Wat, we hopped back on our tuk tuk and went to a rural restaurant for breakfast. The surroundings were pleasant. They cooked everything outside, and you could get a glimpse at how they lived without a lot.
It was here we finally got on our bikes to visit a neighboring temple complex called Angkor Thom. Our bikes were nice mountain bikes with good suspension that would be helpful on our ride through the jungle paths. It was really cool to ride through the jungles – we didn’t come across any other bikers on the trails, but would occasionally ride past small encampments where rural people lived growing some vegetables, a few chickens or a cow, and maybe fishing to live off of and sell at the market. Pretty primitive living.
Angkor Thom was more impressive to us than Angkor Wat. It was a Buddhist temple built in the late 1100s after Angkor Wat was attacked by the Chams. The new king, Jayavarman VII, decided the Hindu gods of Angkor Wat had failed him, so he built this new complex a few kilometers north. It also had a moat around it that was 3km on each side. The bridges to enter were very impressive as most of the statues still stood on each side before you entered the gate with giant Buddha heads on top. The statues were alternately frowning demons and smiling gods working together to pull a giant snake. Apparently this was a symbol of protection and good luck as you crossed the bridges. There were four bridges and gates at the center of each side. The soil from the moats were used to build a tall wall surrounding the city which offered protection. There were also four temples at each corner.
We entered by bike and immediately biked up a hill to the top of the wall which had a nice sandy path we rode around to a couple of the secluded temples on the perimeter. We were definitely starting to feel like explorers.
We then biked to the center of the city to explore the main temple called Bayon. It is impossible to describe the architecture and the maze of rooms inside. Steep staircases were everywhere. This temple was particularly interesting because it had carvings on all the walls depicting an ancient war with the Chams on the top half, and what daily life was like on the bottom half. You saw people cooking, fishing, farming, playing games, tending to children, etc.
It was getting hot now and our tuk tuk driver had laid out a plate of fresh fruit for us to enjoy in the shade before we rode our bikes out of this city to our next destination. We took jungle back trails that went along old walls and temples and arrived directly at the foot of our next temple.
Here we entered our favorite site of all: Ta Prohm (aka the tomb raider temple). When these ancient cities were “discovered” by the west most of them were nearly consumed by the jungles and subsequently cleaned up. This temple had some amazing trees that were left intact, literally growing around and on top of the temple. There was also a ton of blocks from roofs and walls that had caved in long ago still in piles. This place really made us feel like explorers as we climbed along this rubble and jungle roots.
We ended our tour by biking to a traditional Khmer restaurant where we enjoyed Fish Amok which is a very fragrant fish dish cooked in coconut milk with local herbs and spices. Ours was served in fresh coconut shells, which are used as bowls in Cambodia even today. Sophie got her chance to drink fresh coconut juice and I tried a local beer. We were delivered back to our hotel by tuk tuk and relaxed the rest of the day at our hotel after a good shower.
We really enjoyed our bike tour. We rode about 20 km in total and enjoyed getting to know our guide and learning more about his experiences. He had to leave his village and family as a young boy. I’m sure his life has been difficult, but he was so warm and endearing to us. The tour company we used was called Siem Reaper, and they are locally owned and operated which made us feel better about our support for the locals.
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