Before we start, here is a brief intro you’ll find at the start of all of my blogs!
This is a story-style travel blog featuring my adventure through Southeast Asia in the fall of 2024. I spent 1 week on my own in Laos, then joined a 14-day tour called Ultimate Cambodian Adventure from the company G Adventures, and a final 3-day solo stop in Singapore. You can read the blog in order, or about whichever destination intrigues you! Within my stories, I’ll offer some recommendations and some tips and tricks for a smooth journey. When I travel, I mostly do group tours and the reasons are:
* As a solo woman traveler, it is much safer especially if traveling long distances or to countries that can be dangerous in some areas
*The itineraries are amazing and usually include all of the things you’d want to see and do…and if not, there is free time to do as you wish
*You don’t have to worry about booking transport, finding hotels, etc. Sometimes that can contribute to the adventure, but it’s also nice to sit back and relax and let your Tour CEO be in charge
* And finally…the new people you meet on your tour become your family, and I’ve made lifelong friends in these journeys. For myself, this has equal importance with exploring new countries.
Cambodia is located in Southeast Asia; it is a land of ancient wonders and vibrant traditions.
The history is rich, and the country is abundant with temples – the most famous being Angkor Wat which is the largest religious monument in the world. Here you’ll find lush jungles, stunning natural landscapes beautiful baches, and the most kind and welcoming people you will ever meet. The population id around 17 million, with the majority being ethnically Khmer. In the mid 1860’s, Cambodia became a French protectorate, and gained d independence after World War II. You’ll still find a lot of French influence in the country. The country became involved in the Vietnam war, which brought in a takeover by the communist Khmer Rouge in 1975. During this time, Cambodia experienced one of the world’s largest genocides, carried out by the Khmer Rouge. I will talk more about this further on in this blog. Life isn’t easy for Cambodians today, as there are still much corrupt practices in their everyday lives, another problem has been the many unexploded landmines, but luckily the country is expected to be clean by the end of 2025.
Siem Reap is the second largest city in Cambodia, and a major tourist hub because of Angkor Wat, which is the largest religious monument in the world. It was once the capital of the Khmer empire, and is home to many ancient temples and ruins. Like many other cities in Southeast Asia, the architecture is French colonial mixed in with Asian and modern styles. There cuisine here is diverse, the nightlife is bustling, and we are lucky to be spending a couple of days here!
This afternoon, we arrive into Siem Reap and our first stop is the Angkor Wat “box office” so we can get our tickets for tomorrow. It’s such a contrast to be at one of the oldest historical sites in the world, and then this ticket office is huge and reminds me of the waiting area for a ride at Disneyland.
We do a quick check-in to the Mekong Angkor Palace Hotel, where we will stay for 3 nights.
The rooms are nice and clean, and the bathroom is spacious with a large tub.
But we are having trouble with our air-conditioning, and this is going to be a problem. We call someone in to have a look, and it seems ok for now but it’s still not cold enough for me.
Ratha arranges our tuk tuk transport for this evening, and tonight we are in for a treat. We are going to the Phare Circus!! Phare is a contemporary circus troupe, whose performances blend traditional and modern circus arts. The show is created by these artists, using Cambodian history and folklore with current elements to cultivate the show. It began back in 1985, and was founded as a place for young war refugees to heal themselves and the community though art. They even have a Guiness World Record for longest circus performance! Before the show, we have dinner at the venue. We buy tickets/vouchers and then use those tickets to choose the food and drinks. I opt for these giant spring rolls.
After dinner, we are escorted inside to our seats and they give us fans, which is brilliant. The theatre is a round shape, and we are sitting off to the side. And I have a bit of an obstructed view due to a giant pole. The show starts with some acrobatics and a swinging pole, and some dancing.
There is a live band that plays the music and they are great, especially this drummer. He kicks ass.
Next up is jumping from a platform onto a see-saw to catapult the acrobats into multiple flips, and throwing people around. Haha
Followed by a guy spinning a Diabolo, which is like a big yoyo on a string tied between two sticks.
I’m sure it’s a super hard skill, but this guy makes it seem easy. Then we have a few performers that are doing moves in the air while holding into ribbons extended from the celling.
They’re spinning and flipping, with no safety mats underneath. Yikes!! Then comes the crazy balancing dude.
