My Year of Driving Dangerously: The Roads of Siem Reap

I had a really fabulous trip touring the temples in and around Siem Reap, and virtually all of them by bicycle. I really think that touring by bicycle is the way to see and experience the country if one has the time and the motivation. At least I think that was true for me (in my limited experience).

My itinerary went something like this:

On my first full day I rented a "town" bike (for $1) and rode around the city of Siem Reap. I also took a tuk tuk (that sounds and looks kind of funny) out to Tonle Sap for the requisite boat tour of the floating villages. A couple of other points of interest during that day made for a nice entry.

My third day I took a bike tour out to Beng Mealea, 75 km or so Northeast of Siem Reap (by backroad) at the edge of Phnom Kulen National Park. I was the only one who signed up, so it was just Sum (the guide) and me. Beng Mealea is a 12th-century temple that was rediscovered and excavated from its jungle home in the 1990s, though landmines and lousy roads made it a visit only for the most intrepid until about 5 years ago or so (or so I am told). It's a truly magical experience rambling through the rough ruins of this jungle-encroached temple, especially after a long (hot and sweaty!) bike ride through beautiful countryside.

On the Road to Beng Mealea

Magical "Courtyard" at Beng Mealea

The ruins of Beng Melea

Day four, another bike tour with Sum; this time one other person signed up, a lovely young woman from Holland (whose partner was in Hospital with Dengue Fever--ouch!). The three of us had a great time touring the temples of Angkor Archaeological Park, starting with the immense and stunning Angkor Wat. There is a really good reason why this temple is represented on the Cambodian flag. We then rode our bikes along a portion of "the great wall of Cambodia" (as Sum would say) that surround Angkor Thom, then a visit to famous and remarkable Bayon, followed by lunch (no crickets or ants today), then the unfinished (tall pyramid temple of) Ta Keo, followed by a ride through the back gate (and a very narrow trail populated largely by folks leaving and going to work at the temples on their motorcycles and bikes) to Ta Prohm, whose majestic trees vie with the structure, and in fact infiltrate it!