JBR 16-19 November

Well here goes my first attempt at a JBR. We arrived in Siem Reap at 8.00am after an early Air Asia flight from KL. Flight was fine, no problems at all.

Once off the plane we were immediately taken to get our visas processed. As we were travelling with a child we were approached and basically everything was done for us. We just had to pay the money and wait for the guy to come back with our stamped passports with visa inside. Didn%26#39;t even have to line up - what service. The airport is new and very impressive. I was expecting much worse.

Anyway, through customs, got our bags and exited to find our hotel pick-up. No-one appeared to be there to pick us up so we sat down, had a drink and waited for about 1/2 hour. Still no-one. Caught a taxi into town and went straight to the hotel (Villa Siem Reap). They didn%26#39;t have our booking. I had copies of email confirmation etc and everything was sorted out in about 10 minutes. Although we did have to move to another hotel for the last night, I%26#39;m certainly not complaining. It was a brand new hotel, not quite finished but absolutely stunning. Apart from one other lady we were the only people staying there and were treated like royalty. The owner (Anthony) even cooked my dinner for me. The bungalows are large and very well appointed. There is also a great pool in the middle of the resort. It is a bit out of town but it was so nice we didn%26#39;t mind.

We had a tuk-tuk driver for the duration of our stay. I had organised him before we left and he was waiting exactly where and when he was supposed to. Really lovely man who knew the best places to go and the best times. He made visiting the temples very easy. Our son also though riding around in the tuk-tuk very cool.

The first afternoon we went straight to Angkor Wat. Just unbelievable. I could have wandered around all day. Up to Phnom Bakheng to watch the sunset over Angkor, stunning.

Next day we went straight to Angkor Thom. Bayon is amazing. Sitting up the top watching all the tourists was surreal. Surrounded by the huge face carvings I felt like I was in Picnic from Hanging Rock, just needed the music. After all the temples in Angkor Thom we were off to Ta Prohm. My absolute favourite. We hired a guide to take us around and it really put a different perspective on things.

We managed most of the temples close to town but didn%26#39;t get to Bantaey Srei or Roulous. I guess I%26#39;ll just have to go back for that!

All in all I loved Siem Reap and would go back tomorrow. The temples are just amazing and I wish we had more time to explore. The Cambodian people are also just lovely. They were all so very kind and just love kids.

JBR 16-19 November

Glad you enjoyed Siem Reap and thanks for sharing with us.

Cheers Cathy

JBR 16-19 November

Thanks for posting your report - I enjoyed reading it. It%26#39;s too bad you didn%26#39;t get to Bantaey Srei or Roulous - you will definitely have to go back to see them!

Great first JBR!We are going to Siem Reap in Feb/March and can%26#39;t wait to see the temples. The tuk-tuk was better than an air con car? Not sure how we are going to get around yet so feedback is great. Glad you enjoyed your trip and thank you for reporting.

Cheers Vicki

Hi Headspin,

Great review. Can you tell me if The Villa Siem Reap has a pool? How hot was it while you were there?

Regards

Coop

Hi Vicki

We enjoyed the tuk-tuk, except for the few times it rained, you just seem more in touch with everything. Most people seem to prefer the tuk-tuk - didn%26#39;t see many tourists in cars but I guess that may be seasonal.

I also heard (don%26#39;t know how true this is) that if you travel by car with a driver they think you are ';really rich'; and up the prices a bit.

Hope this helps.

Sally

Hi Coop

No, The Villa doesn%26#39;t have a swimming pool. They can organise the use of a pool close by for about US5. We didn%26#39;t bother. Although it was pretty hot most of the time by the time we got back to the room and sat in the aircon for a while we didn%26#39;t miss it. I would stay somewhere with a pool if we had been there in the really hot months.

Cheers

Sally

Hey Wanna keepie,

I saw you last in the Vietnam forums and watched your blogs with interest, now we%26#39;re both in the Cambodia forums - must be a normal transgrestion? I am planning my trip to Cambodia later in 2009 so I will be interested in anything you have to offer.

Regards

Cooperellie

Hi Sally,

Great report - so pleased you loved Cambodia.

we%26#39;re planning a return visit for April 2010 - Cambodia kinda gets under your skin doesn%26#39;t it - and you are absolutely right- the people are just lovely

helen

Hi Helen

Thanks. Would love to go back next year and incorporate Vietnam.

Thanks also for the recommendation of Suwan. He was wonderful. He also said to say a big hello to you.

Best wishes

Sally

Headspin:

Nice report! Thanks for taking the time to prepare it. I%26#39;ve found the trip reports on TA to be extremely useful in finding out what to expect it a particular destination - especially our four trips to Asia. I%26#39;ve always taken the time to return the favor and prepare detailed reports on all our trips.