Angkor Wat! As long as I can remember I have always wanted to go there and explore “The Lost City” myself. Known from movies, documentary films and books this place is magnificent. I’m still blown away when I look at the pictures we took there and have to pinch myself. Cambodia was our second country which we explored during our Asia trip and I can say this without a doubt it was my favorite one. Our arrival was very well planned, we got our visa at the airport and our driver from the hotel was already outside waiting for us, the whole process went super smooth which I didn’t expect. After our arrival at the wonderful hotel Lotus Blanc, The Privilege Floor in Siem Reap, we decided to unpack a little bit for the first time during this trip because we stayed longer in Cambodia as originally planned. We spent a whole week there and canceled our original plan which included a trip to Thailand. At that time the situation was a bit uncertain and we decided it might be the best to skip Thailand for now. The hotel was super nice and we asked if it is possible to extend our stay and keep the same room as well. They seemed happy that we enjoyed ourselves and gave us the opportunity to stay longer, which was phenomenal. After almost 12 days running from city to city we took a break for the first couple of days and did nothing besides relaxing, eating and resting by the pool. Our hotel was super quiet and not crowded, especially not during the day since most of the tourists come to Siem Reap and explore the temples.

After a few relaxing days we decided to explore the local area, went out for dinner, took a stroll around the market area and enjoyed our time together. In the evening we scheduled a private car ride to Angkor Wat for the next day and left before sunrise which was around 3:00 AM in the night. It took us around half an hour to get to the temple complex and another half hour to get our day pass. The passes are limited per day and they include a picture of you on it too. Also bring longer pants with you, since you are entering a temple I highly recommend having long pants in your backpack. There is also an option to buy cheap ones in front of the temple complex but you have to wait sometimes for a long time, because a lot of tourists don’t know that. I was wearing a short romper on my pictures but when we didn’t take pictures I covered myself and wore pants on top of my romper – which looked pretty ridiculous. Anyway I couldn’t believe it I was finally in front of the main bridge, entering the temple complex of Angkor Wat. I was speechless! Completely blown away, finally able to see the largest temple in the world with my own eyes. Originally built between the eighth and thirteenth centuries, the temples range from a single, brick tower to vast, stone complexes such as Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world. The whole complex is huge and if you plan on exploring every single temple including the smaller side ones around Angkor Wat you need at least a week in my opinion. Right before sunrise we were standing in front of Angkor Wat and waiting (with at least a thousand of other people too). Right after sunset we took our chance and walked into the temple to explore as much as possible before all of the other tourists arrived. We walked around the temple complex for several hours and saw Angkor Wat, Angkor Tom, The Bayon Temple, The Terrace of the Elephants and Ta Prohm – which might sound familiar if you saw Tomb Raider. Ta Prohm had not been restored and its location in the lush jungle gives it a romantic and mysterious aura. Be careful if you climb around the rock, poisonous spiders live there! You should really watch your step if you are walking around the jungle and not on a path. Spiders are only one part of the animals that live there.

We left the majestic temples of Angkor at around 3 PM and our driver took us back to the hotel. We enjoyed a late lunch and went down memory lane. We reflected on that day, and talked about our adventure almost all day long followed by a lazy evening by the pool including a cocktail.

Cambodia was one of my favorite countries I have visited so far. The attitude of the locals was amazing. Even though they don’t understand you, they are super friendly and we felt very welcomed. We had another two days left to enjoy this beautiful country and we enjoyed it so much. A local guy from our hotel told us about the change of Cambodia and what the tourists meant to him. He sounded honest and it was great to hear another opinion, since we as tourists only see one side – at least most of the time. I can highly recommend going to Cambodia and especially the hotel in which we stayed for the whole time. Cambodia, you have been amazing and I can’t wait to see you again one day.