===Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Visit===*Remember Angkor is a massively religious building so give consideration to your clothing. When you are inside a temple, you must have your knees and shoulders covered at all times. I took a thin cardigan to wear…Read More

===Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Visit===

*Remember Angkor is a massively religious building so give consideration to your clothing. When you are inside a temple, you must have your knees and shoulders covered at all times. I took a thin cardigan to wear over my vest top, which you are allowed to wear between temples. I’d recommend loose fitting trousers rather than a skirt because it’ll be more comfortable for climbing up and down things and you can’t go to the summit of Angkor what with a skirt on. Make sure you are wearing sturdy shoes.

*There are literally hundreds of food stalls and gift shops outside all of the major temples, so you don’t need to bother bringing food in with you. With it being Cambodia, it is all cheap too.

*Make sure you bring plenty of water and sun tan lotion with you because it gets very hot. There is no wind in the temples either because they are all sheltered and open air, so a hat and sunglasses wouldn’t go a miss either. It is easy to forget you are outside when you are lost in the temples so don’t risk getting burned.

*There are guides everywhere at the entrances to the temples and it costs only a few dollars to use their services. We didn’t bother, but we spoke to a few of them on the way round our visit and they are all super knowledgeable and friendly and are happy to explain small things to you, even if you aren’t a paying customer.

*Plan your trip before you go, because you won’t want to waste time planning it when you are there. There is so much to see and it is worth picking a general route out so that you see the key parts and then have the freedom to see what you stumble across on the way.

===Recommended?===

Absolutely. It is a phenomenal place and has to be seen to be believed. We loved every minute of our trip there and it felt like a real adventure. There are some fascinating things to see and the place has an amazing history. We loved the fact that it is the kind of place where you can take as much as you need or want from it. We aren’t big into temples as a rule, but we spent enough time there that we could appreciate the brilliance of the place without overdoing it. If you are a fan of this kind of thing, you could easily spend a week there and still not see even half of it. Unmissable.
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Ruins of Angkor, are usually sites which are definitely worth seeing. However, I've come to realize that there are a few things which the famous ones have in common. Apart from the large crowds and expensive fees... there…Read More

UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Ruins of Angkor, are usually sites which are definitely worth seeing. However, I've come to realize that there are a few things which the famous ones have in common. Apart from the large crowds and expensive fees... there are usually many touts and hawkers selling everything from bracelets to souvenirs.

My experience at the Angkor temples was no different. They were honestly everywhere! There were small armies of people with postcards and magnets situated outside of each temple, and they would all come to you at once, which is actually a tactic. Most tourists would feel uncomfortable and nervous and would eventually end up buying a few of the articles, in order to escape.

I bought a few magnets, but only because I collect them. I'm not the type of person to be influenced or badgered into buying stuff that I don't need. However, what bothered me most, was the age of some of these vendors. Parents would send their young children, about aged 5 to 7, into the temple grounds with wares to sell, in hopes that their innocent faces would pressure the tourists into giving in. These children should be in school, not working throughout their childhood!

One of these young children approached me as I was heading into the Jungle Temple. She asked me to buy a bracelet from her for a dollar, because she needed to pay for school. I've done a lot of research about Cambodia before going there, and one of the things that I learned, was that this was only a 'line' to guilt you into paying for things. Education is free within the country, but most visitors are not aware.

I told the young girl, that I was aware that she didn't really need to pay for school. I then asked her why she wasn't at school, and I was told that she didn't want to go. Visitors who buy their products are unknowingly encouraging truancy, and this problem seems quite wide scale.

The numbers of children and older vendors who sell their products around the temples are staggering. I've counted over twenty in front of Angkor Wat at one point! They are also quite persistent, and a simple no is apparently not sufficient. They will actually argue with you over your refusal to buy something.

This is quite saddening, as it puts a damper on the actual experience. The joy of being around something so grand and ancient is slightly ruined by constant yells of sale pitches. I loved the Angkor ruins and I would return in a heartbeat. The large number of touts are not enough a deterrent, but first time visitors should be aware.   Close

I delayed writing an Angkor journal for a long time. Despite having visited the site in three different years, what could I possibly add to the probably millions of words already written about it?Yet, the temptation was big and after all I have a few…Read More

I delayed writing an Angkor journal for a long time. Despite having visited the site in three different years, what could I possibly add to the probably millions of words already written about it?

