20October2025 Siem Reap, Cambodia: Angkor Wat: Saving the Best For Last?
I have visited Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and now Cambodia. I have witnessed and experienced an incredible amount and the question that faces me is Angkor Wat the actual highlight of this tour? Impossible to answer although it was the destination of overwhelming attraction and the hook reeling me onto this tour. An ancient city. An ancient civilization. I have visited the Acropolis of Athens and of Lindos, Tulum, Chichen Itza and Ephesus and all said and done Angkor Wat has been the most impressive.
On the bus at 07:00 after a quick breakfast. The Cambodian food at the breakfast buffet appears to have been sitting for some time. It could be attributed to the Americans staying here reluctant to experiment outside their full American breakfast. IHOP in Cambodia!
We arrived in the cool of the morning at Angkor Wat and it was surprisingly quiet for such an international destination. Sprayed up with DEET for malaria avoidance. By the time our tour had finished at 11:30 it was steaming hot. Advice received was do not feed the monkeys or you will face aggressive greed. Any monkeys seen this morning were minding their own business off in the distance. They may have been discussing the Cambodian-Thai border skirmishes.
It would be fruitless to describe the site in any detail. As pre disco Rod Stewart sings “Every picture tells a story don’t it”. I will say it is huge and well restored. This UNESCO World Heritage site is breathtaking. Built in the 12th century it is the largest temple in the world and the crown jewel of the temples that sit within the 155-square-mile Angkor Archaeological Park. Built by King Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, the temple eventually filled with Buddhist elements as the new religion spread through the empire. The main temple, with its central tower rising to a height of 213 feet, was designed to represent Mount Meru, the home of the gods in Hindu mythology. One of the temple’s highlights are the bas-relief murals depicting historical events and various scenes from Hindu mythology and are considered some of the finest examples of Kymer art.
The intense heat and humidity necessitated a soft drink stop at a site concession before boarding the bus to an artisanal noodle making business run by a local family. It was in a village where feral dogs roamed, Children were seen in bare feet and selling cheap trinkets. Traditional rice noodle making is a laborious process which we watched from start to finish These artisanal noodles are sought throughout the world. We had a light rice-based lunch including curried rice noodles, puffy rice cakes and a variety of rice-based desserts. It was excellent and ABC International, our tour company permitted one soft drink per person! Of course in true ABC International spirit, beer was out of pocket. Several children approached us while boarding our bus offering cheap trinkets. Our tour director discretely slipped each of them a few American dollars widely accepted and welcomed in Cambodia.
Before returning to Sofitel we stopped at an artisanal workshop which due to the bus parking spots outside its entrance resembled a “tourist trap” but the wares including silks, leather and carvings were of impeccable quality made by local artisans and designed to foster economic benefits for the local economy. Impressive wares but who has room for souvenirs of any weight.
The evening option was to a “Cambodian circus” consisting of captivating choreography, story telling and folk music. No lions or chained bears here.
A late dinner at the restaurant at Sofitel for Cambodian Beef Lok Nok and rice (of course) on the side. Cambodian men eat 250 kilos of rice a year and women 190! Excellent and complimented perfectly with a glass of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. Watched a terrible Ringo Starr concert on a really poor large screen television.
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