Day 68 – Siem Reap (ms Amsterdam at Sea)

Day 68 – Mar 13 – Siem Reap (ms Amsterdam at Sea)

Planning for sunrise at Angkor Wat

Viewing a sunrise at Angkor Wat is popular but different than what you may be expecting.  For some sunrise events around the world, you can see the sun’s first bright rays as it breaks the horizon.  Due to the terrain and the ever-present haze, it’s unlikely you will see the sun actually break the horizon, but more likely you will see it appear as a red ball once it rises above the trees.  Viewing the sunrise here is not so much a visual spectacle as it is being a part of the serenity and ambiance of this shared event.

There are many different spots you can watch the sunrise, the most popular being on the west side of the north reflecting pool inside the Angkor Wat Compound.  I advise you to google “Angkor Wat sunrise” on You Tube and observe the sunrises and the crowds at the various locations.

My original plan was to climb to the top of the Phnom Bakheng temple for Sunrise.  Phnom Bakheng is a popular spot for the sunset viewing.  It is so popular and crowded that they limit the number of people which results in people lining up hours in advance of sunset to secure a spot.  Sunrise here is not very popular as it requires climbing up a rocky trail in near darkness using flashlights.  After discussing our sunrise viewing options with our guide, Rin Nom, we decided that navigating the rocky climb in poor light was probably not worth the effort, so we elected to go to a less popular / less crowded viewing spot outside the main Angkor Wat compound.

Here is a map that shows the location of the various sunrise viewing spots.

If you request a travel agency to put together an Angkor Wat tour package, be sure to specify if you want to view sunrise and if so, from what location.  If you want to get the best spot, along the water’s edge of the reflecting pool, you will have to buy your ticket the previous day.  This requires you to be at the Angkor Wat ticket office between 5PM and 5:30 PM when tickets for the next day are sold.

The major temples and the Angor Wat ticket office (4.5 miles from Angkor Wat) both open at 5 AM.  Sunrise is usually around 6:20 AM.  The earliest you could get to the Angkor Wat reflecting pool, if you buy your ticket the same morning, is probably 5:30 AM and the best spots may already be taken since the people who already have tickets will be able to enter Angkor Wat as soon as it opens at 5 AM.

Based on the above, we elected to view sunrise at a location on the west side of Angkor Wat on the edge of the surrounding moat (shown on the map).  We were able to park very close, sit down on a ledge and enjoy our breakfast box lunches while waiting.  There were probably only 10 other people within 50 yards of our spot.   If we went to the most popular spot, we would likely have to stand, shoulder to shoulder, and be constantly defending your turf against latecomers.   You may get lucky and pick a time with smaller crowds, but consider the possibility of crowds and plan accordingly.

The HAL tour to Angkor Wat didn’t offer a sunrise option, probably because the logistics of moving that many people, that early in the morning, were too daunting.

NOTE:  Each person must buy their own Angkor Wat ticket as they print the ticket with your picture so you aren’t able to transfer the ticket to anyone else.  This requires each person to walk to the ticket office window, get their picture taken, and then get their ticket.  Tour agencies can’t buy the tickets in advance for their groups.  The ticket office accepts credit cards.

Bottom Line – There are a lot of options for viewing sunrise at Angkor Wat – do your homework on the internet, watch the videos, read other blogs and make an informed decision about what spot is best for you.

Sunrise

We met our guide at 5 AM in the hotel lobby, picked up our waiting breakfast box lunches (provided by the hotel and included in our room rate) and headed out to the waiting van.  There wasn’t any line to buy tickets when we arrived at the Angkor Wat ticket office at 5:15 AM and we were back in the van by 5:30 AM.  A few minutes later, we stopped to show our tickets to the ticket control people at the various checkpoints leading into the Angkor Wat complex.  By the time we parked our van and walked a couple of hundred yards to our viewing spot, it was 5:50 AM.

NOTE:  You will be asked for your ticket numerous times during the day at various checkpoints.   I would bring a small zip-lock baggie to keep it dry otherwise your perspiration may get it soaked during the coarse of a hot day.

Throughout your visit to Angkor Wat, you will be approached by small children selling post cards and other trinkets, usually for an asking price of $1.  You will also come across numerous other teenagers selling books about Angkor Wat for $10.  Both the post cards and the books are of surprisingly good quality, so if you find either of them interesting they are a pretty good value.

It takes a few minutes after official sunrise for the sun to make its appearance over Angkor Wat.  It appears slowly thru the haze, first as a red ball, then gradually turning yellow and brighter, before it reaches full brightness and is impossible to view directly.

Visiting Angkor Wat

An hour after we arrived we headed over to the temporary floating bridge (that is in place until they finish restoring the original bridge), crossed the moat and entered the interior grounds of Angkor Wat around 7 AM.

We took about 2 hours to cover the ¾ of a mile from the outer edge of the moat to the base of the main Angkor Wat Temple.  Along the way we listened to our guide explain the various statues and engraved murals that cover the walls of the various rooms and buildings.  Depending on your interest level, you could cover this distance much more quickly, but we weren’t in any hurry and enjoyed the leisurely pace.  The temperatures were still comfortable and visiting the temples in the morning is far more pleasant than in the afternoon.

