Cambodia is a country that went through difficult times, having been a French colony for about 100 years, then occupied by Japan for a period of time, and in the 1970s, when all its intellectuals, artists and scientists were forced to work in the fields, and those who opposed it were tortured and killed. At the last stop of our Southeast Asia trip, we came to Siem Reap for a day to see the famous temples. As a result of a little internet research we did while planning our trip, Mr. We found Kriss. Mr. Kriss provides air-conditioned cars to anyone who wants a driver or a guide, and provides both. While he was probably doing this job himself in the beginning, he expanded the business over time and now takes care of its organization. Of course, this is our guess because he didn’t greet us personally. For those planning a trip to Cambodia, here is the address: http://www.aangkorwattour.com/ The price of the daily tour is really very low, if we remember correctly, 50 dollars, including car, guide and driver, airport pick-up and drop off. We landed in Siem Reap by morning flight and our guide met us at the area. We arrived at a place between a tea garden and a cafe where we had our breakfast in a very clean and comfortable air-conditioned vehicle. However, there is an interesting practice here; the tables where the guides sit are separate. They do not sit in the same section as tourists. Even though we insisted, our guide sat in a separate corner from us throughout breakfast. After breakfast, we bought the ticket required to enter the temples. We were able to visit all temples with this ticket, which is valid all day. Our first stop; When Siem Reap is mentioned, the largest and most well-known temple that comes to mind is Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat, which is on the World Cultural Heritage List, was once a Hindu and a Buddhist temple. The domes of the temple, which is also on the country’s flag, symbolize Mount Meru, and according to Hinduism, the gods live on this mountain. Our Angkor Wat Temple Guide explained in detail all the motifs on the walls of the temple, depending on what happened in history, but unfortunately I cannot write about them here because most of them have been erased from my mind. But I can still remember some strange stories; For example, if I understand correctly, he mentioned that a giant turtle saved the city. There is a section considered sacred inside the temple that can be reached by high stairs, and care must be taken to wear appropriate clothing when going up there. After waiting in a long queue, we climbed to this section with strength in our knees. The many high stairs do not deter older tourists. While we tourists climb up, the guides wait below. The crowd at Angkow Wat Temple consists not only of foreign tourists and guides, but also locals have a habit of coming here when they get married. While walking around, we saw many brides and grooms taking photos by the pool. An example of the bride and groom. After Angkow Wat, we visited Ta Prohm and Bayon temples. Ta Prohm Temple is an interesting place where, unlike others, the walls are surrounded by tree roots. This place is also famous as the place where part of the Tomb Raider movie was shot. For lunch, our guide took us to a restaurant where local dishes were served, and of course, this place was full of tourists. Instead of eating something familiar, we decided to eat something unique to Cambodia, but as usual, I was not as brave as Engin and preferred chicken noodles. Engin, on the other hand, wanted fish soup cooked in coconut milk served in coconut. The food was very delicious, very different and very sweet for our taste, yes, you read it right, I ate a sugary food, and Engin’s rice had an interesting jasmine-scented aroma. Maybe it just seemed that way to us, or maybe it varies from country to country, but even cola was sweeter. After the meal, our guide left the choice to us and suggested continuing the tour with the temples or going to the floating village they call “Floating Village”. Siem Reap’s temples are endless, but 4 temples were enough for us and we directly accepted our guide’s suggestion. Of course, since this part was not included in the tour, they requested an additional payment for both gasoline, boat tickets and guide fees. Since it is a country where everything is very cheap, we did not hesitate. We saw this monkey on the road. When I approached him, he kept opening his mouth to scare me, but instead of scaring me, it made me laugh a lot. However, the animal was probably about to attack, but I continued to approach it naively and imitated it. Luckily, I was lucky and escaped without being bitten without driving the animal crazy. The floating village is very interesting and definitely a must-see when visiting Siem Reap. People live in small boats on the river. Schools and sports fields are again on boats. Life is on the boat… As we learned from our guide, the people living here are mostly refugees from Vietnam. Sports field Children returning from school Temple In the middle of the river there is a place where souvenirs are sold for tourists. There are also crocodiles kept in very bad conditions here. Here I felt very sorry for the crocodiles that I was angry with for eating the zebra in Tanzania. After a one-day but very full trip to Cambodia, we completed our Southeast Asia trip and returned home. Mavimore Turizm is a travel agency registered with TÜRSAB. Document number: A-8307