After a tiring first day in the Angkor Wat complex, we are rested, rehydrated, and ready to go.
Day two turned out to be our longest day exploring the temples. The temperature was a bit cooler, we drank more water, took two breaks for smoothies, and – perhaps most importantly – we went to a lot of places.
Surprisingly, we discovered that the easiest way to cool off is from the breeze generated by riding in a remorque for an extended period of time.
Our morning started at Pre Rup, followed by East Mebon, Ta Som, and Neak Poan. Not wanting to overdo it, we told our driver that we were taking an extended break to get cold mango smoothies before going to more temples that afternoon.
As an aside, most of the larger temples have nice, clean restrooms on site. You never have to worry about your next restroom break.
The afternoon began at Preah Khan which – along with Bayon, Ta Prohm, and Ta Som – was one of our favorite temples.
From there we returned to Angkor Thom to explore Baphuon, Phimeanakas, Preah Palilay, the Terrace of the Leper King, and the Terrace of the Elephants. We spent about two hours exploring this section of Angkor Thom.
Baphuon has, by far, the steepest set of stairs in the Angkor complex. They’re basically ladders. If you are afraid of heights or ladders, then you won’t need much time at this temple. I had zero problems heading to the top. Stephanie, who went up and down the steep stairs at Angkor Wat just fine, did not even attempt these.
Phimeanakas is really only notable for being within the walls of the Royal Palace built by King Suryavarman I in the 11th century. Angkor Thom, the surrounding city, was later built by King Jayavarman VII in the 12th century.
After another mango smoothie break at the large strip mall across the street, we finished up in Angkor Thom about 4:15 PM. Our driver suggested that we watch sunset from Phnom Bakheng, a nearby temple atop the only hill of note in the area. Sunset was not until 6:15 PM, and we were not enthused about sitting around for hours waiting on it. But we wanted to see Angkor Wat from above, so up the hill we went.
Phnom Bakheng is reached after an easy fifteen to twenty minute walk up a gently sloping trail. We reached the top of the hill at about 4:45 PM. The view was nice, though Angkor Wat was farther away than we realized.
A small crowd was already starting for form for sunset. The best seats on top of the temple were just about taken. We opted not to wait another hour and a half for sunset and headed down the trail about fifteen minutes later.
We passed hundreds of people heading up the trail. Hundreds. There is no doubt that Phnom Bakheng was completely overrun by tourists by 5:15 PM, a full hour before sunset. We were so glad that we did not stay for sunset. It would have been miserable.
Just as every tour group seemingly begins the morning with sunrise at Angkor Wat, they end the day with sunset at Phnom Bakheng. I’ve never seen so many tuk-tuks and sprinter vans in one place as the parking area outside Phnom Bakheng.
We got back to our hotel about 5:30 PM and, again, reassured our driver that we really did not want to see sunrise at Angkor Wat the next morning.
Our third day was by far the easiest. We only went to smaller temples, including two that were pretty far away from the main Angkor complex. A lot of time was spent just riding around in the remorque watching people go about their everyday lives.
Banteay Samre was our first stop for the day. It is pretty nice, but appears to have been substantially rebuilt based on the color of the stones.
From there it was off to Banteay Srei, a good forty-minute drive away from the main Angkor complex. This small Hindu temple was built in the early 10th century out of red sandstone. It is covered with intricate carvings, giving it a very distinctive and different look from the other temples.
It also has the most modern infrastructure around it, with a small museum, gift shop, parking lot, and a nice restaurant. We used this opportunity to take our first mango smoothie break of the day before making the long drive back to the main complex.
Our day ended with stops at Ta Keo, Sa Tevoda, and Thommanon. Ta Keo is similar to Bauphon in that the main temple is shaped as a large pyramid with steep stairs to the top … and nice views once you get up there.
Sa Tevoda and Thommanon are the two smallest temples that we visited over the three days. Both are essentially at ground level, requiring zero energy or climbing skills to enjoy.
Before finishing up, our driver implored us to go to a “real village” to see life in Cambodia. We politely declined. We’ve been to several “real villages” on this trip and, quite honestly, not one of them seemed entirely genuine.
In lieu of a “real village” our driver offered take us to a local market where the goods sold are made by hand by Cambodians, unlike the Chinese machine-made mass market trinkets sold in the touristy area. Again we declined, assuring him that we had no intention of buying any Chinese made trinkets either.
Our three day tour wrapped up on day three at about 3:00 PM, giving us plenty of time to enjoy the rooftop pool before dinner.
We have a few more days in Siem Reap before heading back to the United States. We quickly learned that Siem Reap is built around tourism for Angkor Wat and there is little else to do here.
In fact, Siem Reap is the most touristy city we visited on this trip. By far. It has a large, very western, touristy area straight out of Las Vegas – neon signs, restaurants, bars, and gift shops. In some ways it’s pretty disappointing. We didn’t come here to get a taste of American tourist hell.
Compounding our disappointment is the fact that the cheap draft beer on tap at these places is Anchor Smooth, which neither of us will drink even if it is under $1 a pint. This may be the first time ever that we have not been able to take advantage of happy hour.
During our last few days in Siem Reap we sat by the pool doing nothing, leaving our hotel only to seek out cheap western food for lunch and dinner. Western food is now mandatory because our bodies absolutely refuse to ingest another morsel of rice or noodles.
We ended up blowing our food budget at Our Place, Doner Station 1, New York Bagels, Jungle Bar, Angkor Tacos, and Burger King. This is when tourist hell actually worked in our favor. It is easy to find a wide variety of western food in Siem Reap.
After four countries and eleven cities in three months, our time in southeast Asia has come to an end. Three flights over four days (via Kuala Lumpur with a one day stopover in Istanbul, Türkiye) will return us to Miami, Florida.
Garrett and Stephanie
If you have not already done so, read our other post about Angkor Wat:
Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia (March, 2025, Part I).
For additional posts about Cambodia, or elsewhere in the world, check out our Travel Blog. It contains collected links to all of our travel posts.
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