At the base of the main temple are a set of two very steep stairs that lead up to the upper level of Angkor Wat where you can walk around and view the area from this higher vantage point.  They limit the number of people on the upper level so there will probably be a line as you wait for others to come down before they allow more people to ascend the stairs.  The stairs are quite steep, and Judy elected to stay below while the 3 of us climbed the stairs and spent about 20 minutes exploring the upper level.

Around the base of the upper level we took some pictures with people dressed in traditional costumes who pose with visitors for a small donation.

There are two entrances to Angkor Wat, the western entrance across the floating bridge, or the eastern entrance which leads to an accessible road via a pleasant walk down a shaded path.  We left Angkor Wat using the east gate and met our driver at the pick-up spot outside the ticket checkpoint.  It was now 10:30 am so we spent almost 5 hours in and around Angor Wat.  You could probably cut this time in half if you walked faster and spent less time in each area and skipped a bathroom stop.

Angkor Thom

Our next stop was the largest temple in the Siem Reap area, Angkor Thom.  There are Asian elephants available for rides for $20 per person that operate from 8 AM to 10 AM.  We had planned to ride the elephants today, but because we spent longer than planned at Angkor Wat, we would have to postpone the elephant ride until tomorrow.

Outside the entrance to Angkor Thom are some hands-on exhibits which allow you to practice carving one of the stone facades or use a lever and pulley system to lift some of the heavy stones.

The highlight of your visit to Angkor Thom is the Banyon Temple.  Here you will find interesting face sculptures amongst the various rooms and open areas.  While there aren’t any steep stairs like at Angkor Wat, you will come across numerous sets of stairs with about 10 to 15 steps each and other entrances that require stepping over 1-2-foot-high thresholds.  There isn’t any accessible access so keep this in mind as you plan your visit.  If you stay outside, you can still see several of the sculptures and carvings without having to do many stairs.

We asked our guide to plan our visit to avoid the crowded times at the various temples and he was successful in coordinating our visit so we weren’t jammed in while walking around.  If you are not sure what you want to see in the Siem Reap area, share your priorities with your tour agency or guide and they will be able to help you better plan your visit.

We were getting tired, so we elected to go directly to our van and drive past the Elephant Terrace and other attractions in Angkor Thom.  If you have the time and energy, you could walk thru Angkor Thom and meet your driver on the other side of the temple.  This is another advantage of planning your own independent excursion with a smaller group – you have more flexibility to adjust your schedule on the fly.

On the way out of Angkor Thom we drove across the Rainbow Bridge which has sculptures of the good warriors on one side and the evil warriors on the other.

Balloon Ride over Angkor Wat

Before we returned to our hotel we stopped by the Angkor Balloon which is a tethered helium balloon that flies 100 meters (328 feet) above the ground for about 15 – 20 minutes.  The price is $20 per person.  The balloon will only fly in low winds and there are many days when it is not operating.  We saw the balloon during our 2016 visit, but we didn’t have time to work in a flight.  On this trip we scheduled it as part of our itinerary.

There wasn’t any line or anyone else in the area when we arrived.  It doesn’t appear that the balloon ride gets much business or maybe we caught them on a slow day.  Once you pay your admission, you walk about 150 yards out to the balloon and enter the semi-circular steel basket.  After everyone is inside, you get the safety briefing which consists of two words “Hold On!”

The operator releases the cable brake and the balloon rises slowly over the terrain.  It takes 2 or 3 minutes to reach the 100 meter maximum altitude.  The operator’s English is pretty much limited to “Hold On” so don’t expect any commentary about what you are seeing.

 

The view from 100 meters gave a good orientation to the surrounding area with a great view of Angkor Wat.  However, the haze is so thick that the visibility was less than 10 miles and it was difficult to make out many other features because everything was about the same dreary brown color.  Nevertheless, we had a good time and I would do it again.  I would suggest that you take a Siem Reap map to help orient yourself to the area.

Relaxing in the Afternoon

We returned to our hotel about 1:15pm and ordered some fish and chips to be delivered to our rooms.  On our previous trip we spent a few hours relaxing before heading out to visit some more sights around 3 pm.   Since we only had one day to tour on our last trip, we had little choice but to venture out into the afternoon heat.  This time, we had a second day to tour so we elected to spend the afternoon in the hotel and start touring again tomorrow morning.

I spent the afternoon relaxing in the room and taking a nap.  Judy took advantage of the complementary massage that was included in the price of the room.

Mystery Dinner

For dinner this evening we elected to try the hotel’s “Mystery Dinner”.  This was advertised as a progressive dinner where we would travel, via tuk tuk, to a different location for each course.  We incorrectly assumed that the mystery locations might be local independent restaurants, but it turned out that we traveled to the restaurants in the two other Golden Temple properties, the Golden Temple Hotel and the Golden Temple Retreat.  The food was fabulous and the experience of driving around Siem Reap at night in the tuk tuks was fascinating.

At the Golden Temple Hotel, we saw a few of the standard Aspara Dances.  Like I said earlier, you will find that you will see these dances almost everywhere you turn during the evening.  We enjoyed them the first time, but we wouldn’t go out of our way to see them again.

We are going to meet Rin Nom at 7 AM tomorrow, which while early, still beats the 4:30 AM wakeup call we had this morning.