3 December 2022, Saturday

Despite the “fiasco” of our La Residence Blanc D’Angkor hotel last night, the bed in the room was comfy and I slept pretty well. We checked out early at 7:05am to go to our new hotel for the next two nights, Angkor Paradise Hotel. It was only seven minutes away by bus, but a whole world of difference. Upon entering the lobby, all of us had the same thought: “We should have been booked in this hotel right from the start!”

Angkor Paradise Hotel’s lobby was big, grand and bright, befitting its 5-star status. As it was too early, our rooms were not ready yet so we went ahead with our breakfast. Before that, we deposited our luggage with the concierge, to be retrieved later in the evening after we returned from our day’s cycling. The dining hall was also very big and the buffet breakfast spread was impressive. With this positive turn of events, our moods lifted immediately. Thanks Hun for making arrangements to secure this hotel for us. All is forgiven!

This was actually my most anticipated day for the trip, because we would be visiting Angkor Wat and a couple of other temples. What made it exciting was that we would be cycling from temple to temple. During my visit in 2012, I hired a tuk tuk driver to tour the various temples over two days. Doing it on bicycle is way cooler!

At 8:10am, with our tummies full from breakfast, we hopped on the bus again and drove to the Angkor Ticket Office (click here), 10 minutes away. We registered at the counter and had our photos taken individually. Our personalised passes were ready 10 minutes later.

To visit the Angkor temples, you need to purchase a ticket/pass. There are three ticket categories: 1 Day (US$37/S$50.32), 3 Days (US$62) and 7 Days (US$72). Apparently, at the time of our visit, there was a promotion where we got an additional day free with the purchase of a 1-Day pass. Hence, we only needed a 1-Day pass even though we were touring the temples over two days. After getting our passes, we drove to our cycling starting point and started riding at 8:52am. Off we went!

We cycled on the main road for a short while before we hit the trails. The ground was quite bumpy and filled with puddles of water from the previous days’ rain. As we cycled through the forest, the terrain reminded me of MacRitchie Reservoir in Singapore, where I usually go for trail running. Here at Angkor, it felt like a mountain bike ride but without the hills.

At 9:30am, we reached a ticket inspection point, which was manned by a single officer. He checked our passes one by one. From the post, we cycled for another 10 minutes and reached the East Entrance of Angkor Wat. We parked our bikes here and walked to the main Angkor Wat complex. Of course, it would be super cool if we could cycle right up to the temple building, but that was not possible. To protect the sanctity of the place, bicycles, motorbikes, tuk tuks and cars are not allowed within the main temple complex.

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat 190m wide, extending 1.5km from east to west and 1.3km from north to south. There are two entrances – via an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west. As Angkor Wat is oriented to the west (unlike most Khmer temples), the main entrance is the West Entrance. The West Entrance is thus the more popular entrance, and it was the one I used when I visited in 2012. Most people also choose the West Entrance because they want to take the iconic photo of the sunrise behind the towers, with the reflection pool in the foreground. That was what I did in 2012, but unfortunately I didn’t manage to get a good sunrise shot because it was a cloudy morning.

The benefit of using the East Entrance this time round was that it was much less crowded. In fact, the route to the temple was very serene and beautiful. Mature trees towered around us while birds chirped happily away. The air was unpolluted and fresh, and the soft morning light made everything look extra magical.

After walking for 10 minutes, we caught sight of the famous Angkor Wat towers. From afar, only three of the five towers were visible because the towers are arranged in a quincunx geometric pattern, like the five dots on a dice. Even though I had visited Angkor Wat before, the scene before me still took my breath away, much like when I saw Taj Mahal for the very first time. Approaching Angkor Wat from the rear was even more special, and I highly recommend it.

For our visit to the Angkor temples, we had a guide called Vuthy to lead us through the vast complex and explain the history behind the temples. Vuthy told us that the five towers of Angkor Wat were supposed to represent the five peaks of Mount Meru, the sacred mountain of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmology.

Angkor Wat was constructed over 28 years during the 12^th century, from 1122 to 1150, making it almost 900 years old. The temple complex was constructed with sandstone transported down the river and then pulled to the site using elephants. Angkor means “city” and Wat means “temple”, referencing the fact that it was built by King Suryavarman II, who made it the state temple and political centre of his empire.

Angkor Wat was built originally as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. After the death of Suryavarman II, the Khmer empire was invaded by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmers. Jayavarman VII was crowned the new king after he led an army and defeated the Chams and restored the Khmer empire. Jayavarman VII was devoted to Buddhism and he established a new capital (Angkor Thom) and state temple (Bayon). Angkor Wat was then gradually converted into a Buddhist site, with many Hindu sculptures replaced by Buddhist art.

Angkor Wat was never truly abandoned but gradually fell into disuse and disrepair. It was rediscovered in 1860 by a French naturalist and explorer called Henri Mouhot, who popularised Angkor Wat in the West through the publication of travel notes. At the time, the temple was covered by jungle and maintained by Buddhist monks. The Cambodians didn’t really know about the temple’s history and thought it was created by the gods. After that, the locals started to learn about the history, decipher the Sanskrit language and translate the inscriptions. Restoration works started in the early 1900s and Angkor Wat was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.

