Siem Reap

It might be worth taking a 1 week pass and taking a couple of rest days in between. After 3 full days morning to night exploring temples, they all start to look the same and you lose you appreciation for them. And maybe you can take a hike out to the temples that are further afield.

I loved Bayon. And Ta Prohm. Angkor, while being the biggest and most famous, was not nearly the most interesting.

Best tip: Don’t use dollars. You can’t get change for $1 but you can buy stuff in riel for much less than a dollar. But if you’re not backpacking around several countries at the time, you may not really care.

the warm and friendly people of Cambodia…

siem reap has more to it than Angkor Park, but that’s the major and sometimes only reason why people are there. i admit, i also did not prioritise to see the city a bit more, so i don’t hesitate to take the next chance to be there again.

i was at the temples for about 16hrs/day for 3 days, and wish i could’ve had more time. fair warning to others: this is not normal, and it fits within my interests + “life career”.

prepare for dust and sunburns.
keep the rest free for imagination and inspiration.

on april’08, I went to Siam Reap for business meeting and did make some friends there. It is an amazing city with ancient world history and modern pleasant living. People are very friendly and naive. They tried to talk Thai, even sang P’ Bird’s song to me. Golf courses there are great to play.

Breath-taking beauty.

This is of course the city where the Angkor Wat is located, which deserves its own entry. Siem Riep is a small tourist city with a great little downtown area with good restaurants and shows.

It was a bit weird to have all these big five-star hotels next to these small huts with probably no running water. Tourism is one of the biggest sources of income for folks over there. I really enjoyed these things, much more able to appreciate their culture and history

Please make sure you see some of the other attractions this place has like the floating village and the landmine museum, and not only the Angkor Wat.

Overall my favorite place in all of Cambodia