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Region: Western Cambodia> Province: Siem Reap>Location: Siem Reap
Siem Reap sights and attractions
Angkor Wat - Sublime
Description
Please see our dedicated Angkor Wat section for our comprehensive coverage of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and surrounds.
Tara Riverboat - Good way to see the lake
Tonle Sap Lake
info@taraboat.com
http://www.taraboat.com/
Description
Heavily advertised throughout Siem Reap, the Tara Riverboat is a floating bar and restaurant anchored in the waters of Tonle Sap. It has two advertised packages -- a day and a sunset tour and while the tour includes visits to Chong Khneas and to the Gecko Environmental Centre, it's worth noting these tours are not done on the Tara Riverboat itself, but rather smaller boats with a guide. If you're planning on seeing Chong Khneas or the Gecko Centre anyway, it makes sense to bundle these together and roll them up in a Tara package, but if your main interest is seeing a floating village, then you're better off heading to one of the other, less touristed villages, like Kompong Phluk or Kompong Khleang. The sunset tour costs US$30 and includes a two course dinner and unlimited drinks while the daytime trip costs $20 and includes the meal but just one drink. All packages include transfers from Siem Reap.
Landmine Museum - Akira and his mines
6km south of Banteay Srey on road to Siem Reap
info@cambodialandminemuseum.org
http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org
Description
Once little more than a humble shack, Akira's Land Mine Museum has been reincarnated into the Cambodia Land Mine Museum & Relief Facility -- a registered Canadian-based organisation -- which opened in April 2007 with the aim of building and developing the original museum's vision. The new centre includes an expanded museum, a dormitory residence for up to 30 amputee children and a school. Located some six km south of Banteay Srey Temple on the main road leading from Siem Reap, the new museum has an admission fee of US$1. While the new site lacks the
Tonle Sap Lake - Cambodia's heart
Description
If you came to Siem Reap on the boat -- either from Phnom Penh or Battambang, the great body of water you travelled across is the Tonle Sap lake. The name Tonle Sap means large fresh water river and it's a combined lake and river system of vital importance to Cambodia's agriculture and biodiversity. For much of the year the lake is quite small, but during monsoon the Tonle Sap River (the river connecting the lake to the far larger and more powerful Mekong River) reverses flow and water from the Mekong River flows up the Tonle Sap river, filling the lake and the floodplain that surrounds it. In the process masses of sediment is dumped, and with the forests flooded an ideal breeding ground for fish is created.
Although the lake itself is of considerable interest, it is also home to a number of floating and stilted villages, some of which are well worth visiting, others far less so. While it may be tempting to lump all the villages together, they're not the same, and the general rule is the further you go from Siem Reap, the more interesting they are. The most commonly visited (in order of popularity) are Chong Khneas, Kompong Phluk and Kompong Khleang.
Chong Khneas - Tourist trap
Tonle Sap lake
Description
If you arrive at Siem Reap by boat then you've seen Chong Khneas -- it's the mostly Vietnamese inhabited, floating village that surrounds where the boats come and go from. It's the closest village to Siem Reap, home to the Gecko Environmental Centre and is the launching pad for Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary -- that's all to say Chong Khneas sees more than it's fair share of camera-toting tourists. Many in Siem Reap consider it a tourist trap -- and they're right. There's a lot of pressure on people to buy things -- from tourist knick knacks to a can of coke or postcards and, well when you're jostling among other boats carrying foreigners who are trying to pretend you're not there, the whole thing feels a bit contrived -- because it is. It's not all bad though -- if you do decide to visit Chong Khneas, be sure to visit the Gecko Environmental Centre, where you can learn a bit more about the lake and take a rest from refusing to buy some fake opium pipes. If you don't have the time nor the money to visit the villages further afield, then you may as well take a look here, but be prepared for a touristy and at times frustrating experience.
