Anton Swanepoel - Angkor Wat & Cambodia

Angkor Wat &Cambodia

By AntonSwanepoel

Copyright 2015 Anton Swanepoel

All rights reserved. No part of thispublication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in anyform or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,without the prior written permission of the author.

Published by Anton Swanepoel atSmashwords

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Smashwords ISBN: 9781310787652

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Make your trip to Angkor Wat special byjournaling your trip in an Angkor Wat Journal. 100 pages each witha different picture of Angkor Wat or another temple.

Available Journals

• Collage Ruled Journal

• Non-ruled Journal

• Dream Journal

• Gratitude Journal

Angkor Wat Journals

About the author

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About The Author

Siem Reap is the capitalcity of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and thegateway city to Angkor Wat. The citys name translates to "Defeatof Siam". According to legend, King Ang Chan (15161566) gave thecity its name after he drove back an army sent to invade Cambodiaby the Thai King Maha Chakkraphat in 1549. This has not been provenas fact as of yet and remains a legend and the actual origin of thename remains unknown.

Today, Siem Reap is avibrant town and a favorite destination of travelers seeking toexperience the mystery of Angkor Wat. One of the most know streetsin Siem Reap is Pub Street, where a variety of shops, restaurants,a market, and more can be found. Siem Reap city is mostly a clusterof small villages along the Siem Reap River, with modern shopsmostly situated around Sivutha Street and the Psar Chas area (OldMarket area). The Wat Bo area became a popular place forguesthouses and restaurants while across the river, the Psar Leuarea developed into a large market. Siem Reap is a mix between themodern shops of Phnom Penh and the laid backrustic atmosphere of Battambang .

Gift ForYou . Click here to discover some of theamazing shops in Siem Reap.

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Angkor Wat is the largest religious monumentin the world, and situated at 8km (5miles) from the center of thenearby town of Siem Reap, in the district of Siem Reap,Cambodia.

The temple complex was first a Hinducomplex, then later became a Buddhist temple complex. Angkor Watdates back to the early 12th century and was built by the KhmerKing Suryavarman II and dedicated to Vishnu, unlike other templesthat were dedicated to Shiva.

Around Angkor Wat are a number of additionaltemples of different eras. However, Angkor Wat remains the bestpreserved and most visited temple complex in Cambodia. It isimpossible to see all the temples properly in one day, or even aweek. However, the main temple can be seen in a day, with a fewadded ones in three days.

The Angkor Wat complex combines two basicKhmer temple architecture, being the temple-mountain and galleriedtemple. The complex is designed to represent Mount Meru, that isthe home of the devas in Hindu mythology. The name, Angkor Wat,means Temple City or City of Temples in Khmer.

This book is not a guide to the differenttemples, but a guide to help you prepare for your visit to thetemples and Cambodia, or possibly move to Cambodia. This bookcovers information such as Visas, temple tickets, weather,shopping, accommodations, and much more. Using the information inthis book will allow you to have a smoother, safer, andless-expensive stay in Cambodia.

See my books, Angkor WatTemples , and Angkor Wat& Cambodia Temples for information about temples, aswell as my book, Kampot,Kep and Sihanoukville , for details about thesetowns.

Additional books that may be of interestare, Motorbiking Cambodia & Vietnam , and Vietnam Caves

Cambodia has been through rough times only afew short years ago and is slowly getting up on its feet. It usestourism capital to fund its growth, with Angkor Wat and thesurrounding temples, bringing in the Lion's share of it. Do expectmost things to be geared towards tourism, but still beingdeveloped.

Thus, expect many things to be regulated bythe tourism police, both for your safety and to protect theindustry. Understand that standards in most places will not be upto what you may be used to back home, and that people may struggleto understand you, even if they speak English, so treat Cambodianswith respect. They are people like everyone else, and have feelingslike all of us, and are trying hard to adapt to the new world.

This book is broken into sections that covera lot of information you need to, or might want to know. Thesections are arranged alphabetically, so just scroll down to thesection that contains what you are looking for. I suggest you readthe entire book from the front to back, then use it as a referenceas you prepare for your trip, and also while you are in Cambodia,and especially Siem Reap.

Most of the information does pertain tovisiting Cambodia in general. However, detailed information andpictures are mostly from the town, Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, suchas dentist, hospital, and shopping information.

The book is not a list of where to goshopping and eat, but more to prepare you for what to expect whenvisiting Cambodia, and especially Siem Reap. To help you negotiatethe pitfalls and scams, and have a fun trip.

One of the biggest expenses that you cansave on is accommodation. Do realize that 5 star places, aremostly 3 star when compared to places in America and UK. However,even guest houses and 1 star hotels give very good service. Justdo not expect gold taps, marble baths, and the finest carpets andlinen, unless you pay $400 a night. You get what you pay for.

Thus, to save money, avoid the top of theline hotel. The cost difference between a top hotel and normalhotel is major, while the difference in the standard does notwarrant the difference in money.

$1a day can get you a backpacker bunk (although they are gettingscarcer as Siem Reap is starting to cater more and more for richertourists).

Budget backpacker $1 a day accommodation. Fastdisappearing as places start to cater to wealthier tourists.