Yet, the temptation was big and after all I have a few good tips, including where to find a decent cup of coffee within the complex.

Why should the visit be prepared?

My first visit was done in the company of two fellow travelers I met in the way from Bangkok. I wasn't an expert, but knew enough to appreciate and enjoy the site. That wasn't true for the other two, who quickly got bored and sat sipping coffee while I shamelessly kept climbing deformed rock piles; they simply didn't have a clue what they were looking at.

What is Angkor?

Angkor was the capital city of a Khmer kingdom, the name was derived from the Sanskrit "nagara," meaning "city." The kingdom existed as such from 802AC, when Jayavarman II declared himself "universal king" (chakravartin) and "god-king" (devaraja), until 1431AC, when the Thais invaded Angkor.

Where is Angkor?

Angkor is located in modern Cambodia's northwestern corner, just north of the Tonle Sap Lake, near the modern town of Siem Reap and not far from Aranyaprathet in Thailand.

Details regarding practical ways of reaching the area from Thailand and Cambodia are in my journal Planning Cambodia.

How many structures are in Angkor?

Within the area covered in the past by Angkor, over a thousand structures have survived; some of them are temples, other monuments or administrative buildings. Angkor Wat is the name of the central and largest temple; Angkor Thom was the walled downtown area. The Bayon is one of the most impressive temples and Ta Prohm is the famous site where strangler trees grow atop temples.

How big is the complex?

At its peak, the city covered over three thousand square kilometers, meaning that Angkor was the biggest city the world ever knew before industrial times.

Is the complex related to black magic ?

It is worth paying attention to the stone murals in Angkor Wat. Many of them have missing squares; the mutilation was performed by the local population after the empire's fall. In such a way they attempted to neutralize any magical power left in the temple.

Genesis

Before Angkor, two kingdoms existed in the area: Funan from the first century BC to 550AC and Chenla, from 550Ac to 800AC. Both kingdoms held complex relations with the Chinese and the Cham.

In the year 802AC, the Khmer King Jayavarman II declared the independence of Cambodia from Java and established his capital at Hariharalaya (the Roluos Temples) at the northern end of the Tonle Sap Lake.

The new kingdom bordered China, Champa and a place identified as "the land of cardamoms and mangoes" (somewhere in modern Thailand).

Building Babel

Yasovarman I ascended to the throne in 889AC and immediately began the construction of a new capital north of the first one and called it Yasodharapura, which featured the first temple in the area surrounded by a baray - a surrounding water canal.

Suryavarman II built Angkor Wat between 1113 and 1150AC, dedicating it to Vishnu, instead of the traditional attachment to Shiva of earlier Khmer temples. By any standards, this is the pinnacle of Khmer religious architecture. The temple is in fact an open Hindu encyclopedia, which can be read on several fashions. As a geographical text, the baray represent the oceans surrounding earth, the walls are the mountains enclosing the world, and the four sides of the temple represent the different landmasses and the peak at the center Mount Meru - the gods' abode. On the temporal angle, the baray represents the present, while the central point is the universe creation time. On the social interpretation, the center represents the god-king, while in the Buddhist angle the three steps depicts the different here steps of spiritual development: the center represents the achievement of nirvana.

In 1177AC, the Cham launch a sea invasion up the Mekong River and across the Tonle Sap Lake and destroyed the city. Jayavarman VII defeated the Cham and assumed the throne in 1181AC to become the greatest Khmer king. He built Angkor Thom as his walled capital over the ruins of Yasodharapura; at its center was the Bayon, one of the most striking temples in the whole complex. He led the transition from Hinduism to Mahayana Buddhism, which included alterations of Angor Wat.

After his death, the country returned to Hinduism, only to convert to Theravada Buddhism during the 14th century. In 1431AC the capital was destroyed by the Thai Ayutthaya Kingdom . Abandoning it, the Khmer relocated the capital in Phnom Penh, a site which was easier to defend; a few centuries later the Thais imitated the event by moving their capital from Thonburi to Bangkok as a defense from the Burmese.

Modern Times

From the late 19th century French archaeologists began the restoration of Angkor; the works stopped during the Khmer Rouge era and its aftermaths and were resumed in 1993 by the Japanese, the French and UNESCO, which recognized the site as a World Heritage Site.