Kompong Phluk - Well worth a look
Description
Heading east along the bank of Tonle Sap will take you to Kompong Phluk -- and a world away from the tourist trap of Chong Khneas. Unlike its well-touristed sister, this is a stilted village rather than a floating one (although you may see some floating raft houses about the place), and it's a very different place between the wet and dry season. The houses are stilted to around six metres in height, so in the height of the wet the water is close to the top of the stilts, but in the dry, the village is, well, dry, and so the houses tower six metres above you. During the latter period, most of the villagers move out into temporary shacks lakeside as that's where their livelihood is (it also saves them having to climb six metres worth of stairs daily). Kompong Phluk also has substantial mangrove forest (known as the flooded forest), a trip through which, by boat, is part of the standard deal. While Kompong Phluk gets tourists on most days, it sees but a fraction of the trade of Chong Khneas and the extra time and expense spent in getting here is well worth it. Kompong Phluk can be reached by boat from Chong Khneas, though you're better off travelling by tuk tuk or moto and then boat (wet season only) via Roulos village. Expect to pay around $30-40 for a trip here out of Siem Reap.
Kompong Khleang - Highly recommended
Description
Like Kompong Phluk, Kompong Khleang is a stilted rather than floating village, but it's a massive village -- the largest on the lake -- and around ten times the size of Kompong Phluk. As with Kompong Phluk, the main pastime here is fishery-based, but in a number of ways it is a more interesting village to visit. There's a large village temple and there's a good stretch of village that can be wandered through -- even in the height of wet season. Further afield you can continue by boat out to a meeting tree where locals meet to sell their catches of the day -- or you can continue even further out onto the milky waters of the Tonle Sap. The water within the heart of the village is nine to ten metres deep in places and is a brackish, almost black hue -- this certainly isn't water you want to swim in -- but the area all around the central village is fascinating and very unadulterated by tourism. It's a long drive or ride from Siem Reap to here (figure on 1.5-2.5 hours each way) but well worth the effort -- and the expense. If you've got the time and the money, this should be your number one choice on this bank of the lake. While it's possible to get here by boat from Chong Khneas, we'd suggest coming to and fro by road via the village of Domdek to be the better approach. Expect to pay US$50-70 for a guesthouse tour out of Siem Reap. Highly recommended.
Apsara dancing - A bit of tradition
Description
Just about every guesthouse, restaurant, shop and tuk tuk driver will happily set you up with an evening of Apsara dancing. Most shows include a few sets of dancing, including Apsara, classical and folk dancing, and many of the shows include a buffet dinner and some drinks. Prices hover around the US$10 mark, though you can pay quite a bit more if you'd like a flasher setting and/or upmarket cuisine. It's a good, if touristy, way to see a traditional Khmer performance. If $10 is totally going to blow your budget, try to wangle an invitation to a Khmer wedding -- there's often Khmer dancing at those too.
Cambodian Cultural Village - Cambodian Disney
Airport Rd, Siem Reap
http://www.cambodianculturalvillage.com
Description
Cambodia's very own Disney land -- or something thereabouts -- the Cambodian Cultural Village attempts to wrap up the entire country within a single theme-park. Attractions include scale models of the Royal Palace and National Museum along with full size models of different types of housing and a wax museum with various figurines striking a pose. It's very specifically angled towards domestic tourists, but if you've got a slow day and can't face more ruins, a visit here is more exciting than doing your laundry, though the steep admission fee (US$9 according to their website) dissuades many.
Butterfly Garden - A good place to escape the heat
Wat Bo, Siem Reap
http://www.butterfliesofangkor.com/
Description
Not a bad option if you're templed out and have kids in tow, the conveniently located Butterfly Garden boasts over 1,500 butterflies and 500 flowering plants in a lush garden setting. Khmer and international cuisine are available at the onsite restaurant (open 09:00 - 22:00 daily).
Elephant Rides - An ancient means of transport
Description
There's two main spots for riding elephants -- both out near Angkor -- one in the morning and the other in the late afternoon. Morning sessions are held near the South Gate of Angkor Thom, afternoon sessions run up to near the summit of Bakheng. Elephant riding gets uncomfortable quickly, so many opt for the morning session which doesn't involve climbing a hill.
