wonderlust Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 I think the 3 day pass is the best option for the temples. Definitely they do not all look alike. Angkor Wat, Bayon and Angkor Thom are totally different and each one worth at least half a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pom01 Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 I would recommend at least 2 full days, even though I got a bit templed-out toward the end. I personally hired a driver and a guide. Their website is: http://www.geocities.com/phansy_service/ I found them through a recommendation on Stickman's site. http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/Reader2006/reader2292.htm It cost me $20 a day for the car and driver then $20 a day for the guide (looks like it's $42 in low-season now). I had no complaints, they were ponctual and the guide was excellent. They even took me out after-hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderlust Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 You can get a moto driver for less than $10 a day. I wouldn't care much for a guide but each to his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2beers Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I went to SR in fall 2007 and had an ok time. The venues are spread over town so I got driver to take me along. I am kinda curious, so whenever he took me to a brothel I asked for another type or a better one or a cheaper one. It worked out quite good and I got to see various types of girls and places. In the downtown area there are atleast 3 brothels within walking distance of the bar street. Any motodriver should be able to take you there. 15-20§ damage. My driver drove me in this area first, but I urged him on. Next we saw a "hole in the wall" place with the old wallsecured bed and three months old linen. About 10§. No stop there. So he figured I needed an upscale joint and we rode towards the airport for the "students". This is a hotel like complex with reception area and karaoke. For the ones wanting buyout there are two rooms without the karaoke. He told me that only Khmers go here and the rates was 30-40§ for longtime. Some nice girls here. Probably the best deal here . Next was a trip on the road towards PP. This area is more for Khmer travellers and has some small business hotels, a couple of brothels and karaokes. I dropped the driver here and went into a brothel KTV for my first time. I have tried it in China, but never got farther than actually seeing the girls skimp around in their undies. Girls are sittying in a courtyard waiting for their customers. I chose one and went to the rooms. There you order drinks and snacks and... sing. A waitress is also in the room for the orders and when I pointed at her and the door, my singer pointed to me and the sofa and kicked the waitress out hehe. Seems that you can do it in the room as well. Paid for karaoke 10§ and took the girl with me to the room. Could not find out more, but the driver indicated that the number of places has diminished in SR. Good mongering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robaus Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Didn't have a chance to investigate nightlife, but here's some info for touring Angkor site It is possible to see/visit most of the Angkor temples complex in a day. Serious viewing of all the rich frescoes etc would obviously take longer. The one day ticket is valid from 4:30pm on the previous day. I bought the 3 day ticket and found myself o/d-ing on temples. Negotiate beforehand (and make it very clear what you want to see - fix the price) with motorbike taxi or tuk tuk to visit a couple or so main temples, or hire him for the whole day to see the lot. The area is quite extensive. My suggested circular itinerary: 4:30pm (day before) Angkor Wat for sunset. Next day at dawn (taxis usually pick up tourists predawn) Angkor Wat - the masterpiece (without crowds) The Bayon - dozens of enigmatic smiling faces everywhere you look. Ta Keo Ta Prohm - my favourite. Unrestored. You feel like Indiana Jones. Worth your while tipping one of the kids to show you around the tangle of tunnels and courtyards, especially if you want to see the face with the banyan tree growing through it. Pre Rup Eastern Mabon Ta Som Preah Neak Pean Preah Khan Terrace of the Leper King Terrace of Elephants The Bapuon Phimeanakas I also went to the Roluos Group (on another day). End of a long bumpy road and not as impressive as other temples above. Angkor is one of the true wonders of the world and well worth seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frede Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Whos gives a fuck about temples. the LP reads well We want to hear about the HOs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Banteay Srey is well worth the effort too. Exquisite little building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Banteay Srey is well worth the effort too. Exquisite little building. Actually not going to Banteay Srei (ca. 25 km north east of Angkor) is a major miss, since it has the most delicate carvings of all Khmer temples. Not far from Bantey Srey is Kbal Spean - the river of thousand lingas - and both places are absolutey worth of a day trip IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 It's a miracle Banteay Srey never got carved up and taken away by looters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 It's a miracle Banteay Srey never got carved up and taken away by looters. Actually it was looted in 1923 by the famous french intellectual André Malraux. Malraux stole four Apsaras and had planned to ship them to France. Luckily he was caught soon. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but his sentence was voided. Later he became a famous author (La Condition humaine/ Man's Fate) and after WWII he became Minister of Culture under Charles de Gaulle. Interestingly this theft of core art works of Khmer culture is barely mentioned in his biography in Wikipedia. And the sentence which was voided, because of pressure from important French intellectuals, is not noted at all. Also Wikipedia gets it completely wrong when it says that Maulraux had discovered Banteay Srei. Malraux undertook an exploratory expedition into the Cambodian jungle, and on his return was arrested by French colonial authorities for removing bas-reliefs from one of the temples he discovered, Banteay Srei. Wikipedia Firstly the term "discovery" is almost probably wrong. A discovery implies, that the Khmer had lost it before. This "discovery" stuff is a highly one sided topic, especially in Angkor, since temples like Angkor Wat never were abandoned completely. The Western people just did not know about it. Secondly Banteay Srei was 'discovered' for the West in 1914. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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