Siem Reap travel info

At half past four in the morning a tuk-tuk pulls up outside the hotel. Twenty minutes through the dark and you're at the causeway over Angkor Wat's western moat. Follow the torch beams in, find a spot by the north pond, and as the sky turns from navy to orange the five towers appear twice: once against the sky, once upside down in the water. A few hundred people go quiet at the same moment. That's why everyone gets up at this hour.

Once the sun is up, your driver heads for the next stop. At the Bayon, dozens of carved stone faces smile from every side; at Ta Prohm, tree roots grip the temple walls like octopus arms. By lunchtime it's 34°C. Go back to town, nap, swim, and after dark walk over to Pub Street for a 50-cent draught beer and a bowl of fish amok.

Direct international flights are limited, so most people connect through Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or similar. The new airport, opened in 2023, sits 50 km out of town, which means another hour by bus or car when you land. Buy a three-day pass, hire one tuk-tuk driver for all three days, and you've got the classic Siem Reap trip, which is also the best one.

Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI)