Siem Reap, Cambodia

Few experiences compare to watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat—it’s a memory you’ll carry for a lifetime. We are so fortunate that we got to witness this. In Jan 2025, my husband and I were going to spend some time in Vietnam and we decided to spend 4 days in Siem Reap, Cambodia too.

We landed in Siem Reap in the evening and got settled into our beautiful hotel. We decided to stay at a boutique hotel which was about 10mins walking distance from Pub street. We went for a walk at their night market and around Pub street. We enjoyed food at one of the street stalls, ate some fried noodles with Cambodian beer and it was delicious.

The nice breeze, great walk, delicious food and beer, just settled us in from the first minute.

Important to Note:

There are two ways to experience Angkor Wat: Explore on your own by purchasing your entrance pass and hiring a tuk-tuk, or join a guided tour (your entrance ticket is still required). Since it was our first visit, we chose the guided tour. Having an expert explain the history and significance of the temples made the experience much more enriching and worthwhile.
You must have your individual passes, as that have your Photo and information on it. Printouts are not required, just keep them on your Phone. The government website does not work perfectly so I would say be patient and give it a few tries.
You can choose to buy one day pass, 3 days or more passes. This is totally upto you. if you want to see Sunset and Sunrise at Angkor Wat then I would recommend getting more days pass.

Day 1

Angkor Wat is actually the name of just one massive individual temple. However, the broader Angkor Archaeological Park(the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire) has over 1000 temples and ruins scattered. Our guide picked us up in morning in small mini bus and we were going to be a group of 9 travelers.

Day 1 was the foundation. We saw temples like Pre Rup, Near Poan, North Baray, Preah Krann and Banteay Srei Temple among others.

All the temples we saw on day 1 were beautiful. Our guide was very informative and he shared a lot of history of Cambodia, Siem Reap and temples in general.

Pre Rup – A 10th-century temple mountain known for its striking red sandstone and panoramic views. It’s one of the best places in Angkor to watch the sunset.
Neak Pean – A small island temple set in the middle of a tranquil reservoir, originally built as a symbolic healing sanctuary representing the sacred Himalayan lake.
North Baray – One of the largest ancient reservoirs of the Khmer Empire, showcasing the remarkable hydraulic engineering that sustained the civilization around Angkor.
Preah Khan – A vast monastery and temple complex built by King Jayavarman VII. Its maze of corridors, towering trees, and intricate carvings make it one of Angkor’s most captivating temples.
Banteay Srei – Often called the “Jewel of Khmer Art,” this beautifully preserved 10th-century temple is famous for its exquisite pink sandstone and some of the finest carvings in Cambodia.

After our long day, our guide took us at a spot to see the Sunset. While it was really nice to hang out and see Sunset from such a high point but it was very crowded and you have to get there at least 45mins in advance which means the place was pretty packed. We enjoyed the Sunset views and then headed to Pub Street for much needed food and beers break to call it night later on.

Day 2

This was going to be our Sunrise and first view of Angkor Wat temple and also the Ta Prohm temples. We were going to leave our hotel at 4:30am and our guide recommended that we request the hotel to keep our breakfast ready to go. They packed us a delicious breakfast box of Croissant, Pastries, toast and some juice. We devoured that during our bus ride to Angkor Wat. The photo is not touched or filtered, this is how beautiful it looks in morning. After the sunrise, our guide took us inside the temple and we walked for a few hours.

Angkor Wat - The temples of Angkor were the beating heart of the mighty Khmer empire between the 9th and 15th century. The iconic Angkor Wat was constructed in the early 12th century as a vast, symbolic Hindu mountain dedicated to Vishnu before transitioning into a major Theravada Buddhist center.

Ta Prohm Temple - It was built in 1186AD and was originally named Rajavihara, Monastery of the King. Designed as a massive Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university, it was dedicated to the king’s mother. Unlike many of Angkor’s cleared and restored monuments, it is famously known for being left in a jungle-choked state of ruins. It got its popularity from Tomb Raider Temple” in the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

We officially finished our trip here and our entire group decided to meet at Pub street for some catch up and much needed drinks and food.

Day 3

We really recovered and rested here. We had an early morning with late breakfast and we headed to walk the old town. Today’s focus was to enjoy Spa, delicious Khmer Food and some nice drinks. We went to a Spa called Bodia Spa and enjoyed the much needed 3hours treatments. I loved their body products and ended up purchasing their Rice scrub and serums.

I had found a Bar called Miss Wong Cocktail Bar from the World’s best 50 discovery and decided to visit that place in evening. It is so gorgeous, my husband and I had the best evening. We stayed for a couple of hours and enjoyed a bottle of wine.

We had made reservations at a Khmer restaurant called, Chanrey Tree. A must visit for all the ambience, service and food. We will definitely come back here to eat.

One last thing, I would call out is that there many streets and places to shop in Siem Reap downtown, I would highly recommend going to Made in Cambodia market. It’s very small but you get very good products/souvenirs.

With our heart and tummies full, we got ready for our travels to Hanoi.