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 Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Know the most popular landmarks in Siem Reap, Cambodia. You may read about best transportation, recommended travel itinerary, suggested routes and directions. Also, you might want to read our
Angkor / Siem Reap city guide,
and Phnom Penh city guide.
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| L Liu yu ping |
31 December 2004 |
Stayed at Princess Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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If your schedule is tight, the city can be seen in two days, although we stayed three.
Even in winter, December, it is still very hot. Visit the temples in the early morning, and late afternoon.
Two very highly recommended restaurants - Viroth's and Madame Butterfly,
ambience and food at both is excellent. Hire a driver, $20 to $25 per day, but agree at the beginning. Our experience, with two drivers, they returned the next day. We told them where we wanted to go, and their response was to ask for $10.00 more. A must visit is the two locations of Artisans d Angkor, their products are made in Siem Reap. Most of what is sold in the markets comes from Thailand, China, and other countries (although they will tell you that it is Cambodian).
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| D Mcfadden |
27 December 2004 |
Stayed at Borei Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We had two nights but only one full day in Siem Reap. Nevertheless, we managed 3 temples - Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, and Angkor Wat, in that order - and felt we had a sense of the place. Ta Prohm is especially atmospheric, and we experienced a lovely red sunset and moonrise at Angkor Wat. Caution: if you're even slightly prone to vertigo, DO NOT CLIMB THE "STEPS" TO THE CENTRAL TOWER AT ANGKOR WAT. It's far steeper than it looks; you need hands as well as feet. Halfway up you'll begin to shake, and coming down (even on the steps with a rail) is much, much worse.
The hotel arranged a car and driver for our day at the temples, which worked out very well, enabling us to see as much as possible, to have a great lunch at the Soup Dragon, and even to have a swim at the hotel during the hottest part of the day. The rest of the time we took tuk-tuks. The hotel also arranged pick up from the airport - very convenient - as well as tickets and transport to the fast boat to Phnom Penh. That early-morning trip past the floating village and then down the Tonle Sap was an experience we wouldn't have missed for the world, but it's probably not for everyone. Trying to get comfortable (not to mention staying safe!) on the rounded metal roof of the boat, with its rivets and its eight-INCH high "protective" railing, was like a five-hour yoga class, and the noise of the engine below was deafening. Can't imagine small children or elderly people enjoying/surviving it. Fabulous views, though, so the ride was a holiday highlight for our family. Caution: larger bags get stored below, so be sure to have your hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, long-sleeved shirt, etc. with you on the roof of the boat before the journey begins.
We thought the food, the service, and the atmosphere at both the Soup Dragon and the Bopha Angkor restaurant were excellent. We've travelled quite widely in South East Asia, and found Cambodians to be some of the loveliest, gentlest, warmest people we've ever encountered, in spite of their recent horrific past and the country's current problems of mass poverty and persistent corruption. We'd been warned a great deal about how distressing the beggars, especially the amputees and the children, would be, and yes, they are terribly sad, but we also noticed that there were many, many more people trying to earn a living by selling cold drinks, hawking souvenirs, etc, - surely a hopeful sign. Our best advice: buy whatever you can, don't bargain hard, and carry a supply of pencils, pens, small toys, food items, hotel soaps, etc. to give to the children who are begging or selling souvenirs.
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| Y Han |
27 November 2004 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Angkor Wat is a place that everyone should go at least once in a life time. Highly recommend a guide his name is Saron Soeun. He has a website. The driver that he got for us named Hon Bon is also excellent. If you want an exclusive tour, they can arrange it for you.
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| C Hale |
26 November 2004 |
Stayed at Borei Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Siem Reap is a great place. The temples are amazing but the town is also a nice place to wander round and relax.
Good restaurant/bars are the FCC and the Red Piano. Worth getting up early to get to the temples for sunrise (about 5.30am). Siem Reap is very dusty - it brought on my hayfever allergies so if you are allergic to dust/pollen bring medication - they didn't have any in the basic pharmacies.
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| H Payne |
10 November 2004 |
Stayed at FCC Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Taxi driver Mr. Bohm was a great help and very courteous; you can call him at (855) 12774103.
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| M Rogondino |
30 October 2004 |
Stayed at Ta Prohm - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We hired the driver who picked us up at the airport for our 4 day stay. He drove us to all the temples in Angkor Wat and the Chong Kneas village and gave us good information about what to expect. The trip exceeded our expectations; Angkor was absolutely magnificent and defies description. The Ivy and the Red Piano were good places to relax and grab a bite to eat and a beer after a long day of sightseeing.
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| E Forget |
23 October 2004 |
Stayed at Bopha Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We found Cambodia relatively expensive but I guess when you have a week only it's best to stay in mid range hotels and hire a car and driver to get around. You probably can stay in much cheaper places, but it's more hassle and Cambodia is very hot and we got very tired. Angkor is a magic place, it is worth spending 3 days there and it's also better to hire a guide. There isn't much to do in Phnom Penh, apart from visiting the killing fields and genocide museum, which was hard. Phnom Penh has some great French restaurants, I think it is one of the best places in Asia to eat. I would also like to mention the Artisans d'Angkor, in Siam Reap: a workshop/school that trains sculptors and weavers. They have 2 schools, that people can visit: one is a silk farm and the other is the sculpture workshop. Their products are not cheap but they are beautiful, replicas of Angkor designs are definitely worth it.
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| L Milis |
16 October 2004 |
Stayed at Angkoriana - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We visited Siem Reap for the richness of the Angkor Wat complex: splendid and for Europeans used to medieval buildings an enriching experience of what the contemporary Kmer culture could perform. We had contacted before we left an excellent guide (laoukchhou@yahoo.com) (I guess most guides are well trained) who gave (in French) very adequate explanation on the monuments, daily life, monasticism, nature etc. He made us understand much better the deeper sense of the architecture and sculpture. The price was fair and so was the organization and price of the transport (by 'remorque'). Since everybody is paying in US$ everything is cheap for €-people.
By the way: asia-hotels.com was effective in the reservation procedure.
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| J Johnston-ueda |
14 October 2004 |
Stayed at FCC Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We requested bikes be arranged in advance and so the hotel bought two new bikes!! We really appreciated this rather than us having to spend time making our own arrangements.
One note on biking - the road in front of the hotel is one way (opposite direction to Angkor Wat) We assumed this meant cars - but we were wrong. The police waiting by the bridge found us!
We spent two full days biking around Angkor Wat and surrounding - it was difficult in the heat but well worth it. We asked the hotel to arrange a half day car trip and we were able to see Bantey Srei, East Mebon, Pre Rup and then down to Roulos (Preah Ko and Bakong). You can only absorb so much in one day so we went back to the hotel for a swim and then went down to the market later in the afternoon.
There is certainly a wide selection of restaurants to chose from. The two we especially enjoyed were Dead Fish Cafe (great food, eclectic atmosphere, lots of fun and very reasonably priced - $7-9 set menu for two) and Indochine (Sivatha Street 012-804952). Indochine is in a 70 year old Khmer house is elegant and upscale but still not expensive - about $25 for two.
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| M Ciurlionis |
13 October 2004 |
Stayed at Borei Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Used a great taxi driver, Mr. Chea Bun Voan.
Mobile 012 910 793. Very helpful. Made excellent itinerary suggestions.
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