A couple of really bendy ladies…
A girl spinning around in the air on a giant hoop, with the comedy of a man with the butterfly net trying to catch her…or us in the audience!
The whole show is fantastic, and after we get to go down and meet some of the circus folk and they’re so darn cute and just mega talented.
We get back to the hotel and our room is just not cool enough. I ask the front desk for help again, but they can’t figure it out tonight, so they very kindly allow me to use a different room for this evening. The air con is a real blaster in this room, so I’m happy. I’m having trouble falling asleep as usual, and we need to be up super early to catch Angkor Wat at sunrise…. I think it’ll be worth it.
After a terrible sleep, I’m up at 3:30am to get ready to head to Angkor. Since this is the highlight of the trip, I need to look good for the pics! Haha. We arrive at the gate, and we have to walk in the pitch dark to get to the main area. We wait for the sun to rise spectacularly over the temples. And due to clouds, it’s a pretty basic sunrise.
A bit of a disappointment, but let’s not forget that we’re at one of the coolest religious complexes in the world! We hang around in front of the pond, where there are some awesome photo ops with the reflection in the water.
I’m excited to spot a couple of monkeys, but it’s best not to get too close(These are the only monkeys I see all day. Bummer!!)
Before we start exploring with our guide, Date, we gather for breakfast. It’s just a basic boring breakfast box (I have flashbacks from Egypt, when many early mornings required these boxes), and we order iced coffees.
We gather in front of the temple for some group pics and Ratha has a surprise gift for us – traditional Cambodian scarves!! The funny thing is… this morning, he’s wearing a red and black checked one and I had asked him where I could buy one. Now I don’t have to!!!
Angkor Wat translates to “City of Temples”. It is protected by a high wall and wide moat. Here’s what it looks like from above.
We begin by exploring this main temple, built sometime in the 12th century.
In its prime, it was a city, a temple and a palace for Khmer royalty. It’s known for its intricate carvings and architecture and it really is a stunning sight to see. The temple still stands today because it was built out of sandstone. The 5 towers of Angkor Wat represent the 5 peaks of Mount Meru. The temple complex consists of more than a thousand buildings.
The walls are covered with intricate carvings that represent Hindu gods and ancient Khmer scenes, but were eventually replaced by Buddhist art.
It was abandoned in the 15th century, but rediscovered in the 1860’s. It was restored over the years and became a UNESCO site in the 90’s.
We explore the galleries that run in between the towers.
As we head towards the rear of the temple, there is an opportunity to climb up one of the corner towers. I feel like I don’t have the energy today, so I watch the others instead.
Today we will be visiting 3 temples, and they are not within walking distance so we must get in the van to drive to the next one. On the way to the van, we run into this girl and I was like, hey we’re twins!!!
We arrive at Ta Prohm, and if it looks familiar, you may recognize it from the film Tomb Raider. If you want to see it in the movie, forward to the 40 minute mark.
When Angelina Jolie spent time here in Cambodia while filming this movie, she fell in love with the country. Her adopted son is from Battambang, and she’s done loads of charity and philanthropic work here over the years.
Ta Prohm was built without mortar, so after it was abandoned, many trees took root in the loosened stones.
Coupled with its jungle surroundings, this temple is truly magical and my favorite out of the 3 we visit today.
It was originally known as the Monastery of the King; a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of Jayavarman VII.
Exploring the temple feels like an adventure; the corridors are small, there are piles of stone blocks to climb over, the walls are carpeted with moss and lichen.
The silk cotton trees that have grown through the temple walls tower above us.
We hop back in the van to visit our final temple for this morning…Bayon.
There is an option to buy a ticket for 2 days and see more of the temple complex…I LOVE exploring these temples but I decide that there are other things I’d also like to see while here in Siem Reap.
Bayon was the state temple of King Jayavarman VII, and the most astounding feature is the multitude of stone faces of Brahma on every side of the towers.
It’s not super obvious until you get close up. It is described as having a more baroque style of Khmer architecture.
We wander around inside for a bit, and it’s not very spacious and it’s getting super hot in here.
At this point, my body needs a break. We don’t stay here for too long, and now it’s time for lunch. We stop at a place near the temple complex called Khmer Village. I have stir fry veggies with tofu and a glass of refreshing tamarind juice.
The rest of the afternoon is free time, and a few of us are taking another adventure…..to be continued…
Everywhere On Earth With Erin 