Siem Reap
From World travel guide
The town of Siem Reap, in northern Cambodia, is the primary access point for the Angkor Archaeological Park.
Contents |
Understand
Siem Reap, literally "Siam Defeated", commemorates a Khmer victory over the neighboring kingdom of Thailand. These days, however, the only rampaging hordes are the tourists heading to Angkor and this once quaint village has become the largest boomtown and construction site in Cambodia. While it has no attractions of its own (at least when compared to Angkor), it's still quite laid-back and all in all a pleasant place to stay while touring the temples.
Get in
By plane
Siem Reap - Angkor International Airport (REP) has frequent flights from Phnom Penh International Airport (previously Pochentong International Airport) as well as direct flights to/from Laos (Pakse | Vientiane), Singapore, Taiwan (Kaohsiung | Taipei), Thailand (Bangkok | U-Tapao) and Vietnam (Danang | Ho Chi Minh City).
The airport is less than 15 minutes by car from the center of town. Visa on Arrival is available for $20 (payable in US dollars) and a single color photo. Note that the international departure tax is a steep $25.
By land
Cambodian highways have improved considerably in the last few years (although there's still plenty of room for further improvement) and some routes that were once epic adventures are now sealed roads. For most routes you have the basic options of chartering or sharing a Toyota Camry taxi, sharing a ride in a pickup truck, or if it's a sealed road, taking the bus.
From Bangkok
The most popular and direct overland route from Bangkok is via the Aranyaprathet/Poipet border crossing.
From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet, either take a 1st class public bus from Bangkok's Northern Bus Terminal (frequent departures, 160-200 baht) or else travel by train from Bangkok's Hualamphong Train Station (two trains each way daily, all 3rd class, 48 baht).
From Aranyaprathet bus or train station, continue by tuk-tuk (50-60 baht) or motorbike (20 baht) or bus (10 baht) to the border market, and cross the border to Poipet on foot.
The road from Poipet to Siem Reap is not sealed, hence the condition varies seasonally and much depends on when it was last re-graded - for recent reports see Latest Road Conditions between Siem Reap and Poipet.
The fastest and most comfortable way to get from Poipet to Siem Reap is by share taxi - $35 for the whole car - in which case the entire trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap could take less than 8 hours on an exceptionally good day. If $35 is too much, you can take the official bus for a fixed $11 per head. If even this is too much, you can try to hop on the back of a pick-up truck for a fraction of the price, but this will be more uncomfortable, take longer and probably require a change of vehicle at Sisophon.
Alternatively, you could join the backpacking masses and pay a couple of hundred baht for an uncomfortable bus ride directly from Khao San Road all the way to Siem Reap; any travel agent in Bangkok will be happy to sell you a ticket. Buses leave Khao San Road around 8am and arrive in Siem Reap between 5pm and 3am, depending on road conditions. For the return trip, expect to pay around $11.
Whichever route you take, beware of scams, touts and pickpockets at the Poipet border crossing. Visa on Arrival costs 1000 baht, require one color picture, and you do not need anybody's assistance to complete the process.
From Phnom Penh
Buses to/from Phnom Penh go several times a day (about 6 US$) from the bus station east of town and take around 5 hours.
By boat
Speedboats also make the journey from Phnom Penh across the Tonle Sap lake. Asking price for a "foreigner" ticket is typically $20-$25, $15 is a good price to pay. There are also services between Siem Reap and Battambang (asking price $15, pay $10).
A word of caution: these can be fantastic trips which give travellers the opportunity to view life on the lake, floating houses, fishermen going about their work, and to get a sun tan if youchoose to sit on the roof of the boat. However if you travel on a windy day and you have not kept waterproofs and sunscreen out of you luggage you could be in trouble. These journeys take several hours and without waterproofs and sunscreen you will become incredibly cold and will be burned by the sun at the same time. As the boat is generally packed with travellers, those on the roof will have to stay up there, and once your bags are in the hold, they stay there. Be prepared for the trip and you will love every minute.
Get around
Most of the sights in Siem Reap can be seen on foot. For the foot-sore and sun-weary, you'll have plenty of offers from locals on motorbikes, simply agree a price and hop on the back.
Another excellent way to see Siem Reap is by bicycle. Most guesthouses have bicycles, often free for "round town" use, or $1 (single speed) - $2 (with gears) per day. It's also a good way to see Angkor Wat, but leave early to avoid the mid-day heat.