Wining Strategies for Visiting the Complex

All the local guides have read the Lonely Planet books and would try to sell that company's idea of how to visit the temples. They offer the free sunset view plus a two days trip along the short and long circuits described on those guides. Moreover, the pricing strategy of the place follows the pattern as well, asking twenty dollars for the first day, the same amount for the second day and then giving a free third day.

There are better tactics for covering the main sights. The day before the planned visit, rent a "moto" for two dollars and go to Angkor around 5pm, buy a one day ticket for the next day and enter to see the sunset from the sunset hill, that's included in the ticket. The sunset is west from that hill while the temples are on the eastern side; nonetheless the experience offers an astonishing view of the temples from above.

Once back at town, invite the moto driver to drive you the next day for six dollars; explain he should arrive at 4:45 or 5am sharp and in a sober state.

If the sky is unclouded, the sunrise behind the temples is spectacular; the angular temples' silhouettes are outlined first by the dim lights and provide an unforgettable view.

After the sunrise is over do not stay at Angkor Wat since it will be crowded. You can have a good coffee and breakfast at the stalls in front of the main entrance; those on the left are for tourists while those on the right are regular Khmer stalls, at them, tasty Khmer food is offered.

Spend the morning hours visiting Angkor Thom (the city surrounding the central temple), the Bayon (with its columns featuring the king's face on each direction) and Ta Prohm (the temples with trees growing on them). After finishing them, return to the Angkor Wat complex, when everybody is elsewhere.
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General Layout The whole region with the temples, monuments and walled complexes is officially called the "Angkor Archeological Park," and is commonly known as just "Angkor." Angkor WAT is just one of the sites, albeit the largest and most well-known ("wat" is Thai…Read More

General Layout

The whole region with the temples, monuments and walled complexes is officially called the "Angkor Archeological Park," and is commonly known as just "Angkor." Angkor WAT is just one of the sites, albeit the largest and most well-known ("wat" is Thai for temple). So it’s more accurate to say that you are visiting "Angkor", not "Angkor Wat", since Angkor Wat is only one of the hundreds of sites within Angkor.

The archeological park covers nearly 80 square miles and contains hundreds of monuments – there are vast walled compounds, an ancient walled city complex, and countless temples and monuments. The complexes are separated by dense jungle and are within a few minutes’ vehicle ride from one another.

The nearest city is Siam Riap, 4 miles away from the entrance to the sites. The city itself is quite small, so a central location for your hotel can make your stay more enjoyable - hotels on the outskirts of town may literally have nothing around them.

Passes to the monuments

You should only purchase your pass at the official entrance to the site (there are rumours of scams to resell used passes - whether it's your hotel or guide or someone on the street, don't be tempted - you need to buy your pass in person at the entrance to the complex). Bring passport-type photos with you; they will take photos for you if you don’t bring them, but you will have to wait. The passes are $20 US for one day, $40 US for 3 days, and $60 US for 4 – 7 days.

Guide vs. on your own

Guides are readily available at the sites themselves and in Siam Riap for several US dollars per day.

In general, I prefer to have a guide for at least part of the time when I travel. In Angkor, we elected to visit the sites on our own with just a guidebook and enjoyed the privacy and freedom to explore on our own, but a guide would have been extremely interesting for at least one morning or afternoon. Part of what makes Angkor so amazing is that there are very few other tourists - if you're lucky, you may find that you and your companions are frequently the only people at a given complex. The temple complexes are amazingly vast, and you can explore all the rooms, courtyards, and terraces in solitude without seeing any reminders of the outside world. We found that doing this on our own and reading up on the details was far more enjoyable than having a guide alongside us.

If you choose to hire a guide for most of your trip, do plan for at least one morning or afternoon on your own (at one of the lesser known temples you'll have a better chance of being alone) - it's an incredible experience.

The guidebook we used is readily available for purchase in the city of Siam Riap, at the entrance to the sites, and in front of the major temples. We used "Ankor" by Dawn Rooney (published by Odyssey Guides), which, despite the numerous site maps, we found very difficult to follow on-site. It makes a good armchair guidebook, but is unreliable for navigating the sites. Some of the directions are clear, but more frequently, the book describes an interesting carving or architectural detail while providing instructions for locating it that are so vague as to be completely useless. I haven’t had the chance to compare it against other guide books, but I’d recommend trying to find another if possible.