Angkor Wat is also famous for its extensive bas-reliefs on the inner walls of the outer gallery. A 48.5-metre gallery depicts the Churning of the Sea of Milk, which tells the story about a deal reached between the asuras (power-seeking demons) and the devas (benevolent divine beings) to churn the sea of milk in order to extract the amrita (elixir) to drink to become immortal. Another 66-metre long gallery depicts Heaven and Hell. Seeing the intricate rock carvings up close with all its finer details was awe-inspiring.

From the outer gallery on the ground floor, we made our way to the central structure, which stood on a terrace and housed the central tower and four corner towers. To access the main sanctuary with the towers, we had to climb up a very steep staircase. This ascent symbolised the rise of the soul to Mount Meru. I spent about 15 minutes walking around the Bakan (central tower), taking photographs from many angles because it was just so beautiful.

Around 11:15am, we exited Angkor Wat via the front side of the temple to take some photos at the reflection pool before making our way back to our bicycles at the East Entrance. A platter of fresh fruits was waiting for us there, a welcome respite from the heat.

At 12:10pm, we hopped on our bicycles and started cycling. There was a proper, paved cycling path through the jungle and the route was well-shaded and very pleasant. After a short, 25-minute ride, we arrived at our next temple, Ta Prohm. We stopped at the East Entrance and were immediately surrounded by a swarm of hawkers selling T-shirts and magnets. They were quite persistent but we managed to fend them off.

Ta Prohm is probably the second most well-known temple after Angkor Wat. It was made famous after the release of the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, which included a scene of Angelina Jolie walking through the temple while surrounded by overgrown trees amid the ruins. This earned Ta Prohm the nickname “Tomb Raider Temple”. Apparently, Angelina Jolie paid US$10,000 per day to shoot the film here over a week.

Ta Prohm was built in the late 12^th century as a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of King Jayavarman VII. After the fall of the Khmer empire in the 15^th century, Ta Prohm was abandoned and neglected for centuries until it was discovered by Henri Mouhot in 1860, along with Angkor Wat and other temples in the area. I remember Ta Prohm was my favourite among all the temples I visited in 2012.

I loved Ta Prohm because I felt like it had been left in pretty much the same condition as it was when Henri Mouhot discovered it. The massive roots of the trees engulfing and swallowing the temple buildings was an awesome display of nature reclaiming its rightful place. Of course, much restoration work had been done to enhance the safety of the temple for visitors, but the works were done sensitively without diminishing the natural beauty of Ta Prohm.

It wasn’t super crowded during our visit so we were able to get some nice shots. However, it is best to visit Ta Prohm early in the morning, when the sun is low and casts beautiful shadows against the trees, adding to its mystique and creating an otherworldly experience.

We left Ta Prohm at 1:55pm and cycled to Phka Angkor Restaurant for our lunch. The restaurant was just five minutes away and it overlooked Srah Srang, a large rectangular reservoir measuring 700m by 350m. The food was very good, one of the best meals we had in Cambodia.

At 3:10pm, we resumed cycling. By this time, it wasn’t as hot anymore so it made for a really enjoyable ride. It was truly an amazing experience to ride through the Angkor area and see things from a different perspective, on wheels and with the breeze upon our faces. There were plenty of big trees lining the road and the entire area was covered with vegetation. There also weren’t many vehicles so it was very safe and nice to cycle on the road.

As safe as it was, accidents do happen, but it wasn’t due to cars or vehicles. I was behind them and I saw what happened. SN was cycling alongside RK and chatting away, but SN got too close to RK and their bicycles collided. Both of them fell and got injured. SN’s right elbow, knee and hip were slightly bruised but RK emerged worse off – he suffered cuts above his eyebrow, below his eye and on his nose bridge. 

Together with the rest of the group members who were cycling behind, I shifted SN’s and RK’s bicycles and moved them to the side of the road, out of danger’s way. I had with me a small first aid kit in my bag so I administered first aid and patched up their wounds. Thankfully, their injuries were not too serious and they were able to carry on. Nevertheless, it was a good wake-up call to always be alert and ride carefully.

At 3:45pm, we arrived at our last temple for the day, Bayon. The scene as we approached Bayon was just gorgeous. The temple was surrounded by big trees and vegetation all around. It was very serene and there weren’t many other people around, giving the illusion that we were stepping back in time, back to centuries ago.

Bayon was built during King Jayavarman VII’s reign and it was designated as the state temple, standing at the centre of the capital Angkor Thom. Concurrent with the beliefs of Jayavarman VII, Bayon was originally built as a Buddhist temple. The subsequent kings remodelled the temple to reflect their own religious affiliations, resulting in both the Buddhist and Hindu imagery that we see at the temple today. 

