Angkor & Siem Reap: Favorite Things To Do And See
 

Caution: Excited, first time visitor on board!

Looking for both the "You Just Have To" and "If You Get A Chance" things to do and see.

Thinking of staying for 3-5 full days, and would like to get a nice flow going between temples, gardens, lakes, markets, massage, handicrafts, community development projects, bird/animal watching, hikes, shopping,... . Okay, you get the idea.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Take a look at theplf.org. This was started by a Fodorite, Lori (offwego) who was taken around Siem riep by Ponheary, a guide. Many have used Ponheary or her brother Dara with great success. Do a search on this forum and you will see the numerous satisfied customers.

3-5 days is a perfect amount of time to see the temples and surrounding environs.

Thanks Gpanda - looks like a great organization.

Do your research about the temples first. I recommend Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor. There are dozens and dozens of accessible temples, and there is no way you can see them all. Reading the book and looking at photos is a way to see which temples to resonate with. Make sure you see some of the "minor temples." These are places where you can still be alone in the temples rather than surrounded by tourists. You are also welcome to view our Ankgor photos at www.marlandc.com

Do visit the central market, the handicraft store where all of the crafts were made by landmine survivors, and visit Artisans d'Angkor.

Thanks Kathie

Short list of temples/ major sites so far:

Angkor Wat
Banteay Srey
Ta Prohm
Kbal Spean
Bayon
Banteay Samre
Banteay Thom

What time of year are you planning on going? Some places, like Kbal Spean IMO are only worth spending the time to get out there if the water level is right, same for Phnom Kulen.....although the hike is always nice...

The night market has been a nice addition to the shopping scene, items are a little more upscale, harassment is at a minimum and there's a great bar in the back.

If you want to escape the crowds, and especially if you're a climber I recommend adding Bang Melea

offwego, hoping for sometime from mid-april to mid-May. Should I expect dry, and very hot weather?

Nice list of temples. Of course the Angkor Complex will be the main focus of your trip to Siem Reap. But one of the highlights for us was our visit to Tonle Sap Lake. A break from temples....and an insight of life in Cambodia.
You have not included Phnom Bakheng which served as the temple mountain of the first city of Angkor. Elephants can take you from the bottom to the top of Phnom Bakheng Mountain. Wonderful experience. Very much worth considering.

Hi Leigh

I have identified a few things so far to do in town:

Land Mines Museum

Psar Chas, the Old Market

Colors of Cambodia

Senteurs d'Angkor

Carnets d'Asie

Royal Residence

Royal Crusade for Independence Garden

Wat Preah Ang




night market

Aspara Dance Show

The Vietnamese floating village on Lake Tonle Sap is definitely worth the trip - about 45 minutes from Siem Reap - I don't know what the water levels will be like in May but its worth checking into.

degas, from my experience, with 3-5 days I don't think you will want to spend too much time in town. The Angkor Complex is vast,awesome and jaw-dropping... and as Kathie says, there is no way you will see it all.
Chances are...you won't get this chance again. So soak up all you can. SEA towns are pretty much all the same (well Siem Reap is not particularly unique)but Angkor is VERY SPECIAL.

I'd add to that list 3 of my personal favorites from when we were in SR:

-Don't miss sunset at Pre Rup. Truly magnificent!

-Do an impromptu tour/visit at Artisans d'Angkor.

-Grab a spot of lunch at Blue Pumpkin in town.

Thanks for the additional feedback.

