It took me two visits to really see Angkor Wat. On the first visit, I was there at 5:30 am as part of the Sunrise Tour. After seeing sunrise, my 4-person group was ready to visit other parts of the temple. It was already 7:30 am and our tuk tuk driver wanted us to meet him around 8:30 am. As I went through one hallway after another, I realized that 1 hour was not enough.

Just your typical sunrise, even better if it was on your birthday!

So the next day, I rented a bicycle and rode back to Angkor Wat. It took me 30 minutes to ride from Siem Reap. It was an amazing joy ride! By going on my own, I was able to really take in Angkor Wat at my own pace as well. I was probably there for 2–3 hours.

If you can only visit Angkor Wat for one day, it’s probably best to rent a scooter or bicycle to visit yourself. Or you can hire a tuk tuk for $10–20 USD and go on your own day tour, which includes going to other temples. Just be clear with your tuk tuk driver about where you want to go and for how long. Plan to be at Angkor Wat for at least 3 hours so that you can sit on a ledge and appreciate the calmness of your surroundings, look at the beautiful carvings closely, and take some amazing photos of visiting monks.