Alternatively, you can rent a motorbike with driver for a full day for $6 or so.
The rental of motorbikes to foreigners in Siem Reap is prohibited, however foreigners can ride motorbikes they've rented elsewhere (eg Phnom Penh).
See
The reason most people come to Siem Reap is the Angkor Archaeological Park, thoroughly covered on its own page.
Do
- Hidden Cambodia Dirt Bike Tours. [1] Siem Reap.
Tel. + 855 (0)12 934 412 or (0)12 655 201. HCDBT offers once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to explore the countryside of Cambodia in a safe yet exciting way, by motorbike or 4-WD.
Buy
Psar Chas (Old Market), to the south of town, sells a reasonably attractive collection of artifacts and tourist junk. Please don't buy anything purporting to be antique; it probably isn't, but it's stolen if it is.
Eat
- Samapheap is a large and popular restaurant pleasantly located on the eastern riverbank a short hop down from Route 6, catering to both Khmers and tour groups. The menu is extensive, service is quick, prices are reasonable (most mains $2-5) and the food is good.
- Chiang Mai and Chivat Thai 2 on Wat Bo Rd offer basic Thai fare. Lunch sets start at $1.50, dinner costs a bit more.
- The Markets - If you get tired of paying US$ 3 and up for a lunch/dinner you may try one of the markets. You can get a whole meal for US$ 1 and below there.
Drink
- Most of Siem Reap's watering holes are concentrated in a few lanes north of Psar Chas (the old market). Dependable standbys include Angkor What? and Dead Fish. Drinks usually $2 and up, although most if not all bars have happy hours before 8 PM.
- The FCC Angkor (west river bank next to post office), opened in October 2002, is far and away Siem Reap's hippest place for a bite and a drink. A branch of the legendary Phnom Penh Foreign Correspondents' Club, the FCC offers food (~$5) and drink (~$3) in a marvelous blend of modern style and colonial architecture... if at a fairly steep price, at least by Cambodian standards.
Sleep
Accommodations range from towering airconditioned hotels by the airport (mostly for get-in-get-out all-inclusive tours) to local rooms-for-rent and a range of modest guesthouses in town, particular on and around Wat Bo road.
If you arrive with a tour bus or van you will be taken to a "suggested" guesthouse. Usually these are not too bad and you'll probably be too tired to argue.
If you arrive by plane, you may wish to contact a guest house in advance. They will then usually arrange for free transportation to their place. Otherwise just take a motorbike (US$ 1) or a taxi (US$ 2) to town. If you don't know any place to go to, they will ask for your budget and will then 'suggest' one.
Budget
- Earthwalkers. [2]. Sala Kanseng Village, 1,5 km from city centre just of Highway 6, tel. + 855 (0) 12 967 901. High quality budget accommodation with comfortable rooms with fan or A/C from $4 to $17 with full en suite facilities.
- Two Dragons Guesthouse. Wat Bo, [3]. Brand-new guesthouse run by Gordon of Tales of Asia fame. A/C, hot water, cable TV, and the self-proclaimed cleanest rooms in Cambodia, from $7.
- Rosy Guesthouse. Slar Kram Village, tel. 012 916 930, 012 951 692. Rooms with fans, satellite TV and shower with hot water inside. Rates are US$ 5. or (855)
- Home Sweet Home Guesthouse. No. 0111 Wat Bo, tel. 063 760 279, [4]. Rooms with fans and shower inside are US$ 8, shower outside are US$ 5.
Mid-range
- Mom's Guesthouse (#0099, Phom Wat Bo) is one of the longer-running guesthouses in Siem Reap, now in a new if somewhat characterless building. Mom will be happy to make all sorts of travel and transport arrangements. Rates $15/20/30 for aircon singles/doubles/triples with breakfast, hot water and airport transfers included.
Contact
Internet cafes abound in Siem Reap, the standard price being $1 per hour. Connections are usually painfully slow.
- E-Cafe, on Sivatha St north of Psar Chas, is a cut above the rest in connection and service quality, as well as price at $1.50 an hour.
Get out
- If you haven't seen enough temples yet, the commanding hilltop ruins of Preah Vihear next to the Thai border might be worth a trip.
External links
