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We took a few hrs off seeing the temples to visit the Cambodia Cultural Village in Siem Reap Tel: (855-63)963-836. www.cambodianculturalvillage.com For us, it put it all together. We saw wax figures of important persons involved with the temples and some Cambodia history. An electric cart with a driver is available for hire at the entrance for $7USD (2 people) for 30 minutes. Waste of money. You have to get off every 50 feet to look at something with the 30 minute time ticker going. When the time is up, the driver leaves you. For us, it was in the middle of the park and we had to walk anyway! The big show which starts around 19:30 and is well worth the money to get in - I think it was $9USD. Mini shows in the park start every 15 minutes. I suggest you walk quickly to be at the next show in time to get a good seat. They may be corny to some people but I think the grand finale was wonderful. Not to be missed. The center has a ghost house. It's pretty dark inside so you can't see well at first until your eyes adjust. Later my flash photos showed pretty realistic wax figures being tortured who were being punished for offenes such as a lie or breast feeding in public. Not a good choice for small children to see. At the final big show the audience is allowed to pose on stage with the actors including the dressed up king for a photo.

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I found a brochure I brought home about the Cultural Village. It says it displays 11 villages featuring examples of the Khmer arts and crafts. Each village has distinctive traditional dance performances including a wedding ceremony, performaces by ethnic minority, Apsara dancing, a circus show, historical games and the Grand Khmer show (big show at 19:30). The village names are Cham, Chinese, Kola, Kroeng, Khmer, Phnoring, Surin and the Floating Village. A reconstructed millionaire house displays an ancient style of Khmer construction during the Ou Doung time.
It is located on National Road #6, Svay Kongkum, Siem Reap. On the back is a map, it looks like it is close to the airport. I don't know, we were driven there. Enjoy!

Femi

I also paid a visit to the village. The highlight for me was getting to know the people in the crowd.

You mention an important point, get to the shows early! So you can see hat's going on and can choose a seat that is sheltered from the elements.

I missed the grand finale though. I guess I'm glad I missed the ghost house!

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Did you notice that most people there were Cambodians? I asked our guide why I did not see many tourist looking people there. He said, "Look close. Many people here are Cambodians who left their country and have returned now as tourists". The lady who sat next to us at the big show was living in Australia. She said her family ran from the Khmer Rouge when she was 11 yrs. She was returning to see her country and culture.

Femi

Wow! I guess I couldn't tell the returnees from the locals. When my guide said they were Cambodian tourists, I understood it to mean people had travelled in from other parts of the country. I didn't realise there were international tourists amongst them.

I'm not sure I would recommend the village for non-Cambodians. I didn't think the shows were that interesting.

Did you see the marabou stork wandering around?? Thought I was hallucinating at first, LOL!

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YES! We did see it that stork. Unltil this second I didn't think much of it because we went whizzing by it so fast in that stupid golf cart. lol. Speaking of animals, did see the stuffed animals with the wax figures? I rolled my eyes a few times at their taxidermy skills. But, it was interesting to see they had black bears about the size of a large dog.
I disagree with you about non-combodians seeing the C.Village shows. Yes, they are slightly cheezy but they do tell a story-line in Cambodian history. The whole village and the shows remind me a lot of the Culturial Village in Hawaii built and maintained by the Mormons-Brigham Young. I highly recommend the last big show - it is Walt Disney World style production with fire, smoke, large props, excellent lighting and big finale at the end. I almost stood and clapped. lol