For at-home reading, I HIGHLY recommend "Angkor: Cities and Temples" by Claude Jacques and Michael Freeman. Copies are available in the city and airport of Siam Riap, and also in Bangkok, but the historical explanations would be wonderful to read in advance (the price is roughly the same on Amazon.com - $56 US - as it was to buy in Cambodia).

What to bring

Clothing: The standard recommendations are for men not to go shirtless and for women not to wear clothes that are "too revealing." We saw all ranges of clothing, including many people who weren’t following the above guideline.
Footwear: Being generally opposed to trainers in public unless one is actually training, I brought both "sturdy" sandals and Keds-type trainers, and ended up (grudgingly) wearing the trainers most days. There is a lot of climbing and clambering around that can be done, and endless unbelievably steep stairs to climb, with loose stones throughout. You will not regret having sturdy shoes, but you may well regret wearing flimsy sandles.
Other: Absolutely don’t forget sunscreen and mosquito repellant! Also, you may want to bring a couple of books that would help children with their English to give to your guide(s). Most of the people here speak very, very good English, but our guide told us that English books can be hard to find and would be appreciated by almost everyone. Even if your guide speaks perfect English, he will surely know someone who will appreciate the book.

Food and miscellaneous

Those who like Thai food will be in culinary heaven in Siam Riap. All of the hotels have restaurants, and there are several streets in town lined with many dining options, not including the countless outdoor local food stalls. Almost all restaurants (even the local food stalls) have menus in English, and the wait staff all speak enough English for dining purposes. For those who are less adventurous, there are plenty of more familiar choices, including pizza and even Mexican food!

There are dozens of little stalls at most of the sites selling film (along with water, cola, beer, snacks, postcards, and souvenirs). We had our film from the first day developed at a one hour Kodak store in the city while we ate dinner, and the pictures were developed very well.

Accommodations

Almost all hotels and guesthouses claim to be just a few minutes from the temples, a few minutes from the airport, or a few minutes from the center of town. Siam Riap is a really small town, though - ALL hotels are a few minutes from the temples and airport, and being 5 minutes from the center of town means that you might find yourself OUT of the town.

Be sure to get a good map of the hotel’s location and check it for yourself. In my opinion, being closer to the center of the city is more important than being closer to the temples, unless you are on a bicycle. The temples will be a 10 - 15 minute ride from your hotel (by taxi or motorcycle), so an additional 3 minutes is not too important for the trip. If your hotel is on the outskirts of town, however, (like the Sofitel, the hotels on the airport road, and some guesthouses), you will find that you need to take a tuk-tuk or wald for 10 minutes to find restaurants and shops. There seem to be 4 major categories of accommodations Angkor:

5 star luxury hotels: Includes the world-renowned Grand Hotel d’Angkor, built in the 1930’s in the colonial style (starting around $250 US/night), and the brand new Sofitel (starting around $130 US/night). These are on the edge of town closest to the temples. Don’t be fooled by the Sofitel’s claim that it’s "the closest hotel to the temples" – it’s only 4 minutes closer to the hotels than the Grand Hotel is, which only means that it’s farther from town.

Mid-range hotels from $80 - $100 per night: Many of these are located on the outskirts of Siam Riap on the way to the airport (not on the side of the temples). There are a few worth investigating in the center of town, including Angkor Village, which looks charming.

Budget hotels for around $30 - $50 US per night in the center of town: This is the type we stayed at – I'd categorize them as barely passable – no "highlights" other than price. Clean, nondescript, serviceable rooms with private bathrooms and air conditioning, right in the center of town for easy walking to restaurants and city life.

Guesthouses catering to backpackers for under $10 US per night: These can be really "roughing it", and it’s a case of choosing your priorities carefully. Not all are centrally located or have private baths and/or air conditioning, but you can find some that have all of the above, so check around.

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This is a dusty, run-down sort of place. There are some large modern hotels, mostly on the road to the airport, but the centre of town has dirty roads, incomplete, broken pavements and its fair share of shabby buildings. The children swimming in the river…Read More

This is a dusty, run-down sort of place. There are some large modern hotels, mostly on the road to the airport, but the centre of town has dirty roads, incomplete, broken pavements and its fair share of shabby buildings. The children swimming in the river must have had strong constitutions. Road junctions typically have no markings and are negotiated by everyone filtering through to where they want to go as best they can. Bikes and motorbikes make up the majority of the traffic, often with several people or unlikely loads balanced wherever they will fit.