Angkor from the air - Balloons and helicopters
Description
It's possible to see Angkor Wat from a tethered balloon or a helicopter. The balloon is set to the west of Angkor Wat on the road to the airport. The balloon rises about 200 metres into the air and offers good views of both Angkor, Phnom Bakheng and other nearby monuments. There are at least two operations offering helicopter tours, though we're not sure how popular they are as we've never, ever seen one in action. The two main operators are Helicopters Cambodia and Sokha Helicopters. Balloon rides cost US$15, helicopter trips start at $75.
http://www.helicopterscambodia.com
http://www.sokhahelicopters.com
Beatocello and Jayavarman VII Children's Hospital - A good cause
Road to Angkor, Siem Reap
http://www.beatocello.com/
Description
One of Siem Reap's most active self-promoters, Dr. Beat Richner performs twice weekly on the cello. Performances are accompanied by talk on the activities of the hospitals and a solicitation for donations of both blood and money. Performances are every Friday and Saturday at 7:15PM at the Jayavarman VII Hospital. While the doctor is somewhat controversial, the cause is a good one.
Angkor Hospital for Children - A good cause
http://angkorhospital.org
Description
While not as highly promoted as Jayavarman VII, Angkor Hospital for Children also actively solicits blood and financial donations -- and there's no need to sit through a cello performance. Volunteering opportunities are also available here.
Cooking Classes - Cook up a storm
Description
While we didn't try this, the Ox Cart Restaurant (down at The River Garden Guesthouse on the Siem Reap river) offers Khmer cooking classes. Far more conveniently located are the restaurants on Pub Street Alley which also offer Khmer cooking classes.
Pagodas and Shrines - Minor details
Description
Like any Khmer town, Siem Reap has its fare share of pagodas and shrines, and while they're not nearly as spectacular as the grandiose monuments a few km out of town, you may find some of them interesting nevertheless. The two which you're most likely to see sit between the Royal Gardens and the Royal Residence on National Route 6. The first, at the centre of a roundabout, and beneath a large tree is the shrine to Ya Tep. The shrine is believed to offer protection and good fortune in return for the chicken skins that pilgrims leave there -- obviously Ya Tep is a person's shrine -- not a chicken's one. Nearby is the much respected shrine to Preah Ang Chek and Preah Ang Chom. More traditionally styled wats can be found in Wat Bo, Wat Keseram, Wat Po Lanka and the very conveniently located, though not overly interesting Wat Preah Prom Rath.
Motorcycle tours - Come highly recommended
Siem Reap
http://www.hiddencambodia.com/
Description
Hidden Cambodia Adventure Tours get rave reviews for their motorcycle trips into the surrounds. They offer a varied range of trips from single day excursions through to multi-day trips to Anlong Veng and beyond. We've not used them, but they come very highly recommended.
Yoga - Time to unwind
Singing Tree Cafe, Wat Bo
http://www.singingtreecafe.com
Description
Swing by the Singing Tree Cafe for all your yoga needs with a range of yoga offerings on through the week. See their website for details on what's on offer.
Shopping - Shop till you drop
Description
If you like to shop, you'll be totally in your element in Siem Reap. Be it a scarf for a dollar of a replica statue of Jayavarman VII for a couple of grand, you'll be able to find what you're after.
For down and dirty souvenirs, the Old Market in the heart of the tourist area of Siem Reap is a good place to start. Surrounding it are a good selection of boutique and handicraft stores. Prices vary tremendously and while many places boast of all profits going to the artisans that manufacture the goods, sometimes it's a bit difficult to stomach when you see the mark-ups involved -- so shop around. Local pepper, coffee and tea are also becoming very popular -- we're big advocates of Khmer pepper, but have found the coffee not nearly as satisfying. Other popular items include silk ware, wood and stoneware and clothing. There's also a growing selection of rip-off branded stuff and there's a handful of bookstores selling both real and photocopied books.
A good tactic is to start at Artisans d' Angkor where the prices (and quality) are very high and then go elsewhere to see what you can get of as close to similar quality as possible while staying within your budget. There's also a burgeoning gallery scene with McDermott Gallery and Klick the two best known. Both have a full range of products aimed at most price brackets available.
Get pampered - You deserve it
Description
There's all manner of massage available -- from basic foot reflexology through to all day indulgence experiences. At the budget end of the market, it's difficult to beat one of the blind massage places around the Old Market or perhaps Dr Foot for a bit of reflexology, but if you're after some more serious pampering, we've got two personal recommendations -- Frangipani for the flashpackers and Visaya, within the grounds of the FCC Angkor for a true splurge.