Bayon has a total of 54 towers, representing the 54 provinces of the Khmer empire at the time when Bayon was built. After the French colonised Cambodia, 29 provinces were lost to Vietnam and many more to Thailand. Thus, the Cambodia of today is much smaller than its heyday during the Khmer empire.

Each of the 54 towers is adorned with four smiling faces, one on each of the four sides of the tower. The 216 faces are believed to be that of the bodhisattva of compassion called Avalokitesvara, although there are also theories saying that the face is that of the Hindu deity Brahma, or even of Jayavarman VII himself. Like the enigmatic smiles of the faces, much of Bayon is still shrouded in mystery. Even the origin of Bayon’s name is up for debate.

The temple was originally called Jayagiri, which means “Victory Mountain”. According to Wikipedia and other websites, the name Bayon was later given by French explorers based on translation of the local language. However, Vuthy told us that Bayon was named for the huge banyan tree that was growing in front of the temple, a result of mispronouncing the name as Bayon instead of Banyan. This theory is plausible as Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment after meditating beneath a banyan tree.

Besides the smiling faces, Bayon is also known for its impressive bas-reliefs, which depict historical events like battles between the Khmer and Cham armies, as well as scenes of everyday life such as fishing, market activities and childbirth. There were interpretive boards to explain the different parts of the wall of the galleries, which aided further understanding.

We spent about an hour visiting Bayon. At 4:47pm, we left Bayon on our bicycles and ended our day’s cycling at 5:03pm. We then hopped on the bus and arrived at Angkor Paradise Hotel just before 5:30pm. We retrieved our luggage and officially checked in to our rooms. The room was nicely furnished (no creepy paintings on the walls here!) and the bathroom was huge. It felt so good to take a nice, hot shower.

At 7:27pm, we left our hotel for a short five-minute bus ride to our dinner venue, Crystal Angkor Restaurant (click here). It was quite a posh place, like a Balinese spa resort amid a garden setting. We were led to a dining hall with many long tables filled with other diners who were already seated. The hall was shaped like a ballroom, with polished wooden floor panels and a stage at one end.

We had barely taken our seats when music started playing and a lady dressed in traditional Khmer costume and headgear emerged on stage. Slowly, four other female dancers joined the stage while three musicians provided a live soundtrack with traditional music instruments – Roneat Ek (a wood xylophone), Gong (metal xylophone) and Sampho (two-sided drum). There was also a female vocalist off-stage, and later, five young men also joined in the performance.

This was the Apsara dance performance, a tradition stretching back a thousand years to the Age of Angkor when it was popular with Kings and common folks. The performance comprised of five acts – The Blessing Dance, Coconut Dance, Mekhala Dance, Fishermen’s Dance and Apsaras Ballet. Each Act showcases a different aspect of Khmer culture. For example, the Coconut Dance is performed in wedding ceremonies and it expresses joy in life and harmony amongst Cambodians.

Between each Act during the performance, we were served a four-course dinner comprising an appetiser of chicken banana blossom salad, pumpkin carrot soup, a main course of oven roast chicken and fried sweet & sour pork with rice, and a dessert of Khmer cake. The food and service were excellent. I happened to sit at the end of the table closest to the stage so I had the best view.

I enjoyed the dinner and performance thoroughly. Hun didn’t tell us anything about dinner so I totally wasn’t expecting an Apsara dance performance and in such a nice restaurant. Perhaps he was trying to make up for the hotel “fiasco” last night, but the dinner was a very pleasant surprise, so well done again, Hun.

The performance ended at 9pm and we took the bus back to our hotel. However, the night was still young and we didn’t cycle much today so we were still very energetic. A few of us decided to head out to Pub Street. I booked a Grab Remorque with AC, JNV and DP while GK, VG and SA took a separate tuk-tuk. Our Grab ride took six minutes and it cost 6,900 riels (S$2.34). By the way, there is a difference between a remorque and a tuk-tuk. A remorque is trailer attached to a motorcycle while a tuk-tuk is an auto-rickshaw. Now you know!

It was very happening when we arrived at Pub Street at 9:30pm because it was Saturday night, and the FIFA World Cup tournament was taking place. Flags of the different countries taking part in the World Cup hung across Pub Street and tables were set up in front of large TV screens broadcasting the football matches. Music blasted out of the pubs while tourists and hawkers selling fancy balloons occupied the main thoroughfare. The entire place was much livelier than when I last visited in 2018.

We simply walked around to soak up the atmosphere and weekend vibes. We passed by a stall selling ice-cream rolls and decided to get some. In the meantime, GK had his feet pampered at a fish spa, which involved dipping his feet into a tank full of small fish nibbling away at the dead skin of the feet. A sudden downpour sent us scampering to take shelter while we feasted on our ice-cream.

At 10:25pm, we hailed a remorque off the street to take us back to the hotel. It had been a wonderful day in Siem Reap. Even though we didn’t cycle much today (only around 24km), I really enjoyed visiting the Angkor temples again, this time from a different perspective and with a group of friends. The sit-down dinner and Apsara performance was a bonus treat too. One last day to go. Let’s make it a great one!