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 Siem Reap, Cambodia travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Angkor / Siem Reap city guide,
and Phnom Penh city guide.
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| J Stone |
26 February 2005 |
Stayed at Angkor Saphir Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Venture beyond the temples to the open markets around Angkor Wat to avoid the tourist hoards. Get their soon-hotel development is booming and the serenity of the temples is rapidly being ruined by too many tourists. Make sure you are there for two sunrises and two sunsets--no need to stay longer. U.S. dollar happily accepted everywhere, but bring home some local currency (a 500 denomination has Angkor Wat depicted--a Cambodian national cultural treasure)!
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| S Dominy |
24 February 2005 |
Stayed at Bopha Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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In Siem Reap, you do not have to worry about being located in the centre of town because everything is a short ride away. Central Market is good for nice gifts - beware that everything that looks old and antique probably isn't! We had a fabulous guide for the temple visits, Ponheary, who was a fascinating and knowledgable person to spend a few days with. Contact her on ponheary@yahoo.com. She speaks French and English. All her family members are also guides but I believe she is the best.
I was told 2 days was all you need to visit the Angkor area if you are not a temple buff. However, I wish we had at least 3 days as there are some wonderful sights further out which sounded very interesting. If you can't afford to stay at The Grand Hotel, Angkor, at least try to have a meal or drink there. The Fine Dining restaurant serves wonderful Khmer food. Even though it is probably the most expensive place in Siem Reap it is still very reasonable by Western standards (about US$40 per head with wine). They also do Apsara dance shows with buffet on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. These require advance booking. Beware the Apsara shows at the cheaper restaurants - they tend to be amateurish.
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| K Chatwin |
23 February 2005 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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In addition to the Passaggio, also stayed at the Shinta Mani for 2 nights. Fantastic place, although at a different price point admittedly.
Siem Reap is a nice enough town by Cambodian standards with easy access to Angkor, the obvious reason for going there in the first place. My only misconception going in based on reading other people's comments was that the "river" that bisects the town was actually something of a nice feature that you might want to have a hotel close to. Perhaps that's the case in the rainy season when the water level is higher and the river perhaps a little cleaner. As it was, the river was really nothing more than an open sewer.
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| L Hegazy |
17 February 2005 |
Stayed at Angkor Saphir Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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I was very glad, that I spent so much time in siem reap (10 nights). Four days I rent a bicycle to visit the short and the long circle in the temples area. The temples of banteay srei and roluos group I visited by taxi. To angkor wat and angkor thom I took a motorbiketaxi. This was a very good choice. A very recommendable restaurant only a few meters from angkor saphir hotel away is the restaurant la noria.
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| V Raghavan |
13 February 2005 |
Stayed at Borei Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Visited all the temple sites in Angkor and surroundings. A three day visit is recommended to see all the must-see sites. A restaurant called Taj Mahal in the Old Market area serves excellent Indian cuisine.
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| P Lippett |
11 February 2005 |
Stayed at Borei Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Strong recommendation to book the services of Saron Souen as guide, at only $20/day in 2005 plus $20/day for a car and driver. Speaks excellent English, is totally knowledgeable, is fun and personable, and can't recommend highly enough for visiting Angkor Wat and surroundings. email him at saronan@camintel.com, and check his website at www.sarontours.com. We booked him months in advance via email, and recommend others do too (some are disappointed when they arrive in town and find him booked up).
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| S Scheiner |
11 February 2005 |
Stayed at Angkor Saphir Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We had a good and helpful driver (Tan Sokmet garden@camintel.com, mobile (855) 12 630 577). Around the corner of the Saphir Hotel is a very good restaurant (Arun).
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| N Ng |
09 February 2005 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We didn't use a guide to see the temples, instead we just hired a tuk-tuk from a really nice Cambodian fellow, one Mr. Hang RA, tel (855) 12 732 211, email ra1_heng@yahoo.com. He was very friendly and suggested a list of temples we should see, all for $12 the entier day. Guides cost $20-25. Not having a guide gave us the freedom to spend as much or as little time at each temple. I also found that the Cambodian drivers haven't gotten as greedy nor pushy with tourists as those you might find in the more tourist-visited countries of Vietnam or Thailand. Try to get to Cambodia before this changes!
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| J Morris |
04 February 2005 |
Stayed at Angkoriana - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Hotel Restaurant very good and reasonably priced. Seeing Hands massage in town is great! 1 hour massage for $4, and can walk to large selection of restaurants from there. Piano Bar is good cheap food.
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| S Schiff |
01 February 2005 |
Stayed at Shinta Mani - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Tuktuks are cheap and always available (for $1) to go about town. Often they are willing to wait for your return trip. For temple hopping, a private car with driver is easily arranged by the hotel and, in the heat of the day, that A/C was most welcome between stops. The 'sunset' from the hill was too hazy to merit the tourist-marathon climb so check the sky before you trek up. The boat ride to the Lake Tonle Sap floating village is dicey. Make sure that you are in a working boat which can go reasonably fast, without spewing foul exhaust, AND with life jackets. We learned this the hard way and had to beg a ride from other tourists when our assigned boat broke down. The floating village itself was of interest if in the area seeing other things but not really worth a special trip.
Local restaurants are cheap. I often over-ordered so that I could try more dishes, and then had the leftovers bagged with extra rice, to give to the many street people. They were always most grateful for the food and this is preferrable to giving money as you are sure that the mother, child, or land mine victim benefits directly. A visit to the Angkor Hospital for Children, a small 45 bed concern that emphasizes education and training along with care, was most interesting. They have a charitable arm, operated by Friends Without Borders, that uses all but 8% of the funds directly for programs and patient care.(Do NOT confuse this hospital with the large, slick, BEATCELLO concern nearby).
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