A small country hidden among the giants in Asia, Cambodia holds a lot for the adventure lover. Dense jungles which are so well preserved that you feel like you have reached an altogether different era. Each corner in the historical site holds some relic of the glorious past and you cannot help but sit and admire the beauty that would have once surrounded this place. If the haunting stones could talk, they will fill volumes of books singing about the mystery surrounding this area. The Angkor complex is also called as “Vishnulok” (the land of Vishnu who is one of most powerful hindu deity). The deity is associated with lotus flowers and there is an abundance of it in the dark lakes surrounding the complex. The temple complex was built by Khmer King Suryavarman II in the 12th century. The royalty had its downfall and gradually it became a dwelling for the buddhist monks. History took another turn and the place was completely abandoned for few centuries with snakes and trees ruling on stone structures built by men.

But the complex had not surrendered to its final fate and it was not lost in time. The wheel of time kept moving and a french explorer stumbled upon Angkor Wat. As per him the architecture and fine craftmanship that he saw was something that will put all european buildings to shame. I cannot imagine the joy and curiosity that he would have felt when he crossed the jungles and suddenly this piece of art came in front of him. The moment you lay your eyes on the picture of Angkor Wat, it immediately gets on your bucket list. It is an enigma and hence people are even more attracted towards it.

Reaching there: Cambodia is very well connected to all the major south east asian airports. The airport that we used was Siem Reap. That’s the city which is closest to Angkor. For moving around in town and visiting tourist places you can use the shared Tuk-Tuk’s or book one completely for yourself. We wanted to be more independent. We took an electric two wheeler as these are the ones which we can ride and use it through out the Angkor complex. They are pretty cheap and it was able to drag us around for the few days we were there.

Visa: The e-Visa is very simple and this is the least of your worries. It took us around 5 days to get the approval with e-Visa on mail.

Accommodation: The city has a range of accommodations available. We took an AirBnb. Try to get a place which is very close to the city centre and pub street. You will get all the eating and shopping places within walking distance.

Things to do:

–Tickets: You need to get tickets or ‘Angkor Pass’ to visit the complex. The ticket counter is not close to the site. You have to go to the official ticket centre and purchase a 1, 3 or 7 day pass. Our 3 day pass costed us $62 per person. The counter opens at morning 5:30. So go there first and then head to Angkor. There is no ticket checking counter. There will be guards standing on the side of the road and they will stop the vehicles which have foreigners and ask for the ticket.

–Angkor Wat: This is the grandest and most popular place in the area. Hundreds of people line up here early morning to capture the temple basked in the early morning sun. You have to reach pretty early to get a good spot from where you can treasure the moment forever. After that you can get inside and easily spend few hours inside the complex. The temple is surrounded by a lake and there are floating bridges to get you inside. This is the largest religious complex in the world and is very well preserved. There is minimal commercial activity near the site and there are jungles for many kilometres around the spot. When you are travelling towards Angkor Wat, you will be driving on a narrow lane with tall trees on both sides. An amazing entry to an even more amazing place. The entire structure is made in the shape of lotus with the buds surrounding it. Some part of the structure couldn’t stand the burden of time and have succumbed. Some of the carvings on the walls still remain which tell the story of kings and moments from hindu mythology.

–Angkor Thom: This is the city after Angkor Wat. The locals say that the city and the surrounding area have ruins of close to a thousand temples. It is built in a squarish shape and has a beautiful entrance.

–Bayon Temple: This is one of the biggest temples inside the city. Bayon resembles the face of Lord Vishnu and many people associate him with it. It will remind you of the Angkor Wat in terms of its structure.

–Baphuon Temple: This is the grandest temple inside the closed city. It has many spots to take an amazing pic. To visit this one temple will take you couple of hours. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and it was built around 11th century. The temple has multiple layers and must have been pretty magnificent at it’s time.

–Ta Prohm Temple: This is one of the more popular temples from the Angkor complex. The trees have outgrown the temples and they seem to be way older than the stone structures built below them. A visit to this place reminds you of how powerful even the simplest of nature’s forces could be and how helpless the mightiest of rocks are.

–Phnom Bakheng: This temple is very popular for its sunset pic. There is a huge queue to get there just before sunset. Make sure that you get there early and get into the temple before dusk. This one is situated on the top of a hill and you get a clear top view of Angkor Wat from here.

–Food: This is the place to try out all sorts of non-veg dishes at a pocket friendly price. We tried everything apart from crocodile meat and the taste was superb. There is no one good place. All are good at the city centre. And if you are a bit more adventurous then there is no harm in eating a bug. It is fairly popular in Cambodia and even kids eat them with a lot of ease. Walking through the pub street will give you a lot more options too. A mug of beer was 50 cents 🙂 .

–Fish Spa: Extremely cheap and relaxing experience. The duration for the spa is unlimited and once you are done, you cannot recognise your own feet. Initially it’s a bit tickling but you get over it pretty soon.

Even if you are back from Angkor, the haunting memories will still remain with you forever.