Angkor Thom is undeniably an expression of the highest genius. It is, in three dimensions and on a scale worthy of an entire nation, the materialization of Buddhist cosmology, representing ideas that only great painters would dare to portray.
The south gate of Angkor Thom is most popular with visitors, as it has been fully restored and many of the heads remain in place. The gate is on the main road into Angkor Thom from Angkor Wat.
The Bayon temple was built nearly 100 years after Angkor Wat. The basic structure and earliest part of the temple ate not known. Since it was located at the Centre of a royal city it seems possible that the Bayon would have originally been a temple-mountain conforming to the symbolism of a microcosm of Mount Meru. The middle part of the temple was extended during the second phase of building. The Bayon of today belong to the third and last phase of the art style. The Smiling Face at Bayon, the architectural scale and composition of the Bayon exude grandness in every aspects. Its elements juxtapose each other to create balance and harmony and there are more then 200 large faces carved on the 54 tower give this temple its majestic character. The faces with slightly curving lips, eyes placed in shadow by the lowered lids utter not a word and yet force you to guess much, wrote P Jennerat de Beerski in the 1920s.
Baphoun is the temple stands on a rectangular sandstone base with five levels that are approximately the same size, rather than the more common form of successively smaller levels. The first, second and third levels are surrounded by sandstone galleries. Baphuon is the first structure in which stone galleries with a central tower appear. Two libraries in the shape of a cross with four porches stand in the courtyard. They were originally connected by an elevated walkway supported by columns.
Phimeanakas temple is situated near the center of the area enclosed by the walls of the Royal Palace. It must originally have been crowned with a golden pinnacle, as Zhou Daguan described it as the Tower of Gold The temple is built of roughly hewn sandstone blocks and has little decoration.
The elephants are ridden by servants and princes, and tread as quietly as if they were on an excursive promenade. The steps of even length have no respect for any obstacle. The forest in which they travel in impenetrable to all but tiny creatures, able to squeeze their smallness between the fissures of the undergrowth and to the biggest animals, which crush chasms for their passage in the virgin vegetation.
Ta Prohm is the undisputed capital of the kingdom of the Trees. It has been left untouched by archaeologists except for the clearing of a path for visitors and structural strengthening to stave of further deterioration. Because of its natural state, it is possible to experience at this temple the wonder of the early explorers when they came upon these monuments in the middle of the nineteenth century. Shrouded in dense jungle the temple of Ta Prohm is ethereal in aspect and conjures up a romantic aura. Fig, banyan and kapok trees spread their gigantic roots over stones, probing walls and terraces apart, as their branches and leaves intertwine to form a roof over the structures. Trunks of trees twist amongst stone pillars. The strange, haunted charm of the place entwines itself about you as you go, as inescapably as the roots have wound themselves about the walls and towers.
Angkor Wat, the largest monument of the Angkor group and the best preserved, is an architectural masterpiece. Its perfection in composition, balance, proportions, relief's and sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world. It is generally accepted that Angkor Wat was a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and oriented to the west to conform to the symbolism between the setting sun and death. The bas-reliefs, designed for viewing from left to right in the order of Hindu funereal ritual, support this function.
Phnom Bakheng is a stunning temple in it's own right, but it's most famous for being the spot where you can see the sun go down over Angkor Wat temple.
The Tonle Sap Lake is the largest fresh water in South East Asia. Its dimension changes depending on the monsoon and dry season and five provinces circled the area of Tonle Sap Lake and there are more than three million of population inhabited around the bank of the Lake and 90% of them earn a living by catching fish and making agricultures. As you can see on the map of Cambodia It stretches across the northwest section of the country. The Lake is also an important commercial resource, providing more than half of the fish consumed in Cambodia. In harmony with the specialized ecosystems, the human occupations at the edges of the lake is similarly distinctive floating villages, towering stilted houses, huge fish traps, and an economy and way of life deeply intertwined with the lake, the fish, the wildlife and the cycles of rising and falling waters.
Kampong Pluk is about 30 Km locates on the Southeast of Siem Reap Town and there are more then 3000 inhabitants are real Khmers, their households made of wood and bamboo built on stilts of about 6m to 7m high. During dry season when the lake is low and lack of water those buildings look like the skyscrapers. At this time of the year many of villagers move out onto the lake and build a provisional stilted houses. In wet season while the water level rises up again, the dwellers move back to their permanent houses on the flood plain, the stilts now hidden under the water. People made a living by catching fishes produce as well as smelly fish paste, fermented fish, smoked fish, dried fish, dried prawn etc.
