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 Traveller's Tales: Places to go and see in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Take a tour of the top places to go in Siem Reap, Cambodia. You may read about must see places and activities in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Angkor / Siem Reap city guide,
and Phnom Penh city guide.
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| A Mccullen |
30 January 2005 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Moto-trailers and motorcycles are absolutely everywhere so you will have no problems in finding transport, though contact lens wearers, be warned - the roads are very very dusty! There are plenty of great restaurants around Siem Reap ranging from Khmer to Indian to French, or if you wanted to go local, you could always eat at one of the street stalls serving Khmer noodles, rice, and baguette sandwiches. We even saw fried beetles with garlic for those with a more adventurous palette! Although I only saw them being sold by one vendor on the East bank of the river, over the bridge from the Old Market.
There are loads of souvenir shops round the old market area as well as classy little boutiques that support local Cambodians like Rajana, Senteurs and Artisans D'Angkor which also had tours around their workshops if you wanted. The Khmer Kitchen is a gem - their amok is wonderful with the coconut milk made fresh (we could hear them grinding the coconuts!) and deservedly popular. It's tucked away in a small lane behind Bar Street so look out for its sign or you'll miss it! We also tried the Soup Dragon which serves a great pho (pronounced 'fur') noodle soup dish in the mornings and the Red Piano restaurant with international food and generous portions. Most of the restaurants have upstairs balcony seating, nice for the street views. The Blue Pumpkin cafe serves great pastries, breads and ice cream. If you wanted to visit some bars, there is 'Bar Street' with the very popular Angkor What?, Temple Bar, Buddha Lounge to name a few, and Linga bar just around the corner, a very trendy affair and SR's one and only gay bar.
One thing I would definitely recommend visitors go to is the Beatocello concert held every Friday and Saturday evening at the Jayavaraman VII pediatric hospital next to the Sofitel hotel. The founder and director, Dr. Beat Richner puts on informal concerts playing the cello (hence Beatocello) combined with talking about the hospital's activities. Their services are offered completely free and it is depends very much on donations. You can see that it is put to good use with world-class facilties having been built for the Cambodian children. Even if you can't give any money, you can give blood so I would urge visitors to support this project in either way.
If you hire a local guide, around lunchtime they will 'suggest' a Khmer restaurant for you to go to. As it was our first day, we thought why not? and were taken to a nice enough restaurant. We were the first customers, but one by one, we saw tour guides bringing in their guidees(?) until the whole restaurant was filled! It wasn't that the food was bad, it was alright but it was expensive by Siem Reap standards ($18 for three dishes) and we thought Khmer Kitchen and Soup Dragon were much much better. So insist that you go to a restaurant of your choice or just ask them to drop you off at the Old Market where you can walk around and pick for yourself where you want to eat. You'll spend less and get more authentic food!
There's a balloon ride that gives you a great view over Angkor Wat and Phnom Bakheng, $11 for 10 minutes but worth it! Would have been nice for sunset but book ahead because the tour groups often go for this option. There are also helicopter tours, I can't remember how much they were but it is very very expensive! Take a break in the middle of the day from touring the temples (we usually stopped from 12-2 or 3) because it was hot, hot, hot! However, if you can stand the heat, you'll be rewarded by an infinitely more peaceful wandering-round-the-temples experience! Have fun, we certainly did!
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| M Mok |
24 January 2005 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Besides Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon... should also try the far-out places like Banteay Srei & Banteay Samre. Banteay Samre...less touristy... very serene... my favourite. Be prepared to do some climbing up Phnom Bakheng but it is worth the climb for the beautiful sunset lookout.
Must try Soup Dragon Restaurant for their Green Mango Salad & Vietnamese Spring Roll. Molly Malone is also good for their French onion soup, salads & desserts but have to wait quite awhile for the serving.
Le Grande Cafe has a beautiful balcony lookout upstairs. Have tried their Vietnamese food "Amok" over here. Quite good.
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| D Brickell |
24 January 2005 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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For our first day of visiting Angkor Wat and other temples we hired a driver and a guide. We paid $20 for the driver and another $20 for an English speaking guide for the day. (with an hour and a half break for lunch). Our guide took us to all the major sights of Angkor Wat, the Bayon and Angkor Thom area. One of the things we did, that was a lot of fun for us, was to take an elephant ride. Just outside the Angkor Thom south gate there is a group of elephants at a road-side facility. You can hire an elephant with a handler. The cost is $11. Our ride took us through the south gate into Angkor Thom along the jungle. Our ride lasted about a half hour. It was a great experience.
