Angkor Wat

Like everyone else who visits Cambodia, we stayed in Siem Reap for a few days to explore Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world.

There's no getting away from the fact that there are a lot of tourists here (especially if you go for sunrise), and as you'd expect it does take something away from the experience of visiting. Even so, it's a wonderful place, just the size of it is staggering.

Built in the early 12th century, the Angkor complex is made up of around 100 stone temples. The area has been hit by natural disasters in the past and restoration is currently ongoing to try and preserve the temples from deteriorating further. Its current state is a beautiful mix of impressive religious stone carvings and nature taking over.

There are plenty of different options when it comes to visiting Angkor Wat, we hired a tuk tuk for a day, which cost around $18. Any hotel in Siem Reap will be able to organise this for you. There are two loops around the complex, we chose the shorter one and spent around 6 hours visiting the different sites. That was enough for us, but if you want to explore further, you can get three- or five-day passes.

For lots more tips, check out my other Cambodia posts.