I don’t suppose I am the only one who heads towards the market place in any new destination. This is the place to see how the local economy works, and in Siem Reap it was a refreshing change after seeing the hard-sell to the tourists at the temples. Ladies squatted on the floor with a single basket of vegetables laid out in front of them, or a tray of fish, alive or dead. Customers poked and examined the plucked chickens and ducks.

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Phnom Penh for me was a couple key places: 1. Royal Palace 2. S21 3. Killing Field 4. Russian Market (which I didn't get to go because it was Khmer New Year!) 5. Phnom Wat Because of Khmer New Year, I did something else, though. My moto driver…Read More

Phnom Penh for me was a couple key places:
1. Royal Palace
2. S21
3. Killing Field
4. Russian Market (which I didn't get to go because it was Khmer New Year!)
5. Phnom Wat

Because of Khmer New Year, I did something else, though. My moto driver told me about the "games" they played. They consist of dumping water on people and pouring loads of talcum powder on people. My moto driver got really excited and asked if I wanted to play games too by the Mekong River. I thought sure, how bad could it get? At first, no one was playing games, so it was a bit boring just looking at these houses. Then it started with a little girl asking if she could squirt a little water on us, and then it got increasingly bad! Hoses, huge buckets, and the older teenagers blocked us and asked for money. If the moto driver didn't pay, we couldn't pass. Even little kids held strings that would have made the moto flip over if we didn't stop. So in the end, I had lots of water in my sneakers and powder on my chin. This is what the Khmer New Year is all about! It was interesting.

Now, back to the city sights. City Palace was aesthetically nice. Lots of weird fauna. S21 was quite depressing and the movie on the third floor of building D is definitely worth watching. Killing Field I thought was a bit boring. But it's worth going because it really makes you understand the horror these people must have felt when they saw the place. Phnom Wat was just too many people selling lotus flowers, lotus roots, fruits, etc., for the New Year celebration. So, I didn't spend much time at all.

On the last day of my Cambodia trip, I walked around the city (Monivong Blvd and area close by). I saw Independence Monument, two kids who wore one rollerblade on one foot and were racing on the sidewalk, a few more kids playing in the fountain in the park near National Museum. It was nice just seeing how the real Cambodians live in their city.

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You need to purchase a pass that covers entry into all the temples in the area. We bought a 3-day pass for $40. There is a 1-day pass and also a 7-day pass, but unless you are a serious temple buff you will probably find you will start…Read More

You need to purchase a pass that covers entry into all the temples in the area. We bought a 3-day pass for $40. There is a 1-day pass and also a 7-day pass, but unless you are a serious temple buff you will probably find you will start to suffer from temple burnout before you utilise all 7-days.

Unfortunately, the main drawback with the passes is that they need to be used on consecutive days, so even if you have time up your sleeve, you can't break the the days up and have a a couple of rest days in between. If you buy the pass after 4pm, this allows you to use it that first afternoon for the sunset, with day 1 being the following day.

You buy the pass at the checkpoint on the way to the temples. Bring your own passport photo as it will speed up the process, there was quite a lengthy queue of people that needed to have their mug shot taken when we arrived at the entry.

Also, if you have a guide or driver make sure you clarify if this afternoon trip is an extra charge, as it probably is but it won't come up until you pay your account. We had a slight hiccup over this, but it was all sorted satisfactorily. We went to the sunset and then did 2 days at the temples from 8am to 6pm, with a lunch break.

On the first day, we visited Angkor Thom in the morning and Angkor Wat in the afternoon. You just need to dodge the tour groups at Angkor Wat in the afternoon, but they mainly head into the long interior gallery where the famous murals of the "Churning of the ocean milk" is.

On the second day, we drove out to Banteay Srey in the morning and visited Ta Prohm in the afternoon.

On the third day of our passes, we rose very early and took a moto out to Angkor Wat for the sunrise. Surprisingly, this was not at all crowded and it was a great opportunity to see all the locals cycling on their way to work. After the sunrise we then opted out of more ruins and spent some time looking around the town, and spent some down time by the pool recovering from the heat and all the walking.

You are unable to buy water from inside the temples themselves, so make you sure you buy it either in town or at the entrance. It is so hot that water is a must-have. In town, it is 50¢ or 60¢; at the ruins they will ask $2, but normally bargain down to $1.