For the second day we didn't use a driver or guide, but hired a tuk tuk (mortorized rick-shaw) for the day for $10. We merely told our tuk tuk driver where we wanted to go and off we went. Our first stop was at Ta Prohm where we hired a guide for $4 for a 1 hour tour. This was very worthwhile as our guide showed us all the best locations to get good photographs as well as explaining some of the history. (The guides at this location are local young men who seem to hang out at the temple -- they do not have official guide badges, but are very knowledgeable). We also visited several lesser known places in the area that we spotted while driving through the Angkor Wat complex.
One of the best restaurants we ate at was the Chivit Thai. It is a Thai restaurant and the food was outstanding. The price was also very reasonable (Under $20 for dinner and beer). Another restaurant that had good food was the Foreign Correspondent's Club (FCC). However, it was more expensive than the Chivit Thai. In our opinion the food at Chivit Thai was better.
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| M Fisken |
14 January 2005 |
Stayed at Borei Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We were only in Siem Reap for 3 days and wanted to make sure we got to see the temples we wanted to see in this time without having to race around like headless chooks. We took the advice of many travellers comments on this website and also friends who have travelled to Siem Reap and booked a travel guide (Phan Virak phanvirak@yahoo.com) and driver organised by the guide. We decided to book before we arrived so we did not lose valuable time to see the temples, but could also take breaks during the heat of the day and have a swim at the hotel. We also read up on the temples and made a list of what we wanted to see. Our guide was recommended to us and he was very knowledgeable and interesting having worked with the Tomb Raider film crew. Some of the temples were a great distance across rough roads but we were so pleased that we chose to visit them as you could immerse yourself into the temple without being surrounded by tourists. We were told that we had chosen the best time to travel to Cambodia (mid January) as it was cooler (but still over 30 degrees Celsius) and the humidity was low.
Some of the temples we visited were in remote areas and we got to see how everyday villagers lived. These areas are very poor and parents struggle to send their children to school. Any assistance with pens, pencils, writing pads etc will be welcomed. We were so pleased that we still had pens and pencils left to hand out to these children and they were so excited when we gave them to them (they did have kiwi themes all over them as well).
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| M Wong |
06 January 2005 |
Stayed at Angkor Diamond Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Must visit the usual temples in Angkor and Bantay Srey - a little bit further out of town but worth the trip. The Landmine Victims Refuge is a sobering place to call in. Favourite restaurants in Siem Reap were Dead Fish Tower, Soup Dragon and IndoChine, the last a bit pricier but ambience made up for it.
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| T Liow |
01 January 2005 |
Stayed at City River Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Siem reap is a great getaway from the urban hustle and bustle. With lush rainforest vegetation, temples dating back to 9th Century, rich history and friendly locals, it's a place you will not regret visiting.
MUST VISIT: Ankor Wat, Angkor Thom, Banteay Srei (if you can afford the time), Land Mine Museum, Tonle Sap River,
OK TO MISS: Siemreap Cultural Village (which is essentially a B-grade "theme park").
PREFERED TRANSPORTATION: a "tuk-tuk" which is a motorcyle driven "chariot" comfortable enough for 2 adults. During my entire stay in there, I hired the services of "Ryu-Gen", a warm and good natured tuk-tuk driver who not only provided great transportation service but acted as our "guide" as well. With an open air transport like a tuk-tuk, you are totally in touch with unique ambience of SiemReap - the sights, the sounds, the smell and the dust - awesome!
For those into fine dining, check out Bopha Ankor Restaurant (beside City River Hotel) which provide highly delectable authentic Khmer cuisines!
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| R Beale |
31 December 2004 |
Stayed at Victoria Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We arranged for a guide for 2 of the days that we were there and he was great. They arranges an air-conditioned car with a driver and a tour guide (at our hotel the price was $ 150 for 2 days). One can negotiate what kind of schedule you would like with the tour guide.
The first day we visited Angkot Thom in the morning - then came back to the hotel for a break and then went to Angkor Wat in the afternoon (my best temple.)
The following day we went to Banteay Srei which is further away but very pretty and then Ta Prohm which has been overgrown by huge tree roots - very interesting. We had a rest and then went to dinner and a show with typical Cambodian dancing. The day before the temples we went around the town of Siem Reap -to get the feel of the place. Everything is priced in dollars so you don't need local currency. You might be hounded by victims of landmines (once you give money to one person - more appear) but as there is no social security one can understand.
We did eat luch at a place near the hotel called FCC which was very nice and otherwise we ate in the hotel where the food was superb.
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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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| S De clerck |
14 December 2004 |
Stayed at Angkoriana - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Beng Melea is more then worth the (far) trip, a temple in midst of the jungle, still raw and untouched, different experience. Kbal Spean is not worth the (long) climb, just a few carvings in the riverbed.
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