We had a dream and it was called Angkor Wat. We fulfilled this dream during our second Thailand trip. We booked this one in Bangkok and headed to Siem Reap.
A good advice for you: Whatever you’re trying to organize, don’t book at home. When there, you’ll find plenty of offers and they’re a lot cheaper than booking before. We tried all kinds of possibilities and it turned out the flight to Thailand is way cheaper than to Cambodia. And as said, here you’ll find lots of tour providers which give you good value for your money.
Cheaper than Thailand
For two nights in a very clean, comfy and beautiful hotel including the trip there and back, breakfast and an own Tuk Tuk driver for the whole day, we only paid around €100 for two persons. Entrance fee for Angkor Wat was 10€ by that time.
Who thought it couldn’t be cheaper than Thailand will be surprised when in Cambodia. You can get a lot of luxury for incredible prices. Of course, this means this country is even poorer than Thailand. First world kids will be very surprised seeing all this.
Crossing the border – exhausting
Observing the busy on-goings at the border was really exciting. Some people pass the border by handcarts. Bargainers taking their chance to make some money with tourists. Gas stations which definitely don’t look like gas stations.
No, everything was not perfect here. You need a visa and a passport at least six month valid when entering Cambodia. We paid the visa when booking the tour. Actually there wasn’t anything left to do for us. But it was hot and humid, the place smelled disgusting and we had to walk across the border.
After a three hour drive from Bangkok, we were hungry and not knowing what is going on or when to continue the trip, we became a little bit angry. But hey, is there something we wouldn’t have done to see Angkor Wat?!
It was exhausting, but actually quite good organized. This is something everyone with a little bit of English skills can do. It’s a lesson for life nevertheless.
Angkor What?!
Somehow we finally managed to arrive at our hotel. After a fresh shower, we headed to Siem Reap, a little village toffed up for the many visitors. We wanted food and good beer – and we found it!
We saw this amazing bar called ‘Angkor What?!’ and we had to sit down here just because of its name. It was a very relaxed place. I think there’s a lot going on at nights.
Afterwards, we thought we should have stayed longer in Cambodia.
Safety instructions by the department of foreign affairs
Before coming to Cambodia, you should inform yourself at the homepage of the department of foreign affairs in your country. Especially the tensions at the border region between Thailand and Cambodia still exist.
The trip back to Bangkok was similar exhausting. We shared a van with Japanese boys, all backpackers, obviously on the road for a long time then and smelling weird. They were sleeping all the time. The streets were deadbeat and the smashing of their heads towards the windows and their seat’s head piece didn’t seem to bother them too much. We just hoped, they were alive. But it was just too funny. And priceless.
On the road we could observe Cambodian mass transportation system. Not possible in Germany. But hey, that’s what we were here for!
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