Initial list of posible restaurants:

Blue Pumpkin

Cafe Indochine

Red Piano

Sugar Palm

Butterflies Garden Restaurant

We enjoyed Red Piano - the food was decent - but it was our interaction with the young waitress that we loved so much. When she asked where we were from and we said the U.S. - she said "but you so FRIENDLY". It was funny and sad at the same time. And when she found out we were mother and daughter, she was astonished, thought I was too young, and said, "I go get my friend." And sure enough, she brought her friend back to look at us. I was QUITE charmed by that!
:-)
We were among Dara's satisfied customers. We had about four days and he took us to Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Banteay Srey, Bayon, and a couple others. We also did a school visit and a stop at Angkor de Artisans, plus a trip to Tonle Sap - well worth it.
I agree with the others - limit your time in town. Focus on the temples (and the trip to the lake). A good guide makes it all easy. We enjoyed Dara a lot.
If you're interested in reading my trip report, type Karen and Julie in the search box and it should come up. It's from 2005, but I'm sure much of it is still relevant.
Oh, we also did the Aspara show - enjoyed it quite a lot.

One of my favorite restaurants was Khmer Kitchen. Be sure to order the Lok Lak!

In April-May it will be hot and dry. The up side is you can see the carvings in the water very well since water will be low. The down side is that swimming will not be great.

The other upside of going in the hot season is that the sunrise/sunsets are more beautiful; the rainy season often makes it too cloudy for good photography.

If you are going to Carnets d'Asie be sure to grab a bite to eat there as well. Lovely. Best french fries in town (in case you start jonesing) are at the Ivy Guesthouse. Best pizza at the Paper Tiger. Fastest wifi at FCC. Good massage all over town but I like Frangiapani in the alley off pub street. Another nice restaurant for dinner is Viroths on Wat Bo Road. Also on Wat Bo Rd is a great thai place called Chivit Thai.

If you're feeling adventurous, go to eat at Queen BBQ, on a side street between the river and Wat Bo Rd; all-u-can-eat Cambodian BBQ, not to be missed. No one speaks English, but no need; they only serve one thing. $3.50 for locals, $4 for foreigners. Sit upstairs so you get a breeze. Once they put that flaming BBQ pit on your table, things heat up. Yummy!

Just FYI the Landmine Museum has moved out of town to the road on the way to Bantey Srei, so if you're going there (and you should) you can stop on the way back.

If you're into local markets, you should go to the big one on Hwy 6. A trip there through the wet market at daybreak is an amazing experience.

Let me refer you to my recent SE Asia posting. I did not list specific temples we visited but do not miss Angkor Wat itself. I have listed my hotel and restaurant recomendations. Do contact John Teng to guide you aroud Siem Reap.

Thank you all for the superb info.

Anymore thoughts on good places to
have a drink or hear music.

Molly Malone's?

Any rants or raves about Pub Street?

to me the only rant and rave for SR is the temples... the town, the shopping, the hotels, the food are all just average or below

Placed to eat. Last year I went w/ my partner and yes I have 18,023 penalties coming from Gpanda for not finishing my trip report. Any ways we had lunch at PYONGYANG for lunch in Siem Reap. This is a North Korean restaurant which is owned by the North Korean government. They cater only to the BUS LOADS of South Koreans tourist. Our tuk tuk driver who we loved and spoked no english was able to find the place once we said pyongyang in a number of dialects a million times over. We entered the building and you are immediately inside this hugh room with long tables and North Korean waitresses pushing carts of food all over the place. This place was packed. We were, with no acknowledgment seated away from the main hall in a cubical in which we had to go out and see the dance and singing performance on stage. At one point our Tuk Tuk driver came in and said that he would be back in 1 hour. Fine, we are ok, we communicated this conversation all in hand gesture. The menu was a picture book. I pointed to the breaded shrimp, looked like something home on a friday night at Denny's, my partner pointed to a soup bowl. I pointed to the can of Sprite, partner same. Now this is my partners' 50th b'day and wanted to go here after reading an article in the NYT. The breaded shrimp was fine with the side of ketchup, however the soup was the most disgusting thing my partner ever had. He continued to eat it fearing the waitress who just stood there staring at us the whole time. Hello as we looked at her, no answer, We say, run honey run. To make a longer story short, the restaurant deserted as fast as rock concert ended. we were the only ones left. Outside our Tuk Tuk driver was not there, no one around except the busy roadway which we were on that goes from the airport into the town. We loved it. You will love Cambodia!!!!