Cycling around Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is one of the most recognisable ancient sites in the world and the surrounding area is said to be the greatest concentration of architectural riches anywhere – as one would expect, its a fantastic place to visit. The problem is though, as with all such world-famous sites, how to enjoy it without having the commercialised tourist machine spoil the experience. You’re looking for that feeling of wonder and adventure as you explore from one ancient temple being torn apart by the roots of giant jungle trees to the next, not trying to jump in between mega-phone wielding Chinese tour groups and trying to be original in your latest reason for why you don’t want a local Cambodian man to sell you a plastic statue
Whilst for the main temples, such as Angkor Wat itself, the crowds are largely unavoidable, the best way to avoid the crowds is to hire some bikes and cycle around the cycling circuit(s). The roads are great, the distance is flat and easily manageable at 17km – 26km and you find yourself very quickly getting away from the crowds. You can also largely make up your own route for large parts of it depending on how you’re feeling. In fact, our favourite part of the trip was heading in the “wrong” direction and finding many of the less well-known temples largely to ourselves
Angkor Wat is awesome, it’s even better cycling it
