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Siem
Reap Cambodia
Gateway to
the Temple of Angkor
An island set in a rice paddy
countryside, the provincial capital of Siem Reap City serves as
the gateway to the millennium-old ruins of the
Khmer Empire
of Angkor.
Siem Reap City is where you will probably stay during your
visit, just 15 minutes from the temples. The town offers a large
and varied choice of accommodations, from boutique
hotels
and 5-star resorts to dozens of mid-range places and budget
digs. But it’s the
restaurants,
shoping
and
nightlife where
Siem Reap outdoes itself - the amazingly varied dining choices,
the vibrant night scene, and uniquely Cambodian shopping
opportunities.
The
Angkor Archaeological Park
encompasses dozens of temple ruins including the legendary Angkor Wat
whose cultural significance and visual impact put it in a class
with the world’s greatest monuments. And though the temples are
very well touristed these days, it is
still possible to capture
a bit of the old spirit and discover Angkor...and Cambodia.
Try to set aside some time to experience a bit of Khmer culture
and nature away from the town and temples:
boat trips on the Tonle Sap, stilted villages and the bird sanctuary, silk farms,
road tours through rural countryside and beyond. |
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Accommodations...
Shopping...
Dining...
Travel & Tour...
Spa & Massage...
Things to Do...
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Siem Reap...
Hotels
& Guesthouses
Siem Reap has an ever-growing
number of hotel and guesthouse rooms, and a variety that is
wide enough to satisfy all tastes and requirements. There
are no hotels within the Angkor Park. Most visitors stay in
or near Siem Reap town. Though staying right in the middle
of town is a bit more convenient to the popular Old Market,
Pub Street and Sivutha road areas, the town is relatively
small making any location almost equally convenient as any
other... (more)
Hotels
by Name *
Hotels by Location
*
Hotels by
Price |
Dining & Restaurants
Siem Reap is a food-lover's
haven, offering an amazing array of dining venues and
cuisines from Asia and the West. Visitors have the chance to
sample many types of Cambodian food, from inexpensive local
fare to upscale fine dining. French cuisine also enjoys a
special place in Siem Reap, and is served at some of the
town’s finer restaurants. Restaurants are scattered across
the town, though many, including several specializing in
Cambodian food, are concentrated in the Pub
Street... (more) |
Nightlife,
Bars & Clubs
Siem Reap’s nightlife stretches
to near dawn these days with the bar scene coming to life
around dusk and the last few pubs and clubs closing as late
as 4AM. Nightlife venues are located across town but the
center of the action is the Pub Street area where many of
the most popular bars and clubs are clustered. Some of the
best early evening happy hour deals can be found on Pub
Street. The Pub Street area also has some of the latest
running bars in town, including... (more) |
Shopping,
Markets & Boutiques
Whether you're looking for
traditional Khmer handicrafts or chic contemporary fashion,
Siem Reap is an excellent place to shop for all things
Cambodian. In addition to classic Cambodian souvenirs, Siem
Reap has a unique and growing variety of contemporary art
galleries, fashion boutiques and trendy shops. Shopping
venues are scattered across the town with a concentration of
places along Sivutha Blvd., and near Phsar Chas (the Old
Market) and Pub Street... (more) |
Spas
& Massage
After a long day of climbing
around temple ruins, a relaxing foot massage or a
reinvigorating afternoon at the spa can be just what the
doctor ordered. Massage for health and relaxation is a
time-honored tradition Cambodia, offering its own
distinctive traditions in massage therapy. Siem Reap has
dozens of massage shops and spas catering to visitors,
located across the town, especially in the Old Market area.
For a more upscale experience the spas in the finer hotel
provide a pampered experience... (more) |
Getting
to, from & around Siem Reap
The majority of visitors to Siem
Reap arrive by air at the Siem Reap International Airport
from Phnom Penh and Bangkok, though there are also direct
flights from several other major cities in East and
Southeast Asia. See the following chart for all cities with
direct transportation to Siem Reap. Visas are available on
arrival at the Siem Reap and Phnom Penh international
airports and most overland border crossings. From Phnom
Penh, there are also regularly scheduled daily buses and
taxis... (more)
Air Schedules *
Bus Schedules *
Travel Agents
*
Maps |
Traditional
Performances
It has been a tradition since
the earliest days of tourism in the 19th century to treat
visitors to Siem Reap with an Apsara dance performance - a
taste of living Khmer culture. No visit to Cambodia is
complete without attending at least one performance.
Traditional Khmer dance is better described as 'dance-drama'
in that the dances are not merely dance but also meant to
convey a story or message. There are four main modern genres
of traditional Khmer dance... (more) |
Angkor:
Getting Started
There are dozens of temple ruins
in the Siem Reap area, many of the most significant within
the Angkor Archaeological Park just north of the city,
others further afield. The temples vary in importance,
interest and condition and are spread over a large area,
often kilometers apart. In order to get the most of your
temple visit, it is best to prepare at least a preliminary
itinerary. Your itinerary should depend largely on the
length of your visit and your level of interest, though some
ruins... (more) |
Other
Things to Do
As enthralling as the temples of
Angkor may be, there are lots of other things to see and do.
Seeing a bit of Cambodia away from the temples can help
avert ‘temple-burnout’ and round out your Cambodian
experience. It also helps Cambodia by taking some tourist
pressure off of the temples and spreading tourism dollars a
bit more widely. In addition to the following suggestions,
check out the sections on visiting the Tonle Sap Lake and
bird watching at Prek Toal or remote temple ruins attending...
(more) |
Tonle
Sap Lake & Tours
Cambodia's Great Lake, the
Boeung Tonle Sap (Tonle Sap Lake,) is the most prominent
feature on the map of Cambodia - a huge dumbbell-shaped body
of water stretching across the northwest section of the
country. In the wet season, the Tonle Sap Lake is one of the
largest freshwater lakes in Asia, swelling to an expansive
12,000 km2. During the dry half of the year the Lake shrinks
to as small as 2500 km2, draining into the Tonle Sap River,
which meanders southeast... (more) |
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