Siem Reap

We arrived in Siem Reap after our not so fun journey from Bangkok and were dropped off just outside the centre of town. Tired after our long painful journey we found a bar with WiFi and more importantly alcohol ($0.50 per beer!) in order to locate our hotel and familiarise ourselves with our new surroundings. We had a drink in one of the many ‘Temple’ bars (who seem to have the monopoly over nightlife in Siem Reap) and chatted with the friendly waiter which put us at ease as we started to forget the stress of the day. After some fresh summer rolls and a Crocodile Amok for Cam (a kind of Khmer curry and Cambodia’s National dish) we hailed a tuk tuk to our hotel which cost us around $2 for the 5 minute journey. We probably could have got it cheaper but we were too tired to haggle plus we were so taken back at the genuine friendliness and helpfulness of the driver that we were happy to pay the asking price. 

We stayed at Visoth Angkor residence. A super clean, spacious and comfortable hotel, with really helpful staff, they also have a nice pool which is very refreshing after a long day of temple exploring. We paid around $13 per night which we found more than reasonable, and it was a 10 minute walk to the edge of the town centre which was perfect for us as it was always so quiet at night. There is an abundance of hotels, guest houses and hostels around and plenty closer to the centre and the notorious ‘Pub Street’ if you prefer to be closer to the action. 

Angkor

Tourists flock to Siem Reap as it’s the base town for visiting the mystical, awe inspiring and down right huge Angkor Wat, the biggest and probably the most famous of the temples in Angkor. We booked our trip to the temples of Angkor via our hotel but all tuk tuk drivers here offer 1, 2, 3, even 7 day trips so you can also arrange directly with any driver. Most people here seem to hire one driver and use them for the duration of their visit to Siem Reap. We decided on a one day trip in which we would see Angkor Wat, Bayon Temple, Ta Prohm and Ta Keo amongst others. Our driver cost $15 for the day, with our ticket for the temples costing $37 each.

Our first stop was Angkor Wat the largest of all the temples in Angkor, and by largest we mean HUGE. From first sight of the magnificent structure over looking a tranquil lake we were blown away by its beauty, and almost ran over the floating bridge to the entrance. You can spend at least an hour just casually walking around here, and there’s so much detail to stop and look at at every turn. There’s also lots of quiet spots to take photos or to just sit and stare in wonderment. 

Bayon temple was the next stop, which was definitely our personal favourite, this is the temple covered in Buddha faces, all with slightly different expressions. It’s  much smaller than Angkor Wat but the detail is very impressive. You can get some really great photos here and we found that it really wasn’t that busy so we had plenty of space to explore. 

Ta Prohm is probably another recognisable temple, this is the temple which due to its age has almost become one with the tree roots that are now entwined with it’s structure and foundations. It was used in the original Tomb Raider film and it definitely has an Indiana Jones feel about it too! Although we loved Ta Prohm it does get busier than the other temples and we were starting to get frustrated with the large groups of tourists which the small and narrow corridors are definitely not equipped for!

Pub Street and Food

The main strip of bars and restaurants in Siem Reap are based on ‘Pub Street’ which is just behind the night market (later in this blog post). With its garish multi coloured lights and neon sign it’s not hard to find. The street is lined with mostly western style bars which all serve Khmer food and have a wide variety of cocktails but they tend to be some of the more expensive places in town, (around $5 for a meal, $5 a cocktail, though they always have happy hour offers on the go) we had cocktails during happy hour at one Temple bar on Pub Street and got two cocktails for $5 which had a high level of alcohol in them, (beware their creamy White Russians are very morish) and a bar snack of buffalo which was like a meatier, tastier billtong for around $4. There’s also often live music playing in the bars and restaurants and a few of them have rooftop bars. There currently seems to be a bit of an ice cream trend, with every corner having a ice cream roll stand.

We mostly ate in a small family run restaurant on the outside of the night market and away from the hustle and crowds of pub street, called Taste For Life. They have a huge Khmer menu with plates of noodles for $1, their morning glory and fried frogs were equally as good value and delicious. The restaurant has a wonderful atmosphere as they always have family members including children around. Our first night the owner was bathing her smiley baby who we were very fond of by the end of our trip as she was simply adorable! There are also quite a few other restaurants on this side of town if you want a more relaxed, quiet and cheaper meal,  away from the noise of pub street. 

Night Market

The night market is definitely worth a visit, we found it to have some of the cheapest prices we came across in Cambodia, with the shop owners always willing to haggle with us and always in an enjoyable and friendly way. You can get the usual tourist t-shirts and vests for around $1 each, but you could probably get them cheaper if you really barter with them. They have fake trainers and designer clothes, we bought a pair of Nike trainers for $15 and a pair of Converse for $10, and of course there’s the standard souvenirs, jewellery, canvas pictures etc. There’s also lots of food stalls, some selling the deep fried spiders and bugs that Cambodia has become known for. We tried a Scorpion and a Tarantula for $1 each, the Tarantula was ok but we wouldn’t recommend the Scorpion, maybe stick to the ice cream stalls… 

Got to keep moving

It was a difficult decision to move on from Siem Reap as we really liked the vibe here. The people have been so kind and welcoming, but with so much of the world left to explore and so many places in Asia we want to see we’ve decided to head to Phnom Penh. We can’t recommend Siem Reap enough, if you’re going to south east Asia make sure it’s on your list!