If you are there in the hot season, as were in in May, try to book a hotel that has a pool. You will definitely appreciate it at the end of a long, hot day.

If you do have limited time, the two main temples to see would definitely be Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom with the Bayon.

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I came from Phnom Penh in the south. I definitely recommend seeing Phnom Penh either before or after Siem Reap. For one thing, you get to see Phnom Penh, which is very much worth it. Of course, you only have to travel…Read More

I came from Phnom Penh in the south. I definitely recommend seeing Phnom Penh either before or after Siem Reap. For one thing, you get to see Phnom Penh, which is very much worth it. Of course, you only have to travel that hellish road between Siem Reap and Thailand once. From Phnom Penh take a bus to Sihanoukville and then a boat to the Thai border at Koh Kong.

From Phnom Penh take the riverboat up the river to Siem Reap. This is safe, and you can even sit on the roof and watch the scenery, and it only got rough when we reached Cambodia's huge lake, Tonle Sap. The guesthouse manager in Phnom Penh will tell you how to get there. Many of the guesthouses in one city have an affiliation with the guesthouse in the other city. In Phnom Penh I stayed at Narrin Guesthouse, and Narrin himself recommended Smiley Guesthouse, owned by his cousin or something. So as we were getting off the boat at Siem Reap, I just looked for a sign that said Smiley Guesthouse on the shore because they had called ahead and arranged transportation.

Leaving Siem Reap was a different story. I went back to Thailand because I was heading to Laos next. I didn't want to go overland the whole way because of what I had heqard about the horrendous ride, so I took another boat to Battambang, almost halfway, and got in a truck there. The trucks don't have suspension systems really, and the roads are horrible, cratered and bumpy. Plus you are either crammed into the cab or the back of the truck. Expect traffic jams from trucks getting stuck in the mud and pray that it isn't your own, because if it is, you're gonna be pushing. So I finally got to Poipet, just in time to cross the border before it closed. Try to do this as well, although you won't need my encouragement when you see what it is like there. Not a very nice place, especially when Thailand is a short walk away.

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Try to plan on taking the one-hour drive to Banteay Srei so you can view the pink sandstone in the late afternoon, when the shadows and red light make the stone truly come alive. This is one of the most visited temples because of its color…Read More

Try to plan on taking the one-hour drive to Banteay Srei so you can view the pink sandstone in the late afternoon, when the shadows and red light make the stone truly come alive.

This is one of the most visited temples because of its color and because of the fact that almost every single inch of stone is sculpted to near perfection with a luxuriance of details.

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FROM THAILAND BY PLANE: (our choice) Bangkok Airways flies to Siem Reap from Bangkok. FROM VIETNAM BY PLANE: Vietnam Airlines flies to Siem Reap from Ho Chi Minh City almost every day. FROM POIPET BY ROAD: (for the more adventurous) Poipet is the Khmer border post. Buses leave…Read More

FROM THAILAND BY PLANE: (our choice)

Bangkok Airways flies to Siem Reap from Bangkok.

FROM VIETNAM BY PLANE:

Vietnam Airlines flies to Siem Reap from Ho Chi Minh City almost every day.

FROM POIPET BY ROAD:

(for the more adventurous) Poipet is the Khmer border post. Buses leave Bangkok every hour to Aranyapathet (a 5 hour trip). Then take a tuk-tuk "taxi" to reach the border and cross the bridge after the Thai customs. To reach Siem Reap, pick-up trucks are waiting for you in Poipet after the Khmer customs. (You will need a visa. The border does not issue visas) The cheapest (and roughest) seat is at the back of the pick-up, which can make you very sore after the 8 - 12 hour ride.

FROM PHNOM PENH:

(1) By Plane: Royal Air Cambodge offers two or three flights a day. President Airlines flies two or three times every day. Phnom Penh Airways flies once every morning.

(2) By Road: The road that links Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is re-opened since the end of the Khmer Rouge guerilla (1998). Take a bus (around $6 dollars one-way) from Capital guest-house (at the corner of street 107 and 182) and hang on for the bumpy 9 - 10 hour ride! If you have a group, rent a mini-bus (in front of the Cambodiana Hotel) for about $200 round-trip. You can also get a taxi from Central Market for around $6 - $8.

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