Bangkok + Siem Reap: Angkor an hour's flight from the Thai capital
The largest temple complex in the world deserves its own flight, but you cannot get there directly from Russia. From Bangkok it takes an hour.
Why via Bangkok
Siem Reap is a small town that lives off one thing: Angkor next door. There are no direct flights from Russia and there will not be, but from Bangkok they run constantly and cheaply. That makes a natural pair: several days in Thailand, three or four for the temples, home the same way or as a loop. For anyone who has been to Bangkok several times it is a way to make the trip stop repeating itself.
How to see Angkor
One day is not enough — buy the three-day ticket. Day one: Angkor Wat at sunrise (arrive in the dark, stand at the left-hand pool), then Angkor Thom with the Bayon, where two hundred faces look in every direction, and Ta Prohm, left in the grip of its trees. Day two is the Grand Circuit: Preah Khan, Ta Som, East Mebon. Day three the distant temples: Banteay Srei with its pink sandstone and the finest carving anywhere, and Beng Mealea, where almost nobody is taken. A tuk-tuk hired for the day is the easiest way to move.
What else is in Siem Reap
The floating villages on Tonle Sap leave a strong impression, but choose the route carefully — some have become an outright conveyor. In the evening there is the market and the pub street, which you get used to quickly and tire of just as fast. And a local genre: a massage after ten kilometres among temples under the sun, without which the third day is hard going. On the quieter side: the Angkor National Museum, which explains what you are about to see and is best visited before rather than after, and the Artisans d'Angkor workshops, where young people from the villages are taught carving and lacquer.
When to go
November–February: dry and relatively cool. March–May is the furnace, with the stones at forty by midday. The rainy season from June to October leaves the temples green and nearly empty, the moats full and the reflections perfect, but there is rain every day and some roads to the far temples turn to mush.
How to divide the days
Three nights in Bangkok and four in Siem Reap. Four rather than three: one day will certainly go on travel and recovery, because the temples wear you out faster than expected — a lot of walking on uneven stone with almost no shade.
Choosing the time of day
Sunrise at Angkor Wat is Cambodia's most reproduced image, and several hundred people will be there. There is a better option: spend the sunrise in Angkor Thom, where it is nearly empty, and come to Angkor Wat at closing time, when the coaches have left and the stone turns warm. The Bayon is especially good in the first hours after opening — side light pulls the faces out of the reliefs.
What else to know about Cambodia
Besides Angkor, two things often get added to the route. Phnom Penh with the Royal Palace and the Tuol Sleng museum — heavy, but necessary to understand what happened here in the seventies. And the southern coast: Kep, Kampot with its pepper plantations, and the islands of Koh Rong with white sand. Siem Reap to Phnom Penh is about six hours by bus or a short flight.
Practical matters
Thailand is visa-free up to 60 days; Cambodia issues a visa on arrival, and there is an electronic one — check the rules before flying. The Angkor ticket is bought at a dedicated office rather than at the temples, and with a photograph. Temple dress means shoulders and knees covered, and it is checked. Cash dollars circulate in Cambodia alongside riel. Hire the tuk-tuk in the morning and agree the whole route at once: it is cheaper and saves haggling at every temple in the heat.
Moscow → Bangkok → Siem Reap
Route and nights go into the form — adjust the date and passengers.