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 Traveller's Tales: Advise for travellers in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Heed our handy tips on safe travel in Siem Reap, Cambodia. You may read about travel warnings, health, what to wear, travel with kids, travel with pets, local weather, local government, medical information and traffic information in the area.Also, you might want to read our
Angkor / Siem Reap city guide,
and Phnom Penh city guide.
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| W Goh |
10 August 2004 |
Stayed at Angkor Century Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We paid for a 3-day pass but were templed-out by the end of the second day. I would recommend visitors to go to the furthest temples on their first day(Bantaey Srei for example) and slowly build their staminas for the grand finale - Angkor Wat. In my opinion, Angkor Wat's the only monument that withstood the test of time and the forces of nature and is the most complete one out of the lot. Having said that, the rest of the temples are also magnificent and well worth a visit.
If you are going to the smaller sites, steer clear of the stalls - the children will start following you until you bow to their requests to buy either t-shirts, postcards or film! Beware of their tactics too - they will first start a friendly conversation, then press a little souvenir or flower in your hands and when you're just about to leave, they will insist that you buy something from them because you have "accepted" their "gifts"! For dining, FCC's a must. The food is inexpensive and very good! The old market is also a good hunting ground for souvenirs and such. Check out Asasax Art Gallery - he is a noted Cambodian artist and his oil on canvas paintings truly exemplify Cambodian life and culture. We've given one of his paintings a home in Singapore!
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| B Claughton |
18 April 2003 |
Stayed at Secrets of Elephants Inn - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Be wary of the taxi drivers at the aiport, although they will take you into town for a less than average fair they then ask to be your driver for your whole stay, fine until they double the price on the third day when it's too late to make other arrangements, and your 'too English' to haggle effectively!
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| W Burnett |
01 April 2003 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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I met up with a driver called Sam Aon (samaon02@hotmail.com), he had some sort of built in radar that alerted him to the exact moment that I would leave a temple and would be there with the engine on and air-con running ready to pick me up, this perfect timing was either down to magic or an accumulated knowledge of exactly how long it takes an overweight middle aged English bloke to get around a temple before expiring in the heat.
This exceptionally pleasant chap is very polite and helpful and speaks very good English. Quick recommendations, take your own US dollars (they are expensive to buy in Cambodia and time consuming to get hold of), drink a lot of water, go out early and get back at midday to hibernate for a few hours before going out in the afternoon, allow yourself 3 full days to do see the temples, and one day for a trip to the floating village.
Beware of young men dressed as monks wishing to practice their English whilst giving you a guided tour of the temples, they will demand 10 dollars from you and will get really stroppy if you don't pay up. Give a donation of 50 dollars to the local children's hospital, it will salve your conscience when you refuse to give any more money to the hundreds of tiny children that swarm around you begging for money or trying to sell you some crap, though one small child broke my heart when I refused to buy a scarf, she said "if you buy a scarf you can wipe the sweat off your sweaty face." Beware of policemen selling you genuine "Military Police" badges.
To get to Siem Reap from Phnom Pehn, take the river boat, it is an experience in itself and you can take comfort knowing that you will be able to fly back.
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| M Altmann |
08 February 2003 |
Stayed at Angkor Century Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Cambodia - Siem Riep - felt safe at night and the people were very friendly! Everything in the tourist trade was handled in US dollars - even the restaurants and markets had prices in US dollars.
The locals have caught on to the fact that tourists have lots of money and throw it around generously. Hence they charge RIDICULOUS prices for transport. While rich people continue to overpay and tip excessively, the problems will only worsen.
Watch out at Siem Riep at the airport for people offering to get you to the hotel. ALWAYS find out how much the charge is before you let anyone take you anywhere. I got caught coming through the domestic terminal from Phnom Penh - a man was holding a sign that said the name of the hotel I was staying at and I thought it was the free hotel shuttle service so got in and let him take me there without checking if it would cost and then how much it would be. It wasn't free - he happened to have a number of signs for a number of different hotels and was not working for any of them. He was holding them up attracting guests at the hotels - and didn't offer information on how much it would cost to get there. Check!!
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| D Sleipness |
06 December 2002 |
Stayed at Ta Prohm - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Seim Reap is beutiful. NEVER buy anything from kids at the ruins. They are like pack animals.
Dead Fish is a very good restaurant. Good Thai food. But as usual in Cambo, not spicy enough.
Easy to get digital images transfered from camera memory cards to CDs in many areas.
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| B Bruckman |
20 October 2002 |
Stayed at Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Cambodia was wonderful but one must watch their money. The locals are good at ripping you off. The food was great and the temples were fist class.
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| P Saengswang |
13 September 2002 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Siem Reap is very different today than it was only a few years ago. Lots of new hotel construction, lots of tourists, and everything is priced in dollars. EXTREMELY expensive relative to everywhere else in SE Asia. That said, Angkor Wat, Angkot Thom, etc. are still magnificent. It is good for Cambodians that they are starting to build the infrastructure necessary to grab tourist dollars for their economy, but for you intrepid travellers out there - go now before it changes even further!
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| D Kapp |
07 August 2002 |
Stayed at Angkor Saphir Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Siem Reap is a busy rural Cambodian town. We felt safe in the streets, even at night. People were friendly and helpful, and language was not a barrier to having a good time. The only draw back to the wonder of Angkor Wat (itself absolutely amazing) was the CONSTANT attempts to sell water, books ... it made our first day there rather miserable to say the least. Get past this, and Angkor Wat is worth the visit. We strongly suggest 3 relaxing days touring the complex rather than a shorter stay. Give yourself a day to see the town too.
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| A Sinha |
21 July 2002 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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WE did the usual stuff - visit Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Phrom etc.. WE also went to Banteay Srei, a little far, but very beautiful - highly recommended.
The most over- rated part was the sunset, for which we climbed up the hill(Phnom Bakheng). Its quite a climb, and the view is v v average - Angkor Wat just looks like a black structure in the background - can hardly se anything. I think its better to be at Angkor Wat itself at sunset - that way u can get some really good photographs with the sun behind you.
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| J Elliot |
11 April 2002 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We had a guide and a car for three days who worked out our route. As it was very hot we started early and were back at the hotel for the middle of the day.
We spent one morning going to the floating village at the lake-well worth the poor roads to get there.
We visited the Bayon 1 restaurant but it was poor.
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