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 Traveller's Tales: Shopping suggestions in Cambodia
Get the best advice on shopping in Cambodia. You may read about shopping malls, souvenir items and best buys in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Angkor / Siem Reap city guide,
and Phnom Penh city guide.
Pages (1 of 6):
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| C Evans |
24 May 2005 |
Stayed at Cambodiana Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Booked taxi driver who took me from airport, to go to Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Prison -- dirt road to Killing Fields VERY potholed, so would recommend car. Haunting experience, to be in such places -- but essential for any visit to Cambodia. Read a book called 'Stay Alive My Son' to get the full picture of the horror of the Pol Pot years! After that, hired a tuk-tuk from outside Hotel Cambodiana to take me around for 2 days -- ask for a driver called Bhu, who is brilliant. In tuk-tuk you get the 'feel' of Phnom Penh in a way you don't in a car -- but be careful with possessions. I was warned all the time to hang on to my bag. Must-do's are Russian Market, Wat Phnom, cocktails in Elephant Bar of Le Royal, lunch at Friends restaurant and Le Rits (both helping disadvantaged Phnom Penhois), shopping at Centre for Disabled Persons (Norodom Boulevard, near Wat Phnom), lunch / sundowners at Foreign Correspondents' Club. Khmer Surin restaurant (street 57) offers great food for dinner in lovely old Khmer house with lots of atmosphere -- also surprisingly cheap! Take plenty of dollars, as money flies through your hands in Phnom Penh! I loved it there (you can still see lots of raw Indochina, rather than the sanitised version available in Asian cities such as Bangkok) and will certainly be going back.
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| R Gonzalez |
19 March 2005 |
Stayed at Borei Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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The Old Market area's an interesting place to buy souvenirs (bargaining here is a pleasant experience). Most vendors accept US dollars, but make sure to bring lots of small notes. They don't accept coins, so be prepared to receive change in local currency, or in kind as I opted (i.e. 3 pcs. instant noodles in exchange for $.50 change).
Many quaint, reasonably priced restaurants surround the Old Market. Try the home-made ice cream/sorbet at the Soup Dragon restaurant.
Needed a memory stick for my digital camera and found one at the Sakallork Photo Shop on Route Number 6. It's a small store with a friendly staff. The owner even gave me a free ride to the Old Market on the back of his motorcycle.
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| S Dominy |
24 February 2005 |
Stayed at Bopha Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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In Siem Reap, you do not have to worry about being located in the centre of town because everything is a short ride away. Central Market is good for nice gifts - beware that everything that looks old and antique probably isn't! We had a fabulous guide for the temple visits, Ponheary, who was a fascinating and knowledgable person to spend a few days with. Contact her on ponheary@yahoo.com. She speaks French and English. All her family members are also guides but I believe she is the best.
I was told 2 days was all you need to visit the Angkor area if you are not a temple buff. However, I wish we had at least 3 days as there are some wonderful sights further out which sounded very interesting. If you can't afford to stay at The Grand Hotel, Angkor, at least try to have a meal or drink there. The Fine Dining restaurant serves wonderful Khmer food. Even though it is probably the most expensive place in Siem Reap it is still very reasonable by Western standards (about US$40 per head with wine). They also do Apsara dance shows with buffet on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. These require advance booking. Beware the Apsara shows at the cheaper restaurants - they tend to be amateurish.
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| L Ramirez |
11 September 2004 |
Stayed at Princess Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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TukTuk is a cheap way to get around Cambodia. A travel around the whole town only costs $6. They can take you to the temples also.
Don't miss out on a dinner and cultural show. I forgot the name of the restaurant but it was close to the hotel. They had a buffet which was excellent and the cultural show was fascinating as well.
When shopping, always bargain. Try to bring the price down to half and usually the sellers will sell them to you. I bought an Angkor book for $5 eventhough it was listed for $24. I bought it at the street vendors next to the temple. When I tried buying it inside the hotel, the lowest they would sell me was at $10. It is always cheaper to buy at the market or street vendors.
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| D Hagerman |
05 September 2004 |
Stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Street 240 is an attractive alternative to the somewhat seedy riverfront area for drinks and dinner. Excellent Khmer food at the pleasant Sugar Palm --- amok, Khmer chicken salad, and green mango salad among other items --- and, if you're tired of Asian food outstanding sandwiches, home-baked bread, housemade ice cream, and other deli items at The Shop (open till 7p only). Street 240 and 178 (next to National Museum) have a lot of interesting shops if you're looking for something other than the usual copies of Angkor-era stone figures, etc.
