Don't Fear the (Siem) Reaper

Siem Reap is a delightful Cambodian city full of nice restaurants and fancy hotels. It is frequently frequented by tourists, as it is home to Angkor – an ancient temple complex built by the Khmer civilisation between 800 CE and 1400 CE. The Khmer, not to be confused with the genocidal Khmer Rouge, controlled a large part of what is now Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. They left behind a legacy of magnificent stone temples, which were built for their kings, in the capital of their kingdom – Siem Reap.

We did the standard tuk-tuk tour of the temple complex, which started with seeing sunrise over Angkor Wat. Unfortunately the cloud gods were against us and the sun wasn’t visible. It was still worthwhile though as we got a head start on the ever increasing temperature of the day.

Hundreds of tourists gathered for the same view.
One guy proposed just behind where we were standing!

The decoration is very intricate

We stopped at a bridge lined with huge headless statues.
Conquerors cut off the heads of idols in the temples.

Angkor Wat is the trademark temple because it is one of the biggest and the grandest from afar (when there isn’t scaffolding.) It floats on a body of water that is kept filled by a nearby man-made reservoir and connecting river. What a feat of engineering. Each temple was designed and built in under 60 years – cathedrals in Europe took 200 years during this period, and are significantly smaller.

What has always struck me about Angkor is the size of the complex – it is just huge, dwarfing every other temple complex we have been to. We next visited our favourite temple of the day – Bayon. The face carvings are so detailed and it is really freaky how many faces you see when staring at it.

Handsome trio

How many faces can you spot?

Around Bayon are a couple of other smaller, pretty temples that are mostly in ruins. There is also a nearby wall of rock carvings known as the Elephant Terrace – this was quite long and very impressive.

Katie's attempt at an elephant impression!

The next temple is known as the Tomb Raider temple (real name: Ta Prohm) because part of the film was shot there. The temple is fascinating because parts have been engulfed by huge trees and their roots. It was a much grander version of the tree house in Taiwan (Here). Another reason this is so very interesting is because every nook and cranny is different. Therefore exploring the temple in its entirety is very rewarding.

Notice the feet...

This ruin had even been semi-restored

We saw, but didn’t climb the steep temple because of Katie’s fear of heights and my not having been that impressed by it last time. We did do one more temple that was a little different from the standard tour – the sunset temple. It started pouring down though so we didn’t spent too long there, but we did get a good view of Angkor Wat.

Shame about the poor visibility

The rest of our time in Siem Reap was spent eating, wandering aimlessly, and visiting the night market. The night market was quite upscale and both of us kind of felt a little marketed out by this point. We didn't indulge in the $1 hour-long massages that were on offer every few meters, but maybe our scepticism was misplaced. Still, $1?!

We left Siem Reap and Cambodia after experiencing the visual delight of Angkor. We had spent two weeks in Cambodia and it had been wonderful. The markets in Phnom Penh, the beach in Sihanoukville and the ruins in Siem Reap had all given us a lovely impression of the country. I realised that I would be happy to return to Cambodia for a third time, one day.

Costs (per person)

Sihanoukville to Siem Reap Bus = $10 (£7)

Siem Reap Hotel Double AC per room = $13 (£9)

Angkor tuk-tuk sunrise tour = $15 (£10)

Angkor one-day ticket = $20 (£13)

Siem Reap to Bangkok Bus = $9 (£6)

If I Had a Mistress She'd be Called Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang, in Laos, had been my fave place on my last trip to SE Asia so my expectations were very high, and these expectations were transferred to Katie. Luckily we weren’t disappointed – Luang Prabang is as gorgeous as ever!

There are too many reasons to love this place, it’s insane. For instance, there are monks everywhere – more orange than when the Netherlands plays football. There are dozens of temples littered all over the city and the styles are all different to one another.

6am monk march!

A mosaic-covered temple building

A close-up of said mosaic

The street food is AMAZING for silly prices… The fruit shakes are simply sublime. The coffee in Laos is also delicious.

Best coffee in town!

I will always dream of Luang Prabang fruit shakes

The night market is incredible and quite unique – less “same same” and more “but different”.

What else is great about Luang Prabang? There are the most spectacular waterfalls nearby – Kuang Si. These are, without question, the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever come across in Asia… and the rest of the world. We rented a motorbike and drove the (fairly) scenic route up there – check out the photos and have your mind blown! And for the record, it’s definitely not man-made.

Spectacular

Serene

Amazing

Playful

Exciting

Sculpted

We also rented a boat and a local man took us on a lovely ride down the river. We saw locals playing in the water, beautiful rolling hills and had a very enjoyable and romantic time – how very un-SobCoe.

I don’t know what else to say but that you should check out all the aforementioned things, especially the waterfalls, and I must insist you visit Luang Prabang.

Costs (per person)

Laos Visa = $37 (£25)

Bus from Phonsavan to Luang Prabang = 110,000 Kip (£8.80, $13)

Boat Ride 1 Hour = 60,000 Kip (£5, $7.50)

Luang Prabang Double Room AC per room = 85,000 Kip (£7, $10)

Motorbike Rental = 70,000 Kip (£6, $9)

Bus from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng = 110,000 Kip (£8.80, $13)

Ubud is a Shud

Our journey to Ubud, in Bali, on a moped didn’t start well with a police stop (for being foreign) resulting in a £300 fine that I managed to haggle down to under £10 – I was dead impressed by my skills. This sour start didn’t spoil the fantastic ride from Sanur to Ubud though. What should have been a mere 45 minute ride turned into an epic three hour journey due to our indirect route through stunning scenery and temples pulling us over so we could take a better look. The thing that struck us about the temples in Bali / Indonesia was the vast difference in design from other temples in SE Asia. Most were made of stone and a lot of them were very intricately designed. If I was to draw any comparison, it would be to Angkor in Cambodia, which I visited three years ago and which we will be returning later on this trip.

When we arrived, we found a run-down motel that seemed to be the only budget option available. Our first room had a giant gecko in it.

Our second room would be politely described as basic and is probably the worst place we have stayed in on this trip. However for $10 (in Bali), including a nice breakfast, I guess you can’t complain. We explored the touristy town of Ubud, seeing lots of monkeys outside the appropriately named monkey forest. We also saw some bizarre traditional outfits and masks for sale.

We spent that evening watching a traditional dance – it was very unusual and full of women making crazy hand movements with even crazier eyes. This was really quite a bizarre experience - watch the video!

The second day we rode around for hours, getting lost and soaking up this new and exciting culture.

Some wonderful stone designs.

Locals carried all sorts on their heads, no matter how big!

We went to Guning Kawi, a temple complex over a millennia year old, which we very much enjoyed.

We had to cover our knees.

Such a beautiful place!

Ubud had successfully altered our perception of Bali – we were finally impressed and began to appreciate Indonesia’s fascinating culture.

Costs (per person)

Ubud Hotel per room = 100,000 IDR (£6.80, $10)

Bike Rental per day = 60,000 IDR (£4, $6)