| J Fitch |
13 July 2003 |
Stayed at Bopha Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Siem Reap is a hot, dusty hive of activity. An ideal location for visiting all the temples of Angkor.
It has its fair share of child beggars, amputees from landmines, doubtful smells and lots of litter. There are many motorbikes, tuks tuks and taxis with driver guides. There are colourful markets and plenty of restaurants and bars.We got our information predominantly from the Lonely Planet Guide to Cambodia and extra information from hotel reception and our guides.
Our favourite restaurants were The Bopha Angkor Hotel Restaurant for the best Cambodian and Vietnamese food, and the Soup Dragon for drinks, cocktails, local and Western Food. The Blue Pumpkin had lovely bread and cakes and fresh shakes. The Red Piano Bar has a good atmosphere and is a great hangout for Westerners. The Koulen II has wonderful Apsana dancing most evenings and a buffet dinner but it is not the best food unfortunately.
We got around cheaply, in tuk tuks with friendly drivers, and for longer journeys in very good taxis with guides arranged by the hotel Bopha Angkor. We arranged through the hotel, driver and guide to Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, which included the Bayon, the Elephant Terrace and the Leper King Terrace. On our second day, we took a trip to the floating fishing village on Tonle Sap. We went by tuk tuk.
We bought boat tickets for $US5.00 each at the ferry dock and were adopted by 3 very young boys, who gave us a colourful ride through the village with a stop on a floating bar and shop at the entrance to the lake for drinks and toilet.
On our third day we took a taxi with English speaking driver, arranged by the hotel, to Banteay Srei, a 35 kilometre drive and returned via Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, both of which are near Angkor Thom, stopping for lunch at local restaurant in front of Angkor Wat. We found it best to eat the local food rather than the Western food in these establishments.
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| S Lambert |
24 May 2003 |
Stayed at Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Angkor is definitely worth seeing. Fantastic. We hired a car for the day. It was only $25. It was perfect. We visited Angkor in the morning, then went off and had some lunch and returned for the sunset. I'd definitely recommend it. Be prepared to be hassled by lots of kids at Angkor.
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| A Bettiol |
20 May 2003 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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There are lots of guides and taxis that are willing to take you to the temples. The guide charges about USD20 and the taxi driver about USD15. It is useful to have a guide as they will tell you the history and meanings of the temple. However, the kids are always too overly keen to make you buy something from them.
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| D Gibbsmith |
18 May 2003 |
Stayed at Raffles Grand Hotel D'Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We saw Angkor Wat, Bayon, Angkor Thom & Ta Phrom temples. All were unique and worth the visit. A 1-day temple pass is US$20/each & 3-day pass is US$40/each and gets you in to all the temples. A photo is needed for the pass, but free photos are taken at the temple entrance & tourist center.
A tour guide is $20-25/day & driver & air-con car is US$20/day. Also, you can hire a driver w/ a scooter/motor bike for US$8/day. They don't allow for tourists to hire scooter bikes and drive themselves due to prior accidents.
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| R Cherry |
18 May 2003 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Have been two Siem Reap twice and have found the guides and transport booked through La Noria Guesthouse to be professional, pleasant and reasonably priced. Also the restaurant at La Noria is a favorite.
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| D Steptoe |
18 May 2003 |
Stayed at Secrets of Elephants Inn - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Great to take a bike and cycle around. Particularly some of the more remote temples which are very lovely. A highly recommened guide is Sakoeurn Kong (sakoeurn@hotmail.com, Tel: +855 12 675 651) who was very friendly, extremely knowledgeable and very honest and helpful.
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| L Morse |
17 May 2003 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Siem Reap is really worth the visit, and Cambodians are very friendly. It is worth hiring a guide and car. Guides tend to have a plan in mind on what to see when, but are flexible if you come up with your own itinerary.
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| A Yngve |
15 May 2003 |
Stayed at FCC Phnom Penh - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Visited during low season. Then no need to prebook transport for sightseeing. We took a moto to the Tour Sleng Museum, but had already booked a driver for the "Killing Fields" and a tour outside Phnom Penh.
After Phnom Penh we went by air to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat. In Siem Reap we stayed at Yaklom Angkor Lodge, with small simple cottages and a very good Thai restaurant attached. For touring Angkor Wat we had booked a car via Siem Reap Tourist Service, with a very good English speaking driver. We were very pleased with our journey. But coming from Malaysia, we found Cambodia a bit pricey. You will spend more money than you expect.
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| G Peters |
08 May 2003 |
Stayed at Cambodiana Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Phnom Penh is a pleasant city and seems to get better as every year goes by. It's so nice to walk by a relatively unpolluted river in the heart of an Asian city and dine by the riverside. It's a safe city despite what some say.
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| C Curnin |
07 May 2003 |
Stayed at Sofitel Royal Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Visit the temples with a guide, otherwise you will miss a lot, the temples are vast. I had an excellent meal at the Grand hotel (but expensive).
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Traveller's Tales: Things to do in Cambodia
