Travel Story: Don't Take a Banana To Angkor Wat in Cambodia

The half dozen 4 a.m. alarms were blaring. Annoyed groans were deafening. College students are used to many things, but getting up at 4 a.m. was not usually on the menu. But today, today was the day we had been waiting months for, so annoyance quickly turned to excitement.

Today we were up before the sun woke up to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

We slowly got ready for the day and met the full group in the lobby of our hostel in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Siem Reap, just hours ago, had been a bustling nightlife-haven town, bars busy, restaurants occupied getting through the dinner rush, and the markets in full force to sell the latest treasure to the eager tourist looking for that perfect knick-knack to sit on their living room shelves back home.

By 4:30 a.m., our ride to take us to Angkor Wat had arrived.

To our surprise, our rides were a gaggle of Tuk-Tuks. Thankfully three months of living in Bangkok, Thailand had prepared us all for this ride. We were a little phased by the Tuk-Tuks zooming in and out of highway traffic.

The Tuks-Tuks each had a bagged breakfast for each of us, ready to fuel us for the long day ahead of us. In each bag were two croissants, a jelly container, a water bottle, and two bananas.

We arrived at the Angkor Wat visitor center by around 5 a.m. and had to wait in line with the other eager, sleepy tourists also ready to check this off their travel bucket list: see the sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Many of the people waiting in line for their tickets were here to see and learn about the nearly 900-year-old structure that was still so intact after all this time, after years of wear and tear.

At the height of when Angkor Wat was used hundreds of years ago, the enormous Buddhist temple complex was built by Emperor Suryavarman II, who ruled the region from 1113 to 1150, as the state temple and political center of his empire.

While we wait in line to get tickets, we all scarf down our bagged breakfasts. Me thinking ahead a few hours when I would inevitably be hungry, I decided to stash my extra banana in my purse. Thinking little of this decision, we were off with our tour guide, who would spend the day showing us everything this magnificent temple had in store.

We get to the Rainbow Bridge that allows you to pass over the waterway surrounding Angkor Wat.

At this point, we can all start to see the main area that is famously shown all around the world in photos. We were joined by a hundred or so other tourists anxiously awaiting the sunrise and hoping for a clear morning to see the sun come over the Angkor Wat temples.

Nothing could describe the excitement that we were all feeling about getting to see night turn to day at one of the most famous spots in the world, one of the largest religious structures in the world.

Our patience had paid off, we were greeted with a clear sky to see the sun slowly peak over the temple’s tallest point. We were in complete astonishment at what we were witnessing. We all took some time to sit and reflect on what we all described as feeling very grateful to be able to travel to this corner of the earth.

Eventually, our tour guide brings us all back from our i-can’t-believe-I’m-here trance that we had all fallen under.

He takes us around the main grounds of the Angkor Wat temple we had just watched the sun pop over. We learn of the long history of Angkor Wat. We walked through the extensive collection of rooms and corridors.

We walked up the steep stairs that led up to the second floor of the temple to get a new perspective of the place.

We somehow weave our way back to the main grassy area we had just previously seen the sunrise at.

The hoards of tourists had whittled down to just a few.

A different kind of resident of Angkor Wat was now filling in the spaces tourists used to take up just two hours prior.

Monkeys.

We all oh and ah at their cuteness.

As we make our way through this open grassy area, I find myself at the back of the pack to stop and take more photos of the temple.

All of a sudden, I hear my friends scream, “Erin! Run. Monkey!”

I turn around to find myself being charged at by two “cute” monkeys.

I start running around like a mad woman, unsure of what to do with myself. I was fast, but these monkeys were for some reason determined.

It then dawns on me… the BANANA! The banana I so smartly was saving for a mid-day snack was in my purse.

I wipe open my purse and throw the banana at these monkeys as if my life depended on it.

It worked! The monkey’s stopped running after me and darted for the unpeeled banana now laying in the grass.

I run back to my friends laughing hysterically. The kind of laughing that leaves your stomach sore. My friends were all so amused by my high-speed monkey chase for my banana.

“Oh, you did not know there were monkeys in the area, huh,” said our cackling tour guide?

“If I had, do you think I would have kept a banana in my purse?” I say with lots of sass say back.

The rest of the day was spent touring other parts of the Angkor Wat area. It was easy to forget I had just been chased by a ruthless monkey because of how much there was to soak in.

For the rest of the day, we spent time exploring the other beautiful temples in the Angkor Wat area, including Ta Prohm Temple, Baphuon Temple, and Preah Khan Temple.

If you ever have the chance to visit Cambodia, Angkor Wat is a MUST-SEE destination, and if you’re taking the time to come to Angkor Wat, I also highly recommend coming before sunrise to see the sun come over the most beautiful part of Angkor Wat. I also recommend paying for a guide and Tuk Tuk to take you around the area. It’s a massive area to see all of the different temples, and walking from each one would take a bit of time and in the heat, would be even more taxing.

Parting words: DO NOT bring a banana with you to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Even if you think it is safely in your bag or purse, they will find you!