For our honeymoon, we were in Bangkok (Thailand) and Siem Reap (Cambodia)
for two and a half weeks. We spent our first few days in Bangkok; most of the trip was in Siem Reap, though, because we wanted enough time to sit back, enjoy the Angkor Wat temple complexes, and just relax!
View from our hotel room
We had a great time in Bangkok just walking around the city. While we were there, we took a day trip up to the (2nd) ancient capital of Siam,
Ayutthaya. If you're interested in history, Ayutthaya became the ruling empire of Southeast Asia after the Siamese defeated the Khmer empire (Cambodia) and sacked Angkor Wat in the 15th century.
As you can see, we got quite the Southeast Asian history lesson just traveling to Ayutthaya,
Bangkok, and Siem Reap! It was interesting to see how all three places are connected. In fact, Siem Reap, the town in Angkor Wat, roughly translates to 'defeat of Siam', to commemorate the Khmer victory over Siam in the 9th century.
View of Mount Kulen from the top of Pre Rup
Then we traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia for the main part of our honeymoon. It is an incredible place! A lot of people were surprised that we were staying so long in Siem Reap since there didn’t seem to be much else to do there besides the temples. The town of
Siem Reap itself is really great, though! There are many outdoor cafes, where you can sit and watch the world go by. Chuck's favorite was the $6 Thai massage, which was the perfect way to end a long day at the temples.
The temples themselves were incredible. The two largest complexes, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, are twice the size of Manhattan. Around the entire massive stone structures were intricate carvings and designs. In some parts, the jungle has retaken the temples, merging with the walls.
Shinta Mani
While we were there, we stayed at Shinta Mani (www.shintamani.com). We loved it! The hotel is affiliated with a local NGO and trains underprivileged youth in in a trade. Proceeds from the hotel go to this program. Shinta Mani also uses local, organic food in its restaurant to help support healthy eating and local agriculture/economy, and it donates any gifts hotel guests want to give directly to the local villages.
Apsara Dancer
The people in Siem Reap were extremely friendly, too. Many were very candid about the political situation there, including family members they lost in the Khmer Rouge. It is amazing to think that this reign of terror really only ended in 1997, with Pol Pot’s death. The country and the people are still trying to recover from this regime and reclaim their culture, identity, and livelihood.
We saw rehabilitation programs for victims of landmines, cultural dance programs for youth, particularly orphans, so that they can learn the ancient Khmer dances and history, which was almost lost in the Khmer Rouge purge, and government work programs, employing people to maintain the temple sites.The government also hires victims of landmines to play ancient Khmer music at the temple sites. It was magical walking through the temples in the jungle and hearing this music in the background, while at the same time sobering to see and know the musicians.
All in all, we couldn't have had a more perfect honeymoon. In fact, we can't wait until we can return and explore more of Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam!
