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cambodia

Cambodia: Bayon temple – the one famous for stone faces

By Mithun Divakaran
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Sep 20, 2019
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Cambodia, Travel

Date: 13 May 2018

We began our day with a visit to Cambodia’s national monument, Angkor Wat. After spending around two hours there, our motor tricycle (“tuk tuk”) driver took us to the next stop on our tour of Angkor Archeological Park.

Balustrade bridge Siem Reap — This was a bridge en route

Balustrade Angkor Siem Reap — More headless statues here, some stolen or lost

Balustrade head statues Cambodia — Now, many of these heads are getting replaced

Bayon gate Cambodia — If you haven’t noticed it, these faces are a prominent feature of Bayon. This is just one of the gates surrounding Bayon temple.

Bayon temple Angkor Cambodia — That’s Bayon

Our driver dropped us off outside the temple. We had a quick lunch, sitting under an eatery’s umbrella, as it had started to rain.

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Cambodia: Visiting Angkor Wat

By Mithun Divakaran
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Aug 28, 2019
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Cambodia, Travel

Date: 13 May 2018

We arrived in Siem Reap yesterday and after a good night’s sleep, it was another early wake up today. We would be visiting Cambodia’s national icon — the world famous Angkor Wat temple complex. I wanted to visit Angkor Wat (“wat” is Khmer/Thai for ‘temple’) to catch the sunrise but my girlfriend was not very keen on waking up at 4am to try and get inside Angkor Wat as soon as the gates open at 5am. But when I got there later, in a way it wasn’t a major miss… and you’ll understand why later in the post.

If you do wish to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat, here are some tips. Gates open at 5am but you do have the option to buy tickets the day prior. The Angkor Park ticket counter is a few kilometers outside the temple complex.

So first calculate the distance from your hotel to the Angor Park and see how long it will take you to get there.

You have three different ticket options:

1 Day ($37): This ticket is valid only on the day of purchase.
3 Days ($62): This ticket is valid for 10 days from the date of purchase. You have the option to choose which three days you wish to visit the Angkor temples.
7 Days ($72): This ticket is valid for one calendar month from the date of purchase. You have a whole month in which to visit the Angkor temples on the seven days of your choice.

Entry tickets sold after 5pm are valid for the following day. So you can purchase the 1 Day pass the day prior this way. The Angkor Park ticket counter is open from 5am to 5:30pm daily. Those are more or less the timings for Angkor Wat as well.

Trike to Angkor Wat — We booked a tricycle taxi via our hotel to pick us up, drive us between the temples and then drop us back. Cost us $15.

Angkor Park ticket counter Siem Reap — This large complex is the ticket counter for Angkor Wat. There are many, many temples and structures inside the Angkor Archaeological Park — which is why they sell 3 and 7-day passes. You just cannot see it all in one day.

Angkor Enterprise Siem Reap — Angkor Enterprise is the official name of this building. By the way, there is a dress code enforced inside Angkor Wat. No revealing clothing and visitors must wear knee-length clothing and shoulders must be covered

Ticket rules Angkor Wat temple — Ignore the closing time mentioned above, the ticket office closes at 5:30pm. Another sign board stated the same.

You have many counters to purchase tickets from (using cash and credit card) but expect it to be busy as you are not the only one who knows about the whole “catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat” experience. Once you have your tickets, you have to then get to Angkor Wat which is a 15-20 minute drive to the main entrance of the temple.

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