Wat Preah Prom Rath is one of the oldest pagodas in Siem Reap, Cambodia and has a number of well-preserved wall paintings from the 17th century. Although it is a Buddhist temple some of the wall paintings describe the famous ancient love story of Rama and Shita, the strongest man and the most beautiful women of all times. Still today the royal families of the Southeast Asian countries claim to be descendants of Rama. Anyhow, these wall paintings describe a Hindu story that is most remarkable in a Buddhist temple. Wat Preah Prom Rath temple also contains a large collection of Buddha statues that you will find behind the main Buddha.
Artisans Angkor is a Cambodian social business creating job opportunities for young people in rural areas, while reviving traditional Khmer craftsmanship. The organisation, founded in 1992, is located on Stung Thmey Street, 2 minutes walk from the Old Market in Siem Reap Centre, Cambodia
The West Baray is a vast man-made lake, surrounded by an earthen levee which forms a dyke. According to legend, the young daughter of a ruler of Angkor was grabbled by an enormous crocodile, which made a large opening in the south dyke of the West Baray that can still be seen today. The crocodile was capture and killed. The princess, still living in its stomach, was rescued.
The Svay Romiet Pagoda is located directly on the banks of the West Baray.
Fantastic tour with the best highlights of Seam Reap. Mr. Sara was a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable, polite, punctual and service oriented. Would definitely come back to Cambodia, 100% recommend!
Mr.Ry (driver) and Mr.Sara (Tour guide) were phenomenal. They took us around all of the Temples and the floating village. They were so patient as my mother and I love to take millions of pictures. Mr.Sara walked us through the history of each temples and answered all our questions - after each temple our driver was ready to pick us up with cold water bottles and ice towels to wipe our hands and face. Originally we were going to go Angkor Wat on the first day of our tour but because the top of the temple was closed to walk up because of a Buddhist morality day (holiday) Mr.Sara suggested for us to do the floating village the first day and asked if we were okay with switching, which we were! We felt very welcomed by Mr.Sara and Mr.Ry and we will be telling all our friends and family to come visit since there is so much to see from this beautiful country. We felt very safe and blessed to have these two men take us around. I highly recommend both of them.
Both our driver Mr Phelps and our guide,Mr Sara made our 2 day private tour of Siem reap a wonderful experience. Throughout our day at Angkor Wat Mr Sara help guide my wife through the steps and rough stones. When it got too much for her Mr Sara called security to get clearance to have the driver pick us up inside which is not allowed. He got the approval. Mr Sara was extremely caring, and so helpful. He is so knowledgeable about every site we visited. He knew the answer to every question we asked and described everything about the site we were visiting. Mr Phelps, our driver, was there immediately to pick us up after every site. They are a great team and work well together. If you are looking for an over the top experience ask for Mr Sara and Mr Phelps as your guide and driver. Gary Roth
Pysedh and La(driver) came to pick us up right on time. The tour started with explaining the history of Cambodia. Pysedh took us all through Angkor Wat explaining everything and took awesome pictures! When we got back to through air conditioned van, we were given a cold towel and water. It was a HOT Day! We saw all everything listed on the tours. Overall, I enjoyed the 2 day tour and every accommodating. Highly recommended.
Our guide was amazing. Views were phenomenal and the details of the history were great! He takes great photos as well. Guide: Pysedh Driver: La
We had a great tour w/ our guide, Vichet; and driver, Sokleang. They're both very friendly, professional, and accommodating. Vichet was also a very good photographer. He took many beautiful pictures for us. Sokmeng, the tour organizer was very attentive and helpful. Excellent services!
Everything was very well organised and the guide, Mr Sara, is the most knowledgable guide you will ever find. Definitely highly recommended.
Tour guide Leap and driver Ry were very helpful , they explained us a lot about Cambodian history and the places we saw. They are very flexible and also brought us back to the airport. I recommend for anyone travel to Cambodia.
