March 2007 - Got to take a sidetrip here from a Yahoo! Conference in Singapore with Meg Garlinghouse. Angkor Wat has always been on top of my places to visit. What an amazing country - put it at the top of you list. Stayed in Siem Reap, so we were close to Angkor Wat.
Top 5 Days
- Angkor Wat - The mother of all temples. Get there at 5 am to avoid the crowds and the heat. This is on my top places of the world.
- Floating Villages - Take a boat ride down the river to the land of true nomads. These folks rarely see land, as their homes are on stilts in the water. Have a drink watching the sun set on the water.
- Markets - Wander through the markets to pick up local pottery, wood carvings and linens.
- Spa - Spend a day at Hotel de la Paix with fresh fruit for breakfast, a Thai-style massage and dip in the pool.
- Other Temples - Check out Bayon, the Passages of Elephants and the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed.
Top 5 "High Style, Low Maintenance" Hotels
Hotel de la Paix - one of my favorites in the world. Don't stay anywhere else. Fits my high style, low maintenance description perfectly. Amazing service, spa, vibe, food and outdoor dining with fire pits everywhere. In the heart of the city, so you can walk to all the local spots. iPods in every room that have tours of Angkor Wat that you can take with you.
Top 5 Restaurants
- Khmer Kitchen - We had 3 courses and 4 beers for $11. Really.
- FCC - A great local hotel to grab a cool dinner.
- Markets - Grab fruit and nuts during the day.
- Khmer Set - A 9-course meal with mini plates at the Hotel.
- Raffles - This is famous, so worth a lunch or dinner here.
Top 5 Misses
- Artisan Markets - these are sanitized for western travelers and prices marked up. Hit the local markets.
- The heat - get up early and stay inside during mid-day. Cooking here.
- Local peddlers - many locals rely on tourism to live. So they are quite aggressive to sell things and help you.
- Khmer Rouge - 1.7 million Cambodians were killed in a mass genocide by Pol Pot in the late 1970s. Hard to believe this happened during my lifetime. Don't miss watching the Killing Fields and reading the history before you visit.
- Discrimination - Just like all countries, many Cambodians have prejudices against other countries. They have a real disdain for the Thai. In 2003, a Thai movie star said Cambodia should give Angkor Wat back to the Thai people. Within 10 minutes, all the Thai restaurants, embassies and local shops were burned.
Top 5 Tips
- Killing Fields - Watch to help understand the turmoil of the 70s.
- First They Killed My Father - Written by a gal my age, Loung Ung, about the Khmer Rouge genocide. The author lost most of her family to Pol Pot.
- Visa - get one on line before you visit.
- Plan with the seasons - hot as hell in April. Come when it is not scorching.
- Hotel de la Paix Concierge - if you plan this, you don't have to plan anything in advance. They will do it all for you. They hook up tour guides, drivers, restaurants and spas.
Love this blog. Especially the tips and the misses. Wish the photos were larger/could be enlarged.
Posted by: Cathy Lobel | April 09, 2007 at 07:54
You're very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel a lot. Anyway, your top 5 list for each place is a great idea! Going through your lists, you seem to do a lot of adventuring, and you try not to keep to the usual attractions. Kudos to that! Keep posting and expand your horizon!
Posted by: Harper Cosper | June 01, 2011 at 11:53