GabTravels

Greetings everyone,!

I just finished a 4-month trip to Cambodia where I was able to immerse myself with the locals (expats/volunteers and Cambodians), and I wanted to share my discoveries in this truly extraordinary country.

Let's start with the highlight, Siem Reap, the city of Angkor temples.
In this post, my advice for: temples, other activities, hotels and restaurants.

1: The temples:

Crowds: First of all, I was warned about overcrowding. So, I went there for the first time in the heart of the high season (February) and honestly, it's okay. Nothing like Disneyland or Mont St Michel as I had read. Yes, a little more crowded in the main temples, but I have a tip for that.

Length of visit: There are 3 passes for tourists, 1 day ($37), 3 days ($62), 7 days ($72) Unless you are allergic to old stones, take at least 3 days of visit, 7 days if you plan to stay a bit. The days do not need to be consecutive (3 days over a 7-day period and 7 days over a 1-month period). The archaeological park is not just Angkor Wat, far from it. There are hundreds of different temples in a vast area. Passes are available either at a "ticket office", which is rather poorly located, or on the internet.

You will need to create an account but it is really practical.

How to visit:

The complex starts about ten kilometers from the center of Siem Reap and stretches for tens of kilometers more, so walking is not really an option.

• Tuktuk: The preferred means of transport. It will cost you between $15 and $25 depending on the duration and distance of the tour you want to take. May be a bit more if you book through your hotel (and even then). Big advantages: Your driver will drop you off on one side of each temple and pick you up on the other side, which will allow you to visit them from top to bottom. In addition, the air circulating will cool you down between the temples, and if you go there during the hot season, it is far from a luxury, believe me. And then again, it's always fun the tuktuk. If you have a nice driver, you will have free cold water bottles.
  
• Moto: You can rent them for $7-$10 per day in the center of Siem Reap (for basic models). Advantages: cheap and you are free to move around. Disadvantages: More dangerous than the tuktuk. You enter and exit the temples on the same side, so you will be walking a lot. To be checked but it seems that legally, in the province of Siem Reap, tourists are not allowed to drive motorcycles/scooters following fatal accidents a few years ago. You will not have any problems with the police, but in case of an accident, not sure that your insurance will cover you in these conditions.
  
• Car: Some people visit by car, I have no idea of the prices, certainly more comfortable but personally I find that we lose the a bit adventurous side and some of the charm of the place.
  
• Bicycle: Tours are organized with guides and it is also possible to rent bicycles for the day. I only did it one day, but I loved it. We go through small paths in the jungle, we come across still abandoned temples, it's quite magical. For me it is one of the visit possibilities for the third day of your pass.
  

What to visit: There are roughly 2 pre-made tours, the small tour and the large tour, they allow you to have a fairly comprehensive view of the main complex.

To avoid the crowds, ask your driver to do the tour in the opposite direction

If you want to go deeper, take an extra day either for a discovery by bike (++), or a day to other different temples, for that, personally, I advise you to go north to Bantea Srei, via Bantea Samre, climb the hill of Phnom Bok (at the top there is a small pagoda of absolute serenity and a fairly incredible temple with frangipani trees perched at the top of towers), and finally go to Kbal Spean, a sculpted river at the end of a small 2km walk in the jungle (marked and even swept, it's the trek for dummies). There is a small waterfall (depending on the season) at the end with hundreds of butterflies, it's magnificent.

2. Other Activities:

• Phare Circus: A human circus, in the style of Cirque du Soleil, they have 5/6 shows in stock, I was lucky enough to see 2, both were magnificent.
  
• Floating villages: There are quite a few of them all along the lake. Personally, I recommend taking a tuktuk to a small port (Chong Khneas) near the temple of Phnom Krom. From there, you will take a boat that will take you to a floating village. What I like here is that there is no voyeurism like in some organized tours that take you through the houses as if you were in a zoo.
  
• Artisans d'Angkor and Satcha: Two social enterprises that promote local crafts, you will see artisans making in the traditional way a whole bunch of things, fabrics, statues, etc.
  
• Khmer Ceramics: A ceramics company that offers the opportunity to try your hand at pottery, always nice.
  
• The Catholic Church: Personally, I am not, but I was invited to attend an English service, I found it very exotic. Wooden church, faithful sitting on the ground on mats, the mass almost entirely in songs with a small orchestra, and... words on two screens like karaoke. I think the church is called St John. The English service is on Saturdays in the late afternoon, I don't have the exact time.
  
• Angkor Balloon: A captive balloon that gives incredible views of Angkor at a height of about 100 meters. About $20 per person for a fairly limited duration.
  

Hotels

I stayed in 4 hotels during my stay in Siem Reap, the common point, the service, always impeccable, the Cambodians are kind by nature and very helpful and polite.

• Le Rambutan: My favorite hotel. A small hotel with about twenty rooms around a swimming pool, lots of greenery, a bathtub on the balcony and absolutely adorable staff. About $30/35 a night when I was there.

In the same neighborhood, I also stayed at Five Senses for a week, the staff was super nice again. There we were at less than $15 a night. Very high quality rooms, a slightly less pleasant swimming pool and a fairly simple breakfast. But for that price, it's normal and it's still an excellent value for money.

Restaurants

Siem Reap is full of gems. I could make you a list as long as an arm with the good and the bad, but I'll stick to my three favorites

• Wild: My BIG crush of the trip. Recommended to me on arrival by my hotel, I ate there almost 10 times in a month and a half, I think. The restaurant is nestled in a Khmer house and its beautifully maintained garden. I was a bit skeptical at first, because they specialize in spring rolls and nems (about fifteen different flavors, savory, sweet, some with chocolate or cheese), but in the end I really loved it. The staff is top notch and the owners (French) have a great approach to their employees and to the planet.

Not to be missed under any circumstances. A full dinner will cost you around 7$ and the cocktails (honestly the best I′ve tasted in a while are around $4.5/5)

• Cuisine Wat Damnak: Also a French owner (not on purpose)

for this rather upscale restaurant ($38/45 the menu in 8 courses). The chef is known as one of the greatest specialists in local products (he has been there for about twenty years) and makes a fairly magnificent cuisine with only Cambodian products. A favorite as well.

• Sugar Palm: The very high quality traditional Cambodian restaurant, about $7/8 per person excluding drinks. All Cambodian dishes are represented and executed to perfection. I went there several times and was always delighted.

You will find plenty of small Khmer restaurants that are much cheaper and sometimes very good, but the quality often remains quite inconsistent and I have been more or less sick a few times...

I hope this is helpful! Let me know if you have any other questions.

kja

Cambodia and its people truly are extraordinary, aren't they?

Like you, I loved Sugar Palm and Cuisine Wat Damnak, the Phare, and Artisans d'Angkor.

I would strongly urge avoidance of motos. I met quite a few people who had been, or whose family members had been, seriously injured in moto accidents in / around Siem Reap.

Thanks for posting, GabTravels!

GabTravels

Yes I would not recommend it either, especially for people traveling for short time and not able to accustom to the "road mayhem".

kja

OMG, there is mayhem on those roads! Crossing a road, as a pedestrian, was often quite challenging. ;-0

But I should have been clearer -- the people with whom I spoke who had been seriously injured in accidents, or who had family who had been injured, were from the area.

GabTravels

And it's still a piece of cake compared to Vietnam 🤣🤣🤣🤣