Anyone that have a holiday in Cambodia will also visit Ankor Historical Park. Angkor Wat temple and the surrounding temples are best visited at sunrise and in the early morning and late in the afternoon time untils sunset. There are 2 reasons for this, the light creates a wholly different atmosphere, and it is not very hot. Break up your day and avoid the heat of the hot sun. Your pass will be valid for as many visits as you wish to make – so wake up early, and see the sites of Agkor wat area before it gets to hot. Then, mid to late morning, come back to your hotel in Siem Riep to relax in the heat of the day. Next, when the weather cools down, back to the temples for sunset. Take your time – if you decide to rent a bike (pedal or electric), this is the coolest ways to see the temples, and it gives you independence but if you are not used to riding in the hot environments it might be a bit hard. Just about everyone in around Angkor Wat is a “guide”. Moto Dub (motorbike taxis) will often tell you they are guides but just take you from one place to another place. Some guides from the guesthouses and hotels are so nice – but you should be careful, many of them have no idea and make things up, and some only reel out dates and figures.
A good guide book of the temples and history of Angkor Wat, or a nice Khmer vacation guide book will be really useful for historical background and also maps. After that, your personal intuition will be the best guide. Ensure that you drink plenty of water. It might get very and very hot, and it is so easy to desiccate. Soft drinks could be bought everywhere around the temple grounds although at a slightly higher price than in the city. Be cautious of ice from the stalls nearby the temples. If you want to eat around the temples, you could find small restaurants everywhere. Food is mostly local. If you want to eat western food, there are several restaurants near the main entrance to the templ. You should take insect repellant if you visit in the late afternoon. It is the best to wear a hat – if you do not have one, they are for sale at everywhere.
Put on decent footwear and be careful with your feet. Flipflops could seem more comfortable, but climbing around the the Angkor can be unsmooth, sweaty, sharp and some places too dusty. Traveling in Cambodia could be tough on the feet! If you are visiting Cambodia for more than one day, you must have a photograph for a multi day pass. Have a passport photo with you before you get to the temples. There is a facility to take pictures at the entrance, but there can be long queues. Make sure that take a lot of photos in this country, then sharing them with people in your country when you go back is a really good thing.
Martin Wynn
