Wednesday, 6 December 2017

Angkor Wat Temple Run

My plan is to run a half marathon every two years to keep my fitness in check and given my last half was in 2015, I was due a run before the new year. I had heard great things about the Angkor Wat run so I recruited some friends and together we flew to Cambodia to run 10k and 21k as the sun rose over the temples.

We arrived a day prior to the run so had lots of time relaxing by the pool at Sokha Angkor Hotel, eating delicious food at Vibe and Olive, and collecting our race packs. We also managed to get over to the temples for sunset which was stunning.



The race started at 6am so we had to get up at about 4am and battle to queues of tuk tuks and pedestrians leading into Angkor Wat. We were a bit disappointed that the route had changed this year due to a diplomatic event taking place at Angkor Wat, however it was still a beautiful run and we saw lots of other temples along the way.  I was hoping to finish in under 2hrs but ended up with a time of 2hrs 13mins in the end.



We celebrated (in silence because we were so exhausted) at a lovely brunch place called Sister Shrey and Phil and I said goodbye to our pals who had to fly back ready for work the next day.




As we had an extra couple of days off work we spent the next day at the floating village an hour out of town. I loved the people there, such a community feel and the kids were adorable. 






We had a Cambodian BBQ in the evening along Pub Street and enjoyed a beer (Phil) and a massage (me) before heading back.




It was so good to go back to Cambodia as my trip a few years ago was so short I really wasn't able to get a sense of the country at all. Siem Reap is a bustling but small city and I would happily go back again next week!