Trip Report

We recently visited Siem Reap arriving the evening of November 2 and leaving the morning of November 5. This was after spending 11 days in Bhutan. We arranged the trip through Pleseant Holidays which we have used for parts of our 2002 trip to China, our 2004 trip to India and Nepal, the Bangkok and Saigon portions of our 2006 trip that also included Nepal and Tibet. The local Siem Reap agency used was Indochina Travel services. We used Bangkok Airways for the trip from Bangkok. We arrived in Bangkok from Paro, Bhutan around 3:15 and had to go through immigration and reclaim the bags. The Bangkok Air checkin had one hitch as they wanted to charge for excess baggage. Fortunately we had joined the Bangkok Air frequent flyer program before we left, whick allowed us an aditional 20 pounds per person. Once this was pointed out everything proceeded smoothly. We used the bangkok Air lounge which has a nice assortment of snacks and soft drinks. It also had free internet which allowed us to catch up to things after Bhutan. The flight itself was on time and uneventful. I was amazed thay they serve a full snack for a 55 minute flight. I was very impressed with the Siem Reap Airport. It%26#39;s modern, the visa process took five minutes at most and the baggage was there within another 5 - 10 minutes. Our driver and guide were there at the exit and within 15 minutes we were at the Angkor Century Hotel. Check in was quick and the room was fine.

The next morning we enjoyed a great buffet that was several steps up from the breakfasts experienced in Bhutan. At 8:30 we were off to Angkor Tom after a very brief stop at the ticket center. There was quite a mob there but it was an interesting place to start. All the previous comments on this forum about being hasseled by sellers of various trinkets was all too true. This was after 11 days in Bhutan where we were not once approached by anyone other than to say hello! We had lunch at an open air restaurant accross from the Angkor Wat temple. It was fine and the Angkor beer was a welcome refreshment! We spent two hours at the Angkor Wat temple and it%26#39;s the real deal. Afterward, we deviated from the schedule and visited the newly opened national museum. It wasn%26#39;t part of our package so we paid a $12 admission. It%26#39;s well worth a visit as it gives a detailed breakdown on early Cambodian history and has some amazing exhibits that will greatly add to the understanding of the area. That night we took a ten minute walk to a restaurant down the street that for $12 offered an excellent buffet and cultural show. Sorry but I don%26#39;t remember the name.

We spent the next morning wisiting other temples that had more meaning after our museum visit. The afternoon was spent on the Tongle Sap Lake trip. It was interesting comparing it to the day trip we took to the Mekong Delta during our 2006 trip to Saigon. The trip to the lake reminded me of the Saigon area of 1969-70 as that part of Cambodia has not modernized as much as Vietnam. We spent the end of the day at the Artisans de Angkor which was interesting and had reasonably priced merchandise sold with any hassle.

We had a light dinner in the hotel and packed for our trip back to Bangkok and the US the next day.

The trip the next day to the airport was uneventful as was the check in. We were pre warned about the $25 departure fee. My wife browsed the Artisans de Angkor shop in the airport. The flight to Bangkok left and arrived on time. Unfortunately the same couldn%26#39;t be said for our Eva Air Flight to Taipei. Another story for another time!

In summary we were glad we did the trip. Indochina Travel did fine with the room, guide and driver. As other posters have said, you can probably do the temple visits with a tuk tuk driver and a guidebook if you have enough time. Given our limited time there we needed to make maximum use of our time.

Trip Report

Thank you for posting your excellent trip report. It is not often we have someone report who has used a tour company to organize their trip so it is useful for others considering whether to go the same route.

Trip Report

Thanks for taking the time to post your report. And thanks for reiterating the advantages of getting a FF card on the inter-asia airlines.

Thanks for the great trip report, appreciated all your details