An overnight stopover in Singapore - we stayed at a hotel close to the airport as we were back on an early flight next morning to Siem Reap.
A couple of hours free time so took an exciting tuk-tuk ride to the Old Market, then had lunch at the atmospheric FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) near the river
Off to see the sunset at the main atttraction Angkor Wat, but the whole complex of ancient temples is enormous, so in fact we spent the next day as well exploring the area starting with sunrise at the main temple, then moving on to the South Gate, Bayon Temple (giant faces), Ta Prohm (massive tree roots & other vegetation covering the temple ruins) & Banteay Srei (a delicate pink sandstone complex).
A moving visit to the Sunrise Children's Village orphanage, on to Tonle Sap, the huge lake where we travelled aroung the floating villages & fishing farms by boat, then more shopping back in town. Amazing value for all sorts of silk & artisan goodies.
Each night we dined & stayed at a different hotel as well as inspecting several others, invariably the standard was good & the value for money in the area exceptional.
A 6 hour road journey to Phnom Penh - many people choose to fly but even though it was a bit rough I found it a great opportunity to really see how life goes on in the villages along the way. We stopped in Skuon to stretch our legs - it had a fascinating market with the local specialties of cashews & fried spiders well represented!
In Phnom Penh we were given a crash course in both ancient & more recent Cambodian history with visits to the National Museum & Royal Palace, then more shopping at the Russian Market - gemstones apparently good buying in the area here as well.
A late evening flight back home via Singapore again.
Cambodia trip notes
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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2025-02-12