siem reap / angkor, cambodia
During my trip through Asia with Remote Year, a few of us decided to spend a few days in Siem Reap for our transition between Vietnam + Thailand. We only had a few days and I was working nights at the time, so we didn’t exactly get to do everything , but it was still 100% worth the trip.
getting to cambodia
Cambodia requires a visa for US citizens to visit, you can apply online for an e-visa here. I think there may be visa on arrival available (don’t quote me on that, do your own research) but I recommend applying ahead. The application was painless, I was approved within a couple days, and it makes passport control a breeze.
We flew into Siem Reap International Airport, which is about an hour drive from the main tourist area of Siem Reap. We used Grab (uber for southeast asia, if you’re going to this part of the world make sure to download it!!) to get a ride to our Airbnb. Our driver was super friendly and gave us his contact info for visiting Angkor Wat, which was really helpful especially since we were a group of 6 and he had a large vehicle.
Currency: Cambodia has a unique dual currency system, where both Cambodian riels and US dollars are used at most areas in the major cities (1 USD = 4 RHL). ATMs will almost always dispense dollars. We did run into a problem, however, where the ATMs only gave $100 or $50 bills and most restaurants and shops wouldn’t accept bills that large. So my recommendation would be to either bring cash including smaller bills with you if you’re coming from the US, or make a quick small purchase at a 7/11 or convenience store to break the big bills after you withdraw them. Cambodia has also been phasing out use of small bills ($1, $2 and $5) since 2020, so many times you’ll pay in dollars and receive change in riels, or need to figure out a mix of the two to get to a proper cash total. Keep that calculator app ready!
where we stayed / getting around
Our group of 6 rented this airbnb, and it was perfect. It has 4 extremely spacious rooms, each with their own AC unit and full bathroom. It was walled in with a large gate we could lock and felt very safe. The pool is great but all the common space is outdoors, so make sure to stock up on bug spray. It was a little bit out from the main touristy area of Siem Reap, not in a particularly walkable area. But our host gave us a number to call to order tuktuks and offered help booking rides and tours, which was extremely helpful.
I would probably recommend staying closer to the central area of Siem Reap purely for accessibility, but overall we didn’t have any issues getting around. Tuktuks were relatively cheap, especially since we almost always traveled in a group or as pairs, and easy to find. Even without the contact info from our host we were able to easily use Grab to book rides.
what we did
To be fully honest, not a ton. I was working nights from 9pm–5am, we had just spent the most insane month of our lives in Vietnam, and it was HOT AS F*CK. Like 100ºF and humid everyday, and we were there in late November. So a lot of time was spent catching up on sleep, lounging, and taking things slow. We spent one day wandering around the central area looking through local markets and shops (in particular any that had AC) followed by a massage (highly recommend this place, it was lovely). And we spent one day seeing the temples at Angkor (more below), although I wish I would have had time to go back for another day or two.
At night, after it thankfully cools down a bit, Pub Street gets poppin. It’s definitely super touristy but we had a ton of fun bar hopping, enjoying the nightlife, and chatting with other travelers.
visiting Angkor
You CANNOT visit Siem Reap and not visit some of the 1,000 (yes, one thousand) temples in Angkor, the most famous of which is Angkor Wat. It is a 900 year old temple complex that is recognized as being the largest religious structure in the world. It was constructed in the capital of the Khmer Empire in the 12th century, originally as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, but later was transformed into a Buddhist temple, and is recognized as both. Angkor Wat is just the beginning though, you could spend weeks exploring all of the temples. The easiest way by far to experience this area is to hire a tour guide. The temples are extremely spread out, and did I mention it’s hot as sh*t? So walking is definitely not the best choice. There are plenty of sites online or places in Siem Reap where you can book a tuktuk, bike, or car tour.
We ended up choosing to do a half day/morning tour that started with watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat, followed by tours of Ta Prohm and Bayon and included a stop for breakfast. The early start was truly hell for me after working all night, and the sunrise that day was kind of a bust, but I ultimately am glad we did it this way. It was nearing 90º by 9am and by the time our tour ended around noon we were all sweating our asses off. One of the highlights of this tour was the cooler of frozen towels + ice cold water bottles our driver kept in his car, which were an absolute godsend on the drives between temples.
Angkor Wat is the most iconic of the structures and the largest, but I really enjoyed the other spots we visited even more. Ta Prohm, featured in tomb raider, was so cool and surreal it truly felt like being on a movie set. The ancient structures are crumbling, covered in moss with trees growing right out of the middle, a true showcase of nature’s power of reclamation. Bayon, on the other hand, has faces carved into the stone everywhere you look, 200 in total featured on the temple’s towers. It was really fun to explore here.
Overall we had a great trip! Everyone we met was so kind and visiting Angkor Wat and the other temples was such a neat experience. I hope I’ll be able to go back one day and visit even more of this beautiful country<3
From Angkor Wat we headed to Ta Prohm—
And our last stop was Bayon Temple (make sure to look for the faces in the towers)
and I’ll leave you with some monkeys. cheers!