From Singapore to Siem Reap for 3 nights for Angkor Wat Temple Run Sportcation, Cambodia

The Trip — Half marathon run through Angkor Wat with a bunch of friends. Lots of great food and cocktails. Adventure quad biking thru the Cambodian countryside. Culture at the temples. Shopping in Siem Reap. FUN. Easy. Relaxed.

Duration — 3 nights

Origin — Singapore

Type of Trip— Adventure, Culture, Quad Biking, Shopping, Sport and Exercise

Group Size— 10 people

Trip Dates and Average Temperature— We travelled in December – it was cool at night – about 20 C and heating up to about 30 C during the day – dry heat (not too humid) very pleasant

Mode of Transportation — Flew Silk Air Singapore to Siem Reap direct and then tuks tuks from airport to hotel

Cost — Flights - SGD$250; Hotel - SGD$150 (shared room); Food and drinks - very very reasonable; Shopping - each to their own, depends on what you buy.

General Route — Singapore to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat temple for the race, back to Singapore

Accommodation — Best place in town (in my opinion!) was the Golden Banana Villas – since renamed Rambutan Resort - 7 mins walk to main centre – very accessible. Quiet. Clean. Great staff. Good bar! A boutique chillaxed environment – some may say “Gay Friendly” but I would just say friendly and lovely.

Main Activities — Sportcation (half marathon), temple visits, quad biking, culture, massage and shopping

Food and Drink Highlights — So many great places in Siem Reap – it’s a food and drink mecca so here are just a few:
Coffee - Blossom (& cupcakes), Sister Srey, Blue Pumpkin Eat - Il Forno, Nest, Viroths, Sugar Palm, Mezze Cocktails - Miss Wongs, Happy Hour at Victoria hotel (5-7pm)

Essential Packing for this Trip — Siem Reap is a dusty Asian town - I would leave the formal wear and stilettos at home

Ratings

Rate the overall trip — 9/10

Rate the activity on your trip — 9/10

Rate the ease of logistics — 9/10

Luxury factor — 7/10

About The Traveller

Gender
Female

I’m from
Born & grew up in England. Lived in Hong Kong, Sydney, Delhi and currently Singapore.

My favourite trip as of late
Myanmar

I would describe myself as
Likes the open road, new adventures and the unspoiltness

I like to go on the following types of trips
I like to combine activity with some R&R, for example: Surf trip to Bal and mountain climbing in Lombok followed by beaches in Gili Islands. Marathon running in Rome followed by eating in Italy, etc

It’s a dealbreaker when
red tape

Continent I know the best
Asia. Australia. India. NZ. Thailand.

Our Experience

A commitment during a night of a lot of talk and beer led us to Siem Reap for a long weekend for the Angkor Wat Half Marathon.

We flew on the Friday morning and arrived by lunchtime in Siem Reap. This unfortunately gave us too much time to not only pick up our race packs, but do lots of shopping through the main centre. The FCC market is good for posh local handicrafts and textiles. You can pick up all the usual souvenirs and tatt at the markets. A quick foot rub followed by more bars and restaurants was in order.

On the Saturday we rested up (recovered), hired a car and driver to visit some of the temples. In the afternoon we dropped off the boxes of donated clothes we had carried over from Singapore for Caring for Cambodia – local orphanage and school and were given a quick tour and you can play with the kids.

Sunday morning was race day - we were up bright and early – organized a minibus to drop and collect us but plenty of tuk tuks available to get you to the start line. The race is quite well organized – pleasant climate for running and flat, cool, through the temples with all the local kids giving high fives and handing out the water. Good atmosphere! I would advise running fast as the medals ran out before all the people crossed the finish line!

So back to the hotel for espresso martini celebrations and some pool time. I booked a 1.5 hour FOUR-HANDS massage at Pura Vida but a few of us had booked massages in our rooms. Snoozes, celebration dinners and some disco dancing (Siem Reap caters to all generations and budgets).

The next day we went quad biking– you have to demonstrate adequate handling with a test ride before being allowed out on your own! You need long pants (had to buy some at the market the night before!). There is a tour guide and someone following – quite safe! Riding through the Cambodian countryside – the rice paddy fields, the small tracks, the villages and people out working the fields. Breathtaking scenery. Just lovely. BEWARE the DUST. So much DUST! You get a mask to wear but the dust gets everywhere! Dropped back to the hotel by noon for me to depart for my afternoon flight. Siem Reap is a small airport so one hour before flight is plenty!