We had fantastic time in Cambodia for 2 days explore all highlights places in siem reap . Guide and driver are excellent and provide us a great life time experience in Cambodia. We identified recommend this tour for everyone.
We really enjoyed our tour with Mr. Sara and our driver Mr. Ry. Mr. Sara was informative, knowledgeable, and patient. We were a little overwhelmed by the heat and they kept us as comfortable as possible with cold water and cold towels. The air conditioned vehicle was a very nice respite between stops. We definitely saw more than we would have done on our own and the in-depth stories that we heard made us so happy that we chose this guided tour.
Mr Sara our tour guide was exceptional - I have no hesitation in giving him the highest recommendation - his knowledge, kindness and patience was brilliant. Mr Deta our driver handed out cold towels and water often - after walking Angkor wat it was a welcome relief. These two make a fabulous team.
There were no hiccups and tours organized everything smoothly! It's an amazing and breathe taking place to visit. Dara is a very enthusiastic tour guide, passionate about the history and places of interest in Siem Reap. He is very considerate and takes good care of us throughout the trip. He also recommended us nice foods to enhance our experience during the tour. Highly recommended him if you wanna explore Siem Reap or other places of interest in Siem Reap!
We’ve been picked up from our hotel lobby. Mr. Sovan was our guide who is very friendly and knowledgeable. He told us about history, religion and believes. Just a right amount of stories and we learned a lot about Cambodia. We visited Angkor Temples and Tonle Sap floating village, all were great experiences of our 2 days tours in Siem Reap. We identified recommend this tours to everyone travel to Siem Reap.
The tour guide is friendly and knowledgeable, explaining those historical story, he also shared us some extra info regarding their country. It's a memorable experience! Visiting Angkor Wat is so spiritual, especially Angkor Temples and Tonle Sap floating village. Our guide was amazing and he also took beautiful photos. He will tell you the best spot to take photos and definitely will help you to take the photos as well. I definitely recommend this tour
A must activity of Siem Reap 2 days when in Cambodia. Angkor Wat and floating village is a must see. It was great experience overall. This was an excellent tour. Our guide, Mr Sovan is well versed in English and always shares information about the temples and Cambodia people in a light hearted manner. He will also help take pics and suggest good spots too! Highly recommend
What a fabulous experience! Mr Sara provided lots of information during our tour of Angkor Watt and all the temples. Our second day gave us a different perspective of Siem Reap with the cultural highlights of the floating village and surrounding areas
This tour met my every high expectation. David was on time at the hotel, we had a very comfortable van, David was knowledgeable about every temple, he added information everywhere we visited. Some have commented that David is hard to understand. There were a few times that we asked him to repeat information, but he was always careful to tell us until we understood. May of the names are difficult, but he would repeat them slowly. I have only high praise for him and our driver.
It’s a special time for me in Cambodia. I went to Siem reap city, and I booked the 2 full days tour. It was really great with the nice view at the countryside with my guide. I learn a lot of things about the real life, culture, lifestyle of people, and also went to the local market and test many kind of delicious food there. So we also went to last place that they call lotus farm, we relaxed there around 25 minutes, and sleep on the hammock inside the small hut and enjoy the fruits. So the blossoms of lotus around, and the fresh air made me more energy when I got tired of tours and also our guide Sophat told us about many stories of Cambodian culture and himself. So I really recommend this tour to everyone who want to do the visit in Siem Reap, you should do this tour.
We had a blast on our trip to Cambodia! Sammy made it really easy and booked great things for us to do. He was always quick to respond to any emails or concerns we had prior to departure and checked up on us often! We were able to tailor the trip to fit exactly what we wanted! Would HIGHLY recommend this company!! Also Vuthy our driver and Danith our guide in Siem Reap was one of the greatest people and showed us an incredible tours ! He is one we won't forget!!
Just returned from Siem Reap and would like to thank About Cambodia Travel & Tours for the most wonderful tours done in Siem Reap. Angkor Wat with miss Sokha was fantastic and Explore Siem Reap 2 full days Private tours was unforgettable, and of course they arranged everything fantastic in tours. Excellent staff and wonderful attention to detail. Never a minute late! Highly recommended for a Siem Reap trip
First of all our tour guide Sokmeng was great! I give him 5 stars or a sky full of stars. Friendly, professional and accommodating. Make sure you bring a hat & sunglasses. You can bring bottles of water or they sell them out side the Temples. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes, you will walk a lot. Make sure you use the Toilet when you arrive at the ticket counter booth where you will have your picture taken for the Temple pass, as there are NO toilets in any of the Temples. I didn’t see any mosquitos during the day, the mostly come out at night. Overall my experience during the 2 day tour was Amazing!
