Siem Reap is a must visit for any traveler visiting Cambodia, where you can spend a week alone getting lost in the ancient temples by day and crawling Pub Street by night. It is also a far more laid back town than Phnom Penh, and gives you time to rest and recharge in sleepy cafes and spas for very little £££. If you’re travelling Cambodia, make SR your number one spot to visit- or have you even traveled it at all?!
Siem Reap has a long and interesting history. Based in the North West of the country, The Angkor Temples were once the center of the powerful Khmer empire that dominated Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, and are a powerful reminder of the crazy history of a mega advanced society. If history isn’t your jam, the art of the ruins are in themselves, plenty to satisfy any visitor. You can also find objects found in the Temples in the National Museum in the city center.
Siem Reap International Airport serves plenty of international flights as well as domestic ones. We flew into this airport and took buses when exploring for the rest of our trip.
If it’s not at the start of your itinerary, or you’re even travelling in from one of Cambodia’s bordering countries, you can also access the city by via bus. Check out my previous post about travelling Cambodia for more info.
We had a great stay at Panda Angkor Inn, and would totally recommend it to couples, friends or families looking for a quiet, but friendly place to stay. The hosts were amazing– super friendly and helpful and helped us organised trips for our time in the city. The rooms themselves were simple but comfortable, and we were enough to satisfy. You have to pay a little more for AC, but it’s worth it! The only downside was that it was a bit of a walk into the more happening part of town. This was easily solved with a cheap dollar tuk-tuk. We’s still recommend as it was very affordable for the service and room– we paid around $40 for four nights in a twin room!
Angkor National Museum of Cambodia and Pub Street
Angkor National Museum is the perfect introduction to Siem Reap and Cambodia as a whole. The space is great, super airy and light, and the objects are curated in a way that allows visitors to get up and close to them- hardly anything is hidden behind glass! The museum is organised by religion and era, and takes you through the entire Angkor period. Be warned though, there’s a hell of a lot of text to read, so be selective or your brain will fry!
After a history heavy morning, we walked down the river to Banlle Vegetarian Restaurant. The food here was glorious, and the ambiance was great- glass walls open the restaurant out to a pretty home-grown garden. They serve a mix of Western and Cambodian foods.
After nursing our food babies and napping away the hot afternoon, we headed out for a night at Pub Street. Stating the obvious, Pub Street is a strip full of bars blasting EDM, along with some more tame touristy restaurants and quieter cocktail bars. There’s also a few cheeky surprises, and if you’re lucky you might spot a street vendor selling deep fried scorpions or a happy pizza restaurant.
Our favourite haunt was Angkor What? It’s a party bar where the drinks are dirt cheap and the music is loud. We definitely consumed far too many gin cocktail buckets, and when we felt like we were on the wavy level of fellow tourists, headed out to another bar to dance the rest of the night away. There are so many other tourists out and about, you are guaranteed for a fun night!
Vegan Feasts, Happy Pizzas and Blind Massages
Nursing our hangovers after a sesh in Pub Street, we concluded that this would be a lazy self-love filled day. The first stop? Peace Cafe– an amazing vegetarian cafe on the outskirts of town. We settled on a fouton, laid down and looked up at the trees whilst sipping on coconuts. We had some delicious Asian food too, the sushi and tempura were e v e r y t h i n g. I would totally recommend this place for a relaxing afternoon. There’s also a cute shop that sells some lovely handmade items.
Finally moving ourselves, we headed to Krousar Thmey, a school for deaf and blind people. The work of Krousar Thmey is wonderful, and they aim to prepare their students for careers, despite their disabilities. We were visiting because of the on-site exhibition, Seeing in the Dark, which allows able-bodied visitors to experience the daily life of blind people. Sadly, when we arrived, we learn that the exhibition was closed for the next week.
Luckily, another great thing about Krousar Thmey is that you can get a massage from one of their ex-students, and support their work! The massage was great, and we loved the staff, they were really friendly and chatty, eager to trade stories on life and culture of our countries. It was a really humbling experience, and we were more than happy to pay a little more than the set hourly price of $7 (an absolute steal). Definitely pay this place a visit to help support the local community!
Well-rested, it was time for a more obscure cultural experience- happy pizzas! For those unfamiliar, cannabis is illegal in Cambodia, except in food, where it is actually used in quite a few dishes. Because of this, a tonne of happy pizza joints have sprouted up, catering mostly for tourists who want to get in on the edibles hype. We bought a large pizza between us- a margarita coated with a layer of greenery, and waited for the fun to kick in.
The Temples of Angkor Wat
Our wonderful hotel organised a tuk-tuk driver for our day back in time, and took us through the highlights of the temple complex. You can opt for up to weekly passes to visit, but we felt as if a day would be enough, as we were limited for time. You also have total freedom of which to visit- just organize a tuk-tuk for the day and they’ll take you where you want to go. Alternatively, they’ll offer you a specific tour route, which is what we went for. We paid our driver $20 for the day, a bargain considering how damn big the site is!
Our favourite temples were of course, Angkor Wat, as well as Bayon, Takeo and Ta Prohm (where Tomb Raider was filmed!). They’re all pretty different in style and function, as well as being at different levels of decay/preservation. Some make you feel like you’re completely absorbed in the ancient Khmer Empire.
Onward to Phnom Penh
Our hotel owner organised us a cheap transfer to Phnom Penh in a local bus! It was definitely a slower option, making plenty of stops to pick up locals, but we were happy. You can also opt for mini buses, which are a little pricier but get you there in less time! Weigh up pros and cons, and see what your accommodation offers.
Overall, Siem Reap was our favourite place in Cambodia, and we fell for the laid-back party vibes of the city. We learnt huge quantities of info about Cambodia’s ancient history, while getting nice and messy in the evenings. This is a must-do for any backpackers in South-East Asia, Angkor Wat in itself, simply can’t be missed.
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