Hello LP,
I just came back fully armed and legged from a 5-day visit
to Angkor / Siem Reap in Cambodia (July/August 99).
I had my mountainbike with me and explored it all in "self-ride".

Here a few facts:
Return flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap with Bangkok Airlines (ATR42
propeller thing) is B11400 (or B10000 if you accept infavourable flight
times). This is special price, ticket is valid only 90 days.
Visa can be bought at Siem Reap Airport. Cost is US$20 or B1000.
You need to bring one passport photo. The Cambodian embassy in Bangkok said
that I needed 2 photos plus a photocopy of my passport, but this was then
not necessary.
Airport tax in BKK is B500, in Siem Reap its US$8 (US$4 for local flights)

Entrance fee to the area around Angkor is:
US$20 for 1 day
US$40 for 3 days
US$60 for 1 week
Tickets can't be transferred and none will ask to have them, when you leave.
Ticket booths are set up on the road from Siem Reap and the road from the
airport.
You may find other access roads to avoid the ticket booths, but you don't
have to buy a ticket anyway as long as you only cruise the roads and don't
enter the temples.
Most people enter the temples and though there are back entrances where none
checks your ticket, you will have to have one because of patrols inside the
temples.
They fine you US$30 if they catch you without a good ticket.
There is something like a company, taking care of tourists and ticket sales.
They all wear a batch of a certain Hotel and are in radio contact with each
other. So don't play tricks on them, they immediately call the ticket booth
or their HQ and check if it is true, what you say.

Accommodation at Angkor Wat:
If you want to sleep at Angkor Wat, they will send you to a pagoda in the
corner, seems to be a common request of visitors.

In Siem Reap:
- Hao Sotha Guesthouse cost me US$5, I got a double with bathroom / shower
inside, quiet, nice and clean. Towels, soap, shampoo provided. Owner is very
friendly and speaks good English. No food is available. They are 400m South
of Route 6 at No5 Vithei Sivatha, Tel.(855)015 633 154 or 012 869 077, Fax
(855)063 964 337
- Smiley is more popular and more packed with farang travellers. Rooms there
start from US$5 w/o the bathroom. Their restaurant is nice. It's just one
block and around the corner from Hao Sotha GH.

Currency and Shopping:
1 Baht = 102 riel (commonly exchanged at 100 riel), 1 US$ = 3800 riel.
In Siem Reap, purchases can be paid in any currency and change can be any
currency you ask for (if they have it).
You normally don't benefit paying in a certain currency. When you are a
foreigner or Farang however, every little thing will cost one dollar and
every child asks you for one dollar, so you can easily spend several hundred
dollars a day. This is why it makes sense to pay in riel - the prices are
more real in riel.
In general, items are more expensive than in Thailand while quality is
comparable or lower.
- Fresh baquette (plain) is sold near the new market in the morning. Locals
eat it for breakfast, dipped into soup. Warm baquette becomes available from
street vendors around noon. Filled with vegetables and a bit of meat it is
r500, with more meat it is r1000, for Farang it is often r1000 for the one
with little or no meat.
- Coconut (partly imported from Thailand) cost r1500 per piece, in tourist
places they ask r2000..2800 or US$1.
- Oranges around B60 for Thai ones (these small ones that you can peel with
your fingers), cheaper ones come from elsewhere and are sour and difficult
to peel.
- Books about Angkor are sold everywhere, two popular publications are
"Angkor" by NDN Books and "A Guide to Angkor" by ASIA Books. You can buy the
color version for US$3 each at the market. Near the temples, children try to
sell them for US$5, can bargain down to US$4. They buy from the market at
US$3. The black-and-white versions are cheaper.
- Soft drinks (Coca Cola made locally) are r1250 (=12 Baht, in Thailand it
is only 8 Baht), for Farang near tourist places over r2000 or "one dollar".
- Water is r500, for Farang near the temples it is r1000.
- Scarfs are also commonly sold to tourists, they ask for US$1 per piece,
actually you can get up to 3 for US$1 (or maybe more). The quality is poor
and the things are not really useful.

Safety:
Wherever you go, they tell you it is safe. A French resident told me when I
was there, that 10 days before, the corpse of a Farang had been found in the
river. People suspect he was shot by police, before they dropped him in the
river. I asked the frenchman why he considers this safe and his idea was
that it was only ONE Farang and not many.
Well, you shouldn't bother too much, it won't be you, it will be someone
else...
I personally cycled from Bakong to the Eastern Baray which took me near
Phnom Bok. On the way I met two policemen who were playing with a pistol and
later I heard some shots. At the foot of the hill, there are two older (but
well-maintained) tanks (Russian T55 or so). From the hill to the Baray, I
saw several larger guns (mounted on wheels). They appeared used and worn,
but maintained.
So, I don't really recommend to wander about too much, though it was a very
nice ride.
My personal feel is that with a good mountainbike, you are rather save as
people don't hear you coming while you can be faster than an average
motorcycle on bad roads.

Mines:
I heard several people say that all mines around the temples have
been cleared. I felt quite safe, with all the cows running around, probably
it will hit them first as they have 4 legs and wander everywhere. Outside
the touristed area there are still cows, but I would rather be careful.
There is a foreign company clearing mines. In their carpark, I have seen one
heavy truck and a large fleet of ambulance cars.

Roads:
The little and big circuit are rough asphalt, including the roads inside
Angkor Thom. Apart from that, roads ar lousy. I even lost one tooth-filling.
In the rainy season, it's pretty muddy. When there is no motorised
traffic, roads are generally less bumpy and can be very good for a
mountainbike. A full-suspension, downhill-geared thing is best, a cheap bike
with no suspension is less fun but will also do.
The road to Banteay Srei was said to be terrible and flooded near the end,
so Farang have to pay US$1 for the boat to take them over to the tempel.
Heard it from a traveller who has been there.
The Old Market in Siem Reap is the largest mudpit I've ever seen.

