Angkor

See

400px|thumb|Map of temple locations in Angkor Archaeological Park

Guides can be hired for about US$20 a day and are available for most major languages. Hiring a guide for at least the first day can help you get orientated to the temples and are particularly useful for finding and explaining the bas-reliefs, which can otherwise be rather overwhelming and/or difficult to understand. Guide books are also useful.

Ancient Angkor, a guidebook that is hawked at every temple, is surprisingly good. Particularly if you are interested in the carvings on the walls and towers, the book will keep you occupied for hours. If you don't want to pay money to hear a local tell you about the temples in broken English this is a good option. Authored by Michael Freeman and Claude Jacques, the cover price is US$27.95 at bookstores. Brand new copies are sold by vendors for US$14 but you can easily haggle to US$6 or US$7, and the price amazingly drops to US$1 by the end of the day, even in peak season.

The , beside the ticket office, is closed (Feb 2020) because of international sanctions against North Korea, which built and operated the museum.

Be sure to get to the temples early. You can enter the park beginning at 05:00; the temples open at sunrise. There are fewer visitors early in the morning, and the sun isn't at full force. Arriving at the temples at 08:00 instead of 09:00 can make all the difference in staying one step ahead of the crowds.

The temples can broadly be categorized into four …

Buy

Souvenirs are also sold in front of all temples. Bargain, but not too hard: many souvenir sellers live within the park and, being banned from farming on their own land, have to resort to this to make a living. Please do not encourage children who pester tourists in the temples themselves to give money or buy postcards. Spread your tourism dollars around—most temples have the same offerings, so buy your souvenirs and gifts for friends back home from several shops, from several temples if possible, especially the less-visited ones.

Ancient Angkor, a guidebook that is hawked at every temple, authored by Michael Freeman and Claude Jacques; the cover price is US$27.95 at bookstores. Brand new copies are sold by vendors for US$14 but can be sold for as little as US$1 in the afternoon without haggling. Alternatively, the book is available for rental online for free through the Internet Archive. The guidebook is detailed, and remains the best introduction to the temples that you can find.

There are several decent souvenir shops around the old market. One of the shops called "Black Garuda" has some original key holders and mobile straps and they donate some of your purchase to land mine victims.

Eat

Despite a ban on development and commercial activity, dozens of small noodle and snack shops have sprung up near the major attractions of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. The listed prices are high (US$4–7 for mediocre food), but shopkeepers may be willing to bargain. During summer low season, you can bring the price of a good lunch down to as low as US$1 for a dish and US$0.50 for a drink. Their flocks of five year old emissaries aren't likely to hold price-cutting authority. However, avoid hard or aggressive bargaining, either because the odd dollar is nothing to you but can be significant to a local, and also it is unwise to offend or upset anybody before they prepare your meal! You'll also find some local people selling fresh pineapples and mangoes (beautifully cut) and bunches of little bananas for about US$1 a piece. Also try the seasonal toddy palm fruit, a hollow sack as soft as jelly at 4 pieces for US$1 sold at the roadside to Bantay Samre and at temple refreshment stalls.

If a tuk-tuk driver brings you to a restaurant, he gets a commission – which means you'll be paying more for the meal and it won't be easy to bargain. Try to find a restaurant yourself and it'll be much easier to get an inexpensive meal.

The modern Angkor Cafe lies just outside Angkor Wat's main entrance, and also doubles as a crafts shop, with fine works from the Artisans d'Angkor shop, where they train locals in the arts. Their prices are on the high side for Cambodia, but very reasonable for Weste…

Drink

Soft drinks are hawked by stalls in front of practically every temple. As you might expect, prices are inflated: US$1 for a can of soft drink look to beer, or two cold 500-ml bottles of water is more or less standard; $2 is not uncommon (Feb 2020).

In warm weather, the temples are extremely hot and it may be worth buying and carrying large bottles of water.

Sleep

There are no accommodations within the park, and camping is not permitted. Like most tourists you will find yourself staying in Siem Reap, with a multitude of options ranging from grubby little guest houses to upmarket hotels and villas. See Siem Reap for more details on accommodation options.

Stay safe

By local regulation, motorcycle and tuk-tuk drivers must at all times wear a numbered vest when on the job, which goes a long way towards preventing hassles and scams. However, a disturbing number of rapes continue to happen, especially after dark and in the more secluded temples, so it's advised that women not travel alone.

Visiting the temples, beware of off-duty police officers, in uniform, who start walking beside you and start showing you around the temples. At this point either say that you would like to see the temples yourself, or agree on a price at the start. Several people have been charged a fee of over US$10 at the end of the temple tour and you are not going to argue with a member of the police force. The official wage for a police officer is very low, so they can easily double their salary by being tourist guides.

Beware of anyone offering you incense. They will hand you the incense and then "teach" you a blessing. They will then ask for a donation (generally about US$10) for the monks and the upkeep of the temple. None of the funds will make it to either of these causes, so it's best just to say a quick "No thank you" when they try to give you the incense in the first place.

Tourists mulling over whether to rent a tour bike: have no fear. Parking is never a problem and not in the warden's wildest dream that a bike parked besides an attraction will get lost or stolen, locked or not. In small temples it surely is easy to park and leave. Bikes are parked acros…

Stay healthy

Touring the temples is a hot and sweaty job, so bring sunblock and keep yourself well hydrated. Some of the temples, notably the uppermost level of Angkor Wat, require climbs up very steep staircases and are best avoided if you suffer from vertigo or are not fully confident of being able to keep your footing.

Malaria is not endemic around the temple complex; however, it is recommended to seek medical advice before you travel as conditions may change.

Don't feed or approach the monkeys who lurk around some sites: many are ill-tempered and will bite at the slightest provocation, and will often attempt to steal anything they can get their hands on. If a monkey jumps on you, stay calm, and do not make any sudden movements until it climbs off you, as moving rapidly is a great way to get bitten.