We had fantastic time ❣️ in Siem Reap and we visited many references attractions and first day we visited Angkor Temples , it was amazing day and second day we visited Tonle Sap lake with floating village and we also took another boat tour through the mongrove forest in the lake. It was very beautiful day. We learned a lot about Cambodia. We had excellent guide Sok and Driver La. Both of them, they are excellent . We identified recommend this tour to our family and friends for planning to Cambodia, chose this tour you will getting more of your expectations of your holiday in Cambodia. We give this tour as Best of the Best.
We visited 2 full days in Siem Reap and we saw a lot of places around Siem Reap that not only the temples , we visited also the community tours and walking in the village, it was very interesting, our best guide Mr.Sok gave a lot of information about Cambodia and every places , he is very helpful and professional photographer and Driver Mr.Ly , he is very safe driving and looking after us very well, with his smile and gave cool water when we came for sightseeing. This is best tours for our trip in Siem Reap, Cambodia and we identified to recommend this for everyone.
とても充実した2日間でした！ 私たちのガイドさん”Meng”が、歴史や現地の知識が豊富で、いろんな話をしてくれました。 初めてのカンボジアで、楽しく見学ができてよかったです。雨季の関係で、毎日少し雨が降りました。夕日は見えなかったのは残念でした。次回はまた機会があれば、ほかのシーズンに来てみたいです。 Thanks for our local guide “Meng”. We had very happy two-days private tour in Cambodia. He has many historical and local knowledges and talked friendly. Yet two days stay was very short to us. Hope next time will back here and have a visit to other nice places! Cambodia people are very nice and friendly to us. The food is also very good. Thank you very much!
It was very good Tours in Siem Reap to book for Siem Reap Explore 2 Days. We had professional guide Sokmeng, he showed us great photos opportunity of all sights and he knows all history, we lernt a lot from him. Our driver Barang , he was safe driving and always keep car clean with always gave the cool water and tissues when we back from visiting and both of them were excellent and looked after us very good, we identified recommended this tours to everyone.
It was really well organized even though we booked it in last minutes. Our tour guide, called Sokmeng (I hope I spell it right) was so informative, professional and helful. And so is driver. They care for every small and single thing. It may look expensive compared with other tour options, but it's actually not. It's total worth for it.
Fantastic guide, very knowledgeable, great historian, best trip of our needs and want. would recommend About Cambodia Travel & Tours ! Good English speaking and beautiful county Cambodia
It was fantastic tours and Mr Sinoun was our tour guide , he absolutely wonderful. With his expertise he chose the right time to be at the temples away from the crowds and the best spots to stay for pictures! His stories and knowledge about the history and recent politics and events is immense, and he can tell them in a funny and amusing way. Service when picking up very good with cold towel and cool water. He is very considerate and flexible when we needed to change some schedule. He also recommended further things to see for us. we gave 5 Star and this is the best guide and tours in Cambodia !
it was two incredible days. Sarath was waiting for us at our hotel in his very nice, clean and comfortable car. He was flexible with the itinerary and changed it to take us places we particularly wanted to go. his knowledge of Khmer history is amazing and he brought the temples to life with stories and explanations. We also got to learn about life in Cambodia today. His English is very good and we had easy conversations, rather than simple questions and answers. Would definitely recommend his, he's great.
Pheep and Zara are the best tour guides in Cambodia! Definitely highly recommended!
The guide was excellent, very grateful to Sara our guide, everything was perfect and she was very attentive Always grateful to him
With guide Meng See all the sights of Siem Reap I was able to see it efficiently. Wherever Meng goes, he'll be there. He knew where to shoot. He's very good at photography. He takes a lot of pictures. He took the picture. Thank you very much. If you want a good photo as a model, Please nominate Meng.
This 2 full day tour was very nice and is recommended to anyone who wants to do it too! Lunch was also very good and rich. Our tour leader was very nice and spoke good German.:)
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