Photography:
Angkor is a popular domain amongst photographers and excellent photos have
been taken of the temples. Under ideal light conditions with the ultimate
gear. You could be disappointed when you compare your photos to those of
professionals. If you take the challenge, bring along a wide-angle.
If you are there in the rainy season, you could buy a picture book instead
of film.

Sights:
The temples are great. Absolutely.
- Angkor Wat is pretty big, actually too big for my taste. You would want to
fly through this on a hoverboard...
- Preah Khan is my favourite.
- Ta Prohm is also nice but because it is so popular, there are many touts
to bother you. On the hill in the parking in front of the entrance, a man is
playing music and his children are dancing. A good selection of food is
available. As there is not too much space in the parking lot, it tends to
jam with busses and vans. Inside the compound are lots of people and the
feeling gets lost.
- The whole area inside Angkor Thom city walls I enjoyed a lot, it's so
nice, cool and green. Great for cycling, with many small dirtroads.

To get the most out of it, go in the early morning and cycle in from the
back entrances (Angkor Wat has an Eastern entrance, and they even have a
sleepy checkpost there).
When you instead come in the middle of the day by minibus that drops you in
front of the main entrance where a crowd of soft-drink vendors gather around
you and accompany you into the compound, a lot of the atmosphere is lost.

Surely these temples deserve more to be said about...


Biking:
I done a nice trip from Siem Reap to the Western Baray and from there into
Angkor Thom. You will like this, if you are into mountainbiking:
- Follow No.6 towards the airport but don't branch off to the airport, go
straight.
- Next asphalt road to the right (North) takes you to the Western Baray
- You will reach a port where boats wait to take you to the little island
for US$5..8. Turn right (eastwards), there.
- The track is wide and made of sand and gravel. To the left you will see
the little island with the Western Mebon.
- When you get close to the island, you will see several tracks leading down
to the water. Follow one of them and park your bike in a place where the
cows don't throw it over.
- Say hello to the kids, ask them nicely not to touch your stuff, lock your
bike and swim over to the island (in July / August there was enough water to
drown / not to get tangled up in vegetables).
- Plan on swimming half hour, it can be windy and have some waves, but no
currents to carry you away. Also no crocodiles (some boat owners claim there
are).
- Take a rest on the island. There is not much to say about it, not much to
see, some old stones and a funny feeling to walk around the lower part of
the island, it is all floating plants and they sink in a bit as you step on
them
- You can't spend much on the island, well, maybe you'll find a donation box
at the Eastern end where there is a wooden house with a Buddha inside. Swim
back ashore.
- Back on the shore, take another rest, then head on East to a newish temple
(built in 1995) that is called Sway Ro... (forgot the rest). The drawings
are very nice. A number of students use this temple as a residence while
away from their hometowns in the countryside. They are happy for any sort of
donation.
They speak English and told me it would be a bit dangerous to go further
around the Baray, as people sometimes rob you. Well, here you need
to rely on your guardian angel.
- The track goes challenging, a few times you have to carry the bike. Apart
from that, you can go quite fast.
- You reach a point where the track turns North. Follow this and keep an eye
on your GPS (you should have one if mountainbiking in this area, and you
should have set it to guide you to The Bayon, now).
- The track goes narrow and a lot of green grows high on both sides, it's
fun to chase through this, quickly. Know that just a few meters to your
East, behind the green, there are ricefields and people living. The may come
on your track from the right side and could be a bit frightened by a
fast-moving object.
- Monitor the GPS and when The Bayon appears at 88 degrees, take one of the
small tracks East. You will pass between ricefields and villages and
eventually through the Western gate of Angkor Thom, which may not be obvious
until you are very close. This side is yet very jungleish.
- Now you see The Bayon in the distance ahead of you, the track is wide and
shaded by trees. Very soon, you'll hit a cold-drink stand, you are back to
civilization.
This track is amongst the attached files, you could open it in OziExplorer
(www.oziexplorer.com) and upload it to your GPS, so you may follow it
exactly. The swimming-part however is not included.

The Vietnamese Fishervillage:
Cycled down there and found tourist boats for US$5..8 to take one on the
lake where a Vietnamese fishfarm is supposed to be. Haven't done it.
Phnom Krom is a tempel on a hill, can be reached by stairs. You can also
cycle around this hill and see some villages. The road is OK for a
mountainbike.
From that harbour, there are boats to Battambang and Phnom Penh. The one to
Battambang has 3 outboarders mounted at the stern and does a lot of speed.
I haven't been on this trip but one guy told me it was almost frightening
how
fast they go even through narrow canals. Tickets can be bought at an office
in Siem Reap. You can either take a trip on their van or come to the harbour
by your own means.

The people:
A few of them are unbelievably reckless and unpopular. As a cyclist, one
prefers to get out of their way.
Apart from those folks, the majority of Cambodians appeared bright,
friendly, sincere, honest and ambitious to me.
Cambodians are exceptionally humorous, can even be ironic and macabre.
They understand pretty well what you think and it is a pleasure to talk with
them.
I consider their character comparable to the Burmese and not so far from the
Indonesians. They are not supersoft never-mind people like the Thai or Lao.

To summarize:
Cambodia is great, people wonderful, activities adventerous and unsafe.
You will not be the first one to say that this whole place is a movie. And
you will want to see this movie again.


eof