| C Usher-clark |
29 August 2004 |
Stayed at Borei Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Tourism in Siem Reap is growing exponentially with new large hotels being built in multiple locations. Go now before the town is enveloped! A 3 day pass to the temples was about right. We paid $6 for a tuk tuk at our disposal on the first day and $20 for a guide/$20 for a car on the second. A good guide brings the temples to life and is well worth the extra cost as it stopped us getting "temple syndrome" which so many talk about. See Angkor Wat at sunrise - 5.30a.m. Costs more to get to Banteay Srei as it is farther out hence more petrol. Went to the Kulen restaurant for an Apsara dance show - $12 per person with unlimited food buffet (excl. drinks) and well worth the money. By comparison we costed the Angkor Village/Apsara Theatre show at $22 per person! FCC good for lunch but more expensive - Red Piano does a good Cambodian curry; Khymer Kitchen was amazing and very cheap - worth hunting down that side alley for. The Blue Pumpkin inside the Artisans D'Angkor/Angkor Cafe is exceptional and very good value (cheaper than the other more "local" looking restaurants surrounding it!). Would recommend rainy season - so much quieter with about one sixth the number of tourists and it rained no more than an hour a day about 4pm so didn't distrupt our days at all.
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| A Morrell |
19 August 2004 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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The temples are more than impressive, and Angkor is much more than 'just a group of temples'. The variety in design, condition and setting means you should allow 3 days to take it all in comfortably. I was greatly impressed with the jungle that surrounds many of the temples, especially the huge teak trees. Our kids (ages 8 and 9) weren't bored either.
But if you're anything like us, you'll be looking for ways to avoid being caught in amongst the hordes descending from tour buses. With a bit of planning and a willingness to forego some of the 'standard' photo shots, you can end up having quality time at most places with only a few people around you (in low and shoulder season at least). For example, we arrived at Angkor Wat at 7:30am - the big tour groups hit it from 6 - 7am, We had the fantastic experience of having the temple pretty much to ourselves. The light for pictures may not have been as good, but I still got some great shots and what a wonderful experience. Also, don't let tropical downpours put you off. We toured Preah Kahn in the midst of a storm and our kids felt like they were in an Indiana Jones movie!
Lots of food choices. We found the Khmer food at the Borey Sovann great value and very friendly. Everything's in USD so you need plenty of that. The 3 day pass at US40 is good value (kids under 12 are free) but a pity the money primarily goes to an oil company rather than the upkeep of these magnificent structures. But the biggest sting in Siem Reap is the 'passenger service charge' at the airport - an obscene USD 25! A French company operates the airport and is intent on milking it for all they can get. Again, if this was going to the many needy Cambodians I wouldn't mind...
Overall, a great place to visit. Our 4 days there felt about right.
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| K Stiern |
10 August 2004 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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You have many good and cheaper restaurants in town where you can easily walk to from the hotel. Our favourite restaurant was the "Soup Dragon". There you can peacefully sit upstairs without being harassed by begging children and enjoy a delicious meal at a good price.
I can recommend our motor-cycle driver for the temple tours Mr. NAT who stands in front of the Angkor Village Resort and who speaks a good English.
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| J Ho |
09 August 2004 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Bopha Angkor Restaurant is one of the best restaurants in Cambodia for about US $6.00/person.
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| M Wong |
08 August 2004 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Excellent pizzas at Ecstatic Pizza, very cheap drinks plus cheap and good food at Temple, very good salads, breads and sandwiches at Blue Pumpkin and must try hotpot and homemade sherbets at Soup Dragon. All around the Old Market area and within a 5-10 minutes walk from Passaggio.
Also look out for the Seeing Hands Massage done by the visually impaired (a UNESCO project).
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| G Barrington |
28 July 2004 |
Stayed at Salina Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Temples fantastic. If you can allow more than 2-3 days to see everything it is much better. Eating out at local restaurants good value, tried Red Piano, Soup Dragon and Blue Pumpkin which were great. Don't go to Koulen Restaurant for Dance and dinner. Caters for large tour groups and was very poor value and food was only warm. Went to Chao Pra Ya was much better for the same thing. Far superior buffet meal and dancing much better. Found costs to get around high so allow for this. We took with us US money in lots of small denominations and made buying easy.
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| S Chan |
28 July 2004 |
Stayed at Pavillon Indochine - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We've tried several restaurants and found that Khmer Kitchen is really the best restaurant in town. Great food at very cheap price!! Beng Mealea is a must-go temple that is buried in the jungles. Great sense of adventure there!!
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| B Adlam |
06 June 2004 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Skip Battambang - no reason to visit. In Siem Reap Blue Pumpkin Mango shake and Amok ravioli both great. Red Piano also had very nice meals. FCC has great new space. In Phnom Penh, try Sugar Palm restaurant for vg Khmer food.
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| H Koenig |
01 June 2004 |
Stayed at Mysteres d' Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Khmer Kitchen - great place for Khmer food: cheap and good. Also, ask your tuk-tuk driver for a place that serves beef soup in a hot pot. We found it only after we asked our tuk-tuk driver where he usually eats. But overall, Cambodia is an expensive place to visit. Sunk costs include visa (USD20), airport departure tax (USD25), temples entrance fee (USD40 for 3-day pass), English-speaking guide (USD22 p.day) and tuk-tuk driver (USD12-20 p.day).
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| J Njoo |
16 May 2004 |
Stayed at Ta Prohm - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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I feel that the temple of Angkor wat itself is quite over rated but the other temples of Bayon and Ta Phrom are truly magnificent. We watched the sunset on the hill overlooking Angkor Wat and again, it wasnt as magnificent as I would have expected. Watching the sunrise was much better even though we had to get up at 4.30am! Check out the 'Red Piano' restaurant for really good local and international food and a nice atmosphere, which is located very near the hotel.
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Traveller's Tales: Restaurants and eating places in Siem Reap, Cambodia
