Cambodia - Siem Reap

You have probably never heard of Siem Reap but hopefully, you've heard of Angkor Wat. Siem Reap is the town closest to the temples in the Angkor region. Angkor Wat is the most famous of all the temples here but it is one of many. In addition to Angkor Wat, I also visited Angkor Thom, Ta Prom and Phnom Bakheng

All the pictures in this blog were taken at one of those temples but I don't remember which. In one of them, you will also see a picture of my tour guide, Sean Mardy. Now, that sounds like an Irish name, but Sean is 100% native Cambodian, born and raised in Siem Reap. I was very fortunate to have him as my guide because not only he speaks good English but his knowledge of the temples, the history, stories behind the carvings, etc, are amazing.

If you are interested in knowing more Angkor Wat, please look it up in Wikipedia. If you want to know more about the Angkor temples, you should buy a book on it. However, the best part is visiting the temples and seeing them for yourself first-hand. I've been wanting to see Angkor Wat for years and was so happy that I finally have the opportunity to do so. If you are travelling in the area, I strongly encourage you not to miss this opportunity to see a world-famous historical site.

Siem Reap is a small town, built to cater to tourists coming to see the Angkor temples. It does not have the big city traffic and has many medium-priced hotels. I stayed at the Khemara Angkor Hotel. The staff was very friend and the breakfast they served was excellent. There are a lot of restaurants near the Central Market catering to tourists. You can get a very nice meal for $3.


More tourists started coming to this area after Angelina Jolie made the movie "Tomb Raider" in the Ta Prom Temple. She is like a Goddess here because she brings a lot of name-recognition to the area and also supports a local orphanage. I heard that the Prime Minister of Cambodia built a house specially for her when she comes and visit Siem Reap.

The people here are very poor and they appreciate any kind of tip that you give them. Even a $1 tip brings a big smile on their faces.

I also have the opportunity to take a river ride to see a floating village. Many families live and shop on boats along a river that leads to the Tonle Sap Lake. There are shops, schools, mechanic shops, etc, all on boats. Again, this is a very poor area and most of their lives revolve around fishing along the river and lake. In recent years fishing has gone down because of over-fishing in the lake.

Siem Reap is about a 6-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh but is only about a 50-minute plane ride. Needless to say, I flew from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. You can also travel by boat along the river but that also takes 6 hours.