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| G Brown |
27 August 2004 |
Stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Great little restaurant is Rega's, just near the Holiday International hotel, itself just near the French and British embassies. Enjoy a wonderful three course French meal for just US$5. The chocolate mousse is superb. And a great place for massage is Bliss on Street 240. The treatment rooms are in a stunningly renovated colonial building. Have a steam and plunge in their pool as well. And if you like organza, measure your windows and have curtains made here very cheaply at the Russian market. Organza is a buck fifty a metre and it costs about the same to ask a seamstress to sew curtains to your design.
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| L Chye seng |
13 June 2004 |
Stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Phnom Penh is actually not a great city to tour, besides Royal Palace, muzeum, killing fields, there are no other interesting tourist spots to visit. Of course, a walk along the river bank is a must at night where there are rows of restaurants and night spots to linger around.
For shopping spree, just go to Russian market, though stuffy and dusty, it is still a worthwhile visit as there are various types of goods to buy from local handcrafts, antiques, garment products, tapes, VCD, food and etc etc.
The holiday value for Phnom Penh doesn't really look good as there are more and more direct flights to Siem Reap from all over the world. One of the staffs in Le Royal hotel also admitted this fact as most of the holidaymakers now bypass Phnom Penh since their main destination is Angkor Wat.
Lastly, if you do not go to Angkor Wat, please patronise Artisan D'Angkor outlet at the airport, they produce fantastic sand stone carvings and also silk products. But if you go to Siem Reap, just visit their workshop.
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| D Plane |
07 May 2004 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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FCC is good for lunch. Buy souvenirs from the Central Market, not from the large souvenir places along the road to Angkor Wat - we bought shadow puppets at the markets for US$10 each which were on sale at the other places for US$75 each, and a wooden buddha for US$14 at the markets which were on sale for US$140 at the larger establishments - they looked identical to me. We had a driver and guide for 2 days - I think a guide was good for one day but I would have liked to just wander on my own on the second day. The tour groups are alarmingly ubiquitous, and it was rare for us to be on our own at any of the wats or temples, which I found disappointing. The shadow puppet show on Wednesday nights at La Noria (with dinner) was really great. And the people, without exception, were friendly, charming and seemed genuinely interested in talking with us.
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| I Scobie |
12 March 2004 |
Stayed at Borei Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Angkor Cafe Restaurant at the west gate to Angkor Wat is a fantastic cafe for lunch or dinner. It is really clean & has friendly staff. Another great place to have a coffee around the old market area is Kokoon Cafe. Not only do they sell great coffee but they also sell sandwiches, cakes,pastries & wonderful home-made ice cream. The old market isn't much but is worth a visit to experience the ambience of everyday life.
We found it not necessary to organise a tour prior to arriving in Siem Reap as the hotels are more than able to do this for you at a cost of $20 a day for a driver & $20 a day for a english speaking guide. We organised a visa prior to travelling as it is easier & less hassle once you arrive at the airport. It is also worth taking an extra passport photo for your tour pass into Angkor Wat. The US$ is used at all times & it is a good idea to take along small notes. If you are looking for a very good quality artefact we suggest that you visit the Artisans D'Angkor.
Once at the hotel grab a copy of the current Angkor Guide available at all hotels. The guide list information about exploring temples & dinning out.It even has a small map of Siem Reap showing where the restaurants, temples & places of interest are located. We had trouble with Exotissimo travel company as once we arrived in Siem Reap we were expected to pay double the amount that was agreed to via email. The staff were rude & we were not off to a good start. Thankfully for us we had a wonderful staff at the Borei Anglor Hotel & Mr Mom arranged a english speaking guide & driver within an hour. Our guides name was Vanna Tan & his contact detail are (855)012866143 we would highly recommend him.
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| A Scott-watson |
22 February 2004 |
Stayed at Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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With 2 kids under the age of 5, one has to avoid temple "burn-out", so the 4 excursions below were nice diversions:
1. The highlight for us was a little boat trip on the Tonle Sap lake along the floating village: about $20 for a boat to ourselves, we left the hotel at 3:30pm and were there well in time for the sunset. There is a little floating bar/crocodile farm that serves cool beers with boiled shrimps...Magic.
2. Another winner for our kids was an elephant ride at the Bayon.
3. A trip to the local silk manufacture (near the Artisans d'Angkor) was also interesting for parents and children alike, and very friendly.
4. We also rented a small boat on the largest reservoir to reach the middle island and its ruined temple. Got a coconut drink there, away from the crowds.
Parents: go to Cambodia with children, the local people love kids and it is possible to enjoy the temples, with lots of drinking water and a bit of patience.
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