Cambodia – Mini Blog: Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

Full disclosure: I forgot most of this part of the trip. After Vietnam, we hopped over to Siem Reap with the sole mission of exploring Angkor Wat. I really wish I had kept a travel journal back then because Phnom Penh and Kampot are a blur — I only remember going and enjoying it. So here’s my “mini blog.”

From the chaos of Ho Chi Minh to dirt roads and tuk tuks, the contrast was instant. We landed at night, in the rain, and got whisked away from the airport in a tuk tuk: a fun, bumpy, slightly wild ride. The hotel owner? A Cambodian Popeye with a kind heart. Legend!

Day one was about town: pool, night market, neon lights, and those infamous scorpion stalls for tourists (did I try one? Absolutely not).

Then: Angkor Wat. A dream destination. At breakfast, Popeye reminded us it’s a temple — shoulders and knees covered, please. Off we went, bouncing along dirt roads with our driver. And wow… stone Buddha faces, giant trees swallowing ancient walls, misty air. Feeling Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. Oh, and monkeys. And pigs. Why pigs? Still no idea. But Pigs ! 

Lunch was fried rice at a plastic table while our driver napped in a hammock beside us. Honestly, iconic. After that, my memory just vanishes. Temple fatigue is real.

 Tip: Tuk tuk tours today cost around €15–20 for the day. Worth every cent

Would I do it again? Absolutely. Next time I’d go at sunrise, journal in hand.