In the early autumn of October, my first overseas trip was dedicated to Angkor Angkor, an exotic oriental ancient city. For 5 days and 4 nights, with hundreds of swords and a little bit of CET-4 English, we boarded a plane to , Cambodia, to witness the mysterious smile of Angkor.
It is very close to us, a direct flight of only 3 hours, but it is far away from us. It is a relic left by an exotic dynasty 1,200 years ago, and is ranked among the seven wonders of the world. As a lover of relics, the thought of measuring the thousand-year-old ancient city with my own feet and touching the exquisite stone carvings made by ancient masters made me draw all these things in my mind before I even arrived at the destination.
1. Preparation work - my first free trip abroad. I made special preparations before the trip to avoid being blinded.
Since it is a National Day trip, the cost will be much higher than on weekdays. It can be done for 3000+ RMB during non-holidays. The flight and wine package costs 7,000+RMB during the National Day. We pre-purchased the free travel package online, which includes round-trip air tickets, hotels, airport pick-up services, and electronic tour guides for scenic spots. It is worth mentioning that although it is early autumn in Beijing in October, Cambodia is still in the rainy season. It is not the peak season for them, so there will not be many tourists. The photo taking effect at this time is excellent.
Before departure, at least a few things such as air tickets, hotels, visas, currency exchange, phone cards, chartered cars, and tour guides need to be prepared in advance. Among them, the earlier you book air tickets and hotels, the cheaper it will be, especially when traveling on holidays. The difference between fast and slow hands can be thousands of oceans, so there are a few things that you don’t have to worry about.
[Visa]
We use a tourist electronic visa for entry, so you can get it within 1 week before departure. As long as you provide a 1-inch ID photo, passport and ID card scans or photos, you can easily get it on Ctrip or Taobao. Convenient purchase and agency service, it takes 3-5 working days and costs about 230 yuan. Remember to prepare 2 copies of your visa before departure, one each for exit and entry.
[Currency]
Before departure, you must exchange enough U.S. dollars in China. You can exchange them at the Bank of China, because Cambodia only exchanges U.S. dollars and Riel, so can you spend RMB in Cambodia? In fact, the answer is yes, but there is a risk of silently bearing the tip. For example, when paying in RMB, you will usually encounter a situation where you spend 1 US dollar, give 10 yuan, and get 1,000 riel in change. If you are right If you are still confused about the conversion of these three currencies, let me help you straighten it out.
Now, 1 US dollar = 6.65 yuan = 4050 riel. After spending 1 USD and paying 10 RMB, the change should be 0.5 USD, which is 2040 Riel, but the actual change is only 1000 Riel. Local businessmen will also take advantage of the complexity of currency conversion to fish in troubled waters and obtain small profits.
In addition, don’t think that you can finally become a wealthy person when you go to Cambodia. 1 yuan is spent as 6 yuan. In fact, consumption in Cambodia is quite expensive except for fruits. A bowl of soup noodles similar to instant noodles in scenic spots costs 7 US dollars. Too many tears.
[Telephone Card]
Once you go abroad, no matter how powerful China Mobile is, it has no place. Before departure, it is recommended to purchase Cambodian phone cards on Taobao. They are available for 3 days, 5 days and 7 days, and the price is about 20 yuan. In foreign travel phone cards, they basically play the role of making emergency calls and checking for food, drink and entertainment, so the 1.5G traffic is sufficient. Of course, it doesn’t matter if you forget to prepare them. You can buy them at local airports, hotels, and convenience stores. It just takes some effort in communication. The main telecommunications companies in Cambodia include Beeline, Smart, Metfone, Hello, etc. We purchased Metfone, which is a good local telecommunications company. The signal in urban areas is good, but the signal coverage in scenic spots in the outer suburbs is poor.
[Chartered car]
In Cambodia, unlike China, you can get taxis everywhere. The main mode of local transportation is chartered cars or tutu cars. Generally, I choose to stay in Siem Reap for at least 3 days and visit the big circle, small circle and outer circle. You can choose a car or tutu car in the big circle and small circle, but the outer circle is really far away and the weather is hot and hot. It’s so dusty that it’s best to rent a car for the trip.Before we set off, we booked a local driver guide in Siem Reap and negotiated the price of a three-day car charter with him. The two parties had a pleasant communication. I have to say that the people in Siem Reap are very simple and it was very pleasant to negotiate the price. In the end, we ended up with The three-day charter trip was completed for US$115.
