First time
Backpacking my way through South East Asia back in 2006 I honestly knew very little about the famous, Cambodian attraction, Angkor Wat. At the time I recall being blown away at the scale and beauty of the place and have since rated Angkor Wat amongst the top 2 or 3 sites in the whole of Asia. Fortunately for you, there’s no better time to visit Angkor Wat.
Strictly speaking, there’s a particular temple called Angkor Wat, though locals and visitors colloquially call the entire archeological site by that name.
The site is enormous and it would take many days to cover every site within the bounds off the archeological park, some sites are said to be up to 80Km away
In the years since my first Angkor Wat visit, the site has become incredibly popular, with many plane loads of tourists, often package tourists, flying in every day. The nearby town which serves the tourist industry, Siem Reap, has transformed from a dusty backwater, into a glitzy city filled with bars and clubs, five-star hotels and as many mod cons as any city in Cambodia.
Covid imapct
Unfortunately, for local businesses, the tourist industry In Siem Reap/Angkor Wat has been decimated by the pandemic. Tourist flights stopped as the country was locked down and up until now, only a trickle have returned. On my recent visit I talked to many locals and the general consensus was daily tourist numbers to Angkor Wat had plummeted from around 5000 people/day, to 4-500/day. That’s probably around the number visiting on my 2006 visit.
As unfortunate as the lack of tourist is for locals, you can do your bit to help them while enjoying this grand site without the hoards. We were pressed for time and opted for a single day tour, but ideally you will have more time to visit more temples.
Park entry
If you’re going to go, do not book the site tour as part of a package from your home country. Tickets to enter the Angkor Wat Archeological Park can only be purchased at the official, Cambodian government ticket office, on the road between Siem Reap and the park.
The entry tickets range in price from USD $37 for a day pass, up to USD $72 for a 7 day pass. Cambodian nationals are free. While we were in Siem Reap we heard stories of counterfeit and overpriced tickets, so just play it safe and buy at the official ticket office.
Getting around
You will also need to pay for transport to, from and between all of the sites. There can be kilometers between the most popular sites, so it’s not advisable to walk.
We saw quite a lot of people riding rented mountain bikes to get around although we both thought the temperature was way too hot to ride comfortably. Taxi’s inn Siem Reap are happy to drive you around, if you don’t mind the steep price.
The option we took was a very comfortable Tuk-tuk. We found our ride, and our driver, among the many Tuk-tuk drivers hanging out in Siem Reap from around 3pm. You’ll need to negotiate a price and itinerary for your trip, the drivers know the most popular spots so defer to them if you’re not sure.
When negotiating with your driver, the object is not necessarily to get the cheapest price in town, these people are relatively poor and this is their income. Our driver was happy with US$20 and he picked us up at our hotel at 4:30am. We got dropped off at our hotel and tipped another $5
Knowing a bargain when you see it, and being opportunistic is what Independent Adventures is all about. If you’ve ever considered checking out Angkor Wat, this really is a wonderful opportunity.