Angkor, Cambodia's Gold Era

Couldn't leave Cambodia before visiting the emblematic Angkor. So before isolating myself in the beautiful LazyBeach, went to hunt for the beautiful and inspiring part of the country (and not so much its sorrows as Phnom Penh shows). Visited the main attractions (and closest ones) by bike, starting from sunrise until sunset from the moment the bus dropped me in the city of Siem Reap (you can imagine how exhausted I was afterwards, even got a nap inside of a temple at some point). Sunrise at Angkor Wat was mindblowing (I just stayed on the pound outside to escape a bit the crowds) and was lucky enough to be able to steal some information by just constantly walking nearby the multiple guides around. Then, entered the astonishing door towards Angkor Thom, and investigated through this huge recint formed by so many temples, such as Bayon, the temple of the faces, or Baphon, which is considered the biggest puzzle ever done after the effort its reconstruction implied. Felt like indiana Jones in Ta Prohm and sensed the power of the nature in this temple, which I feel like teaches you the lesson of how nature has the capacity of overcoming and adapting in a way that we can't even imagine (I must confess this was my absolute favourite temple).
Saved the second day for some of the not so famous places further in the nature, such as one literally inside of a river, or the detailed temple of Banteay Srei. But overall within the two days I visited for sure more than 10 magnificent and enormous temples. And most of them, I was there just on my own or with veryvery few people, so it was an absolute privilege to be able to do it at this time.
After that, needed a bit of a break of rocks and visited the landmines museum (where you could see the amazing story of a kid soldier who ended up spending his life removing landmines and UXOs and giving a better life to kids affected by them) and the center of conservation of Biodiversity where I got a very thorough explanation about several local animals and the functions of the place. So this was a day to see how beautiful people can be and how many ways it is possible to help at your own style. Also met some expats who invited me to some gigs they were doing and friends of them. And saw the beautiful expat atmosphere in the country (everyone was soso welcoming and there were people from all ages, shapes and colours), which I enjoyed very much (even got the band t-shirt as a gift and got invited to all drinks). The last two days I didn't do much, I was planning on visiting the floating village but rain didn't allow me to do so, so I just relaxed on the pool, partyied on the pubstreet and with the tucktuck bars, and even got a 3$ massage! Overall Siem Reap was quite a nice experience, were I met some very nice people (and from many different places), got some culture, some history, and indeed some inspiration as well. But to be honest, can't wait to start at LazyBeach and be back to the island life!

📍Essentials: Angkor Wat for sunrise, Bayon Temple, Ta Prohm, landmine museum, Angkor Center for conservation of Biodiversity (they offer guided tours were you can learn a lot about the animals they have and how they work with them to take care of harmed animals or to avoid their extinction, its also a way of visiting an ethical zoo, they had leopards, monkeys, turtles, really cool birds...), Live music scene, tuktuk bar (party a bit in the pub street as well)
💡Travelling tips: thanks to covid, now if you pay the entrance fee for a day you get one day for free, and if you get 3 or 5 days you get two extra days! So come to Angkor Wat before this is over (and also the place was incredibly empty).
💡Travelling tips: apparently foreigners are not allowed to drive a motorbike in Siem Reap, so do not stop if a police wants you to stop on the way.
💡Travelling tips: foreigners can only use the roads nearby with the Angkor tickets. For some sites the fastest route might be taking that road, but you might not be allowed. So again, if they make you stop at the checkpoint avoid them and don't stop or you can waste 10 minutes discussing with the guard so they let you pass (might not be succesful though). Or just use the other road (which I find very annoying).
🍴Food: Gelato lab, Khemer taste (really cheap food and drinks and they give you free water), Banlle Vegetarian Restaurant (veggy typical food for a price not too expensive), Mumbai kitchen (has some options for 2 dollars with bread and rice and they bring appetizers and water)
🏠 Accomodation: very cheap (3$ a night), cheap food, swimming pool and very cheap tours and bus tickets. And really nice staff, music isn't that nice and escaping from the british crowdsEn savoir plus