Speaking of our charter driver Chhai (his name is pronounced like "Chai"), we both gave him 10,000 likes. This is the best choice my husband and I made for this trip. Our communication mainly depends on English. He is also working very hard to learn Chinese, and sometimes he will communicate with us in Chinese. As our driver guide along the way, his service is indeed very considerate. He will know every scenic spot we come out of. Wait at the place closest to us, prepare ice water, wet towels, and even cut mangoes, pineapples and bananas. Whenever you look at him, you will see a sincere smile from Cambodia. Like thousands of local driver guides, he lives very hard and treats guests sincerely, passing on the smile of Angkor to every foreigner.
[Tour Guide]
Angkor is a place carrying history. Angkor Wat was built by Suryavarman II, the first monarch of the Angkor Dynasty. He personally believed in the Vaishnavite sect of Hinduism, and even the entire Cambodia. We believe in Buddhism, so if we, as tourists visiting the ruins, do not understand the history and culture, then Angkor Wat will be just a bunch of spectacular and bizarre grottoes at most, and we will be visually exhausted after looking at it for two days. Personal suggestion is that whether you hire a local tour guide or download an electronic tour guide for the scenic spot before going, it is necessary. There are many English-speaking tour guides, but it is not easy to find Chinese-speaking tour guides in Angkor. The chartered bus driver told us that there are many fake Chinese tour guides in the local area. They only speak Chinese and do not know the history of Angkor Wat. So if you want to explore the history of Angkor Wat in depth, you need to find a good tour guide before setting off.
[Tip]
Cambodia is a tipping country, but tips are not required in all situations, especially when passing through customs. The staff will ask for tips in Chinese. Just say NO and refuse, and it will be considered as helping them fight corruption. As for the hotel service industry, if you think the service is excellent, you might as well give a tip of 1-2 US dollars as a thank you. For example, when you leave the hotel room every day, put 1 dollar on the coffee table, and the waiter will take it away after cleaning the room.
2. Embark on a trip to Angkor - an in-depth 3-day tour of Angkor, outer circle, large circle and small circle
Our tour route is the outer circle on the 1st day, and the large circle and small circle on the 2nd and 3rd days. Because the scenic spots in Daquan and Xiaoquan are very close to each other, of course you can go to whichever one you want. Generally speaking, because the outer circle is far away, you need to walk more. If you arrive in Siem Reap on a late flight and cannot get enough rest, it is best to arrange the outer circle to the third day. If physical strength is not an issue, which one should you visit first? The circles are all the same.
Our route:
Day 1: Arrive in Siem Reap at 6 pm local time and check into the hotel
Day 2: Outer circle (Banti Sema Temple- Queen's Palace- Bengmelie -Takeo Temple-Roluo Temple Ruins Group)
Day 3: Big circle (Little Angkor-Bandai Kati-Royal Bath- Ta Prohm Temple -Takeo Temple- Zhou Sa Temple - Bakken Mountain )
Day 4: Small Circle ( Sunrise at Little Angkor - Tongwang City - Bayon Temple - Bafang Temple - Sky Palace - War Elephant Platform - Lewang Platform - Twelve Zodiac Tower - Holy Sword Temple - Nirvana Temple - Tasun Temple -Dongmeben Temple-Bili Temple)
Day 5: Fly home in the morning
I have to remind you that there are two disadvantages of going to Angkor during the rainy season. One is that the weather is hot and humid. When visiting temples, you should follow the local Buddhist principles. There are strict dress requirements. For safety reasons, short-sleeved skirts or long trousers are the safest attire, otherwise you may be blocked from entering the temple. After a day of walking, I'm basically sweating profusely.
Secondly, it is difficult to see the sunrise and sunset in Angkor during the rainy season. One of our great regrets during this trip was that we did not see the sunrise and sunset. Every ten minutes in the evening, dark clouds would cover the sky and heavy rain would follow. In order to avoid missing the sunrise and sunset, you can check the weather forecast before booking your trip.
The above provides some references and precautions. Without further spoilers, more beautiful scenery is in Angkor, waiting for you to show up.
3, Memory of Angkor - the iconic scenery online is a hundred times more beautiful than the ones I took, so let’s put some that you haven’t seen
