- Siem Reap
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Cambodia
This hotel is located a short walk away from the clamour and frivolity of Pub Street and the Old Market. The rooms are wonderfully clean and spacious, while the decor is tasteful and elegant. The staff are wonderful. There is also the additional perks of free internet and unlimited use of wifi as well as use of the rooftop gym
Group 10, Psar Kroung Street, Vahear Cham Village, Svaydankum Commune, Siem Reap www.mandalayinn.com
vMaD is an NGO Charity in Siem Reap offering cheap and short-term volunteer opportunities. Their minimum placement is only one week, and they were the cheapest I could find.
They pay for all your accommodation and transport and the profits go to charity. There are projects available teaching in orphanages or doing building and farming work. Probably worth checking out if this sort of thing appeals.
This is an amazing place run by an amazing man. It is not really more than a shack so don't expect a posh museum. But it is a really interesting place to visit and chat to the children who live here.
Along the back streets about 2 km out of Siem Reap. Get a tuk-tuk driver to take you as it is really difficult to explain.
Though most independent tourists hire a moto to take them round the ruins, if you're up to it hire a bicycle and head out in the delicious cool before sunrise.
It is quite a long ride (at least 40km there and back, including the distances between the temples), but you'll have the freedom to explore Angkor at your leisure without the heat, crowds and the pressure of knowing your driver is hanging around waiting for you. It'll also help you see the country more like the locals do, though remember never to venture off the main roads and tracks due to the landmine threat. Wear a krama to spare you the dust and sun.
Available to hire from several guesthouses for a couple of dollars per day.
A swanky but cool cocktail bar in downtown Siem Reap that serves *huge* cocktails for only a few dollars each. Get there for the 6-8 happy hour and a group of 4 can easily get into the party mood for less than $12.
Bar Street
Tel: 016 962 026
A small restaurant in an alley in the centre of Siem Reap. Just ask any local or taxi to direct you. Local Khmer food, very good, very cheap. a meal for two with beer is about $10.
Extraordinary remains of monumental civilization dating from 7Ad-13AD:Angkor wat is the most famous temple of the complex, and can be seen on Google earth satellite pics. There are a whole lot of temples, and a stay of at least 5-7 days is recommended. Best time to go is between Nov-March, but the rainy season, from July-October is also good. Great photo ops, and a fascinating culture and people, who, in spite of the Khmer Rouge years and civil war, are friendly and approachable. But be careful of bag snatchers, and children begging in Siem Reap town. Read some guidebooks like Lonely Planet, but dont believe everything it says.
Siem Reap is linked from Singapore on Jetstar airways, from Bangkok on Bangkok Airways, but this last is a very expensive flight.The Singapore link is recommended. There are lots of cheap accommodation in Siem Reap from $5 per day upwards.
If you arrive at Siem Reap by bus, you will be 'greeted' by wave after wave of moto drivers, all offering rides to guest houses for 500 riel. There was a security guy keeping them at bay with a stick when my bus arrived! Beware - the price seems far too cheap, and it is. Once they've got you on the bike, they'll give you the hard sell to get you to hire them to be your guide around the Angkor temples etc. It's better to negotiate a realistic price with them (around 4000 riel) and then choose your guide yourself once you've checked into your hotel and freshened up etc. Much better than trying to negotiate while screaming along Siem Reap's streets on the back of a bike!
Siem Reap, bus station
This is an inexpensive (US$12 per room), simple, clean and very friendly guest house. Each room has en suite and air conditioning. It is a good place to unwind after a hard, hot day. There is a bar, a casual restaurant (with Western or Khmer-style food), a pool table (good for chilling out) and free internet for catching up with your emails and bragging to friends. It is close to town and they give you transport around town and to the airport. The modest profits from here go to support Savong's School - a volunteer language school that is also worth visiting.
D&D Angkor Villa Guest House,
No 6 Highway (Airport Road, near the Caltex Station).
Tel : (00 84) 855 12 531 037
www.angkorvilla.com
Siem Reap's premier restaurant. For a taste of what the colonial lifestyle might have been like before the guns started firing take a pew on the veranda in this old French villa . The menu is extensive, tasty and not that expensive, and Angelina Jolie can't be wrong about the cocktails (they even named one after her).
If you really like it, there's a guesthouse too.
No. 341, 50 m north-west of the Old Market, Svay Dangkom, Mondul I;
www.redpianocambodia.com
Fantastic views at sunset. Head upstairs to the roof and order 2 for 1 cocktails that come to 3 US dollars for 2 drinks. Watch the street kids harass the tourists, lots of fun... then don't forget to order heaps of spring rolls to give to the kids when you leave.
On the corner of the bar street, one block from the old market.
Unless you are flying in or out of Bangkok / Phnom Penh, due to Cambodia's primitive infrastructure getting to Siem Reap can be a nightmare.
If you are determined to travel overland, it's worth checking out the website below. The author is clearly an old Cambodia hand and his site is filled with regularly updated info, tricks and tips on how to get around.
www.talesofasia.com/cambodia-siemreap-guide-get.htm
And loads of other nice stuff on the rest of the site.
This is only a journey for people with time on their hands - it was supposed to take three hours but took nine. But it is a real experience. The river takes you through countless villages literally built right on it - floating pig sties and huts, children picking up groceries on tiny canoes, people fishing - it is amazing. The boat drivers’ steering can be a bit haphazard at times to say the least, and it's not the most comfortable boat, but this is a journey you won't forget in a hurry. Take sunscreen and a camera.
If you are planning to buy a three-day pass for Angkor, go and buy it the night before - you should be able to get in for sunset that same day as well for no extra charge. Bring a passport photo.
Ticket office, main entance to Angkor Wat
Lovely, good value guest house - spotless, excellent food and reliable information / guides for the temples of Angkor.
Wat Bo Road;
www.talesofasia.com/cambodia-twodragons.htm
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