lsdourte

Hi! I am considering taking my two grandsons, ages 7 and 12 to Siem Reap in October. I have read wonderful reviews from others about Siem Reap and the temple complexes, but have not seen anything about taking children. My little ones are great travelers, avid historians and, like most kids, are natural ambassadors.
Is Siem Reap a safe place for a woman to travel with children alone?
We are planning to hire a guide and driver to see the temples, perhaps a boat trip on Tonle Sap, and would love to do a school visit. Any other ideas?
We will be spending about 5 days.
Thank you!!!

KimJapan

We took our then 9 year old daughter to Siem Reap for a week last August. We felt totally safe, and loved Siem Reap, too.

Ponheary Ly was our guide for 5 days and her brother Dara was for one day. What worked for us was morning temples and afternoon pool. One day we went to Phnom Kulen, saw the lingas in the river and the modern temple up there, then had a great picnic and swam in the river. It's lovely up there. We visited a school, made a donation, had lunch with the kids...another good day. We could have easily spent a month there.

These websites might be useful for you.

www.theplf.org
www.canbypublications.com
www.talesofasia.com

To contact Ponheary, ponheary at yahoo dot com.

travelaw

Yes. Temples, Tonle Sap lake (the road out there is horribe by the way), there is an orphanage that does traditional dance shows -- think the name something like Sunrise, which the kids might like -- its walkable from the downtown. A new museum was ready to open there last time we were there -- its probably open now. You can spend lots of time at the temples -- I would go in the mornings and maybe spend an afternoon or two at the hotel pool -- the kids will need it -- and so will you.

Kathie

As others have said, Siem Reap is a safe place to travel. Do note that it is a malarial risk area. The newest anti-malarial, malarone, has the fewest side effects and comes in a child dose. Do consult with a travel medicine or tropical medicine physician.

www.cdc.gov/travel for all the info about immunizations and anti-malarials.

lsdourte

Thanks KimJapan I was hoping to use Ponheary Ly, also. Phnom Kulen sounds great!

Travelaw, your idea to relax in the afternoon is probably what we will do, Thanks. (If we get to go) Still waiting for my daughter and son in law to decide if it is safe enough.

Kathie, thanks for the input on Malorone. I was hoping that it was okay for kids.

You guys are great! Thanks for your input!!!