And we had a fantastic time!
We spent 11 days in Siem Reap, and we still didn't fit everything in!
We did the main temples on 4 days, and then a whole host of other things including going to Koh Ker, Beng Melea - def the indiana jones experience, Aki Ra's landmine museum, a shadow puppet making place, and the flooded forests on Tonle Sap!
Our driver was Ngoy Nget's brother - not 100% english, but still very good and enjoyable for us! lots of entertainment trying to decifer words such as jiterballs - half an hour later realised it was vegtables!
there were numerous ATM's available in Siem Reap too, all working when we went too!
Phnom Penh was a brief visit - we didn't enjoy it as much tho. We stayed in the Billabong hotel, nice place, shame about the powercuts! For something different we spent one day on a cooking course which was great fun!
We finished off the trip with a night stay in the Bangkok Mariot and Spa - as recommended by alot of you! Thank you! we had a fantastic time!

can't wait to go back now

Wow, you had cash machines! Things change much in 5 years. I would almost dread seeing it again. When I went they were buildings sveral new hotels. I can only imagien what it is like now.

Thank you so much for the report. I'll be visiting Siem Reap in April. What did you think about the Flooded Forest? Did you visit the floating village near there too (not the one most tourists visit, but the one near the forest)? Do you fell it was worth the time and trip?

What currency did the ATM's provide?

The Atm's all gave money in dollars, no other choice!
The flooded forests were great, although took some time to get there, and the lake was nice and choppy - so much so, our driver, who joned us, was rather green and was hanging over the side quite alot! getting in and out of the boat needed very good sea legs, which i dont have, so most of it did on my knees or backside!
we moored at the bottom of the flooded village, and had a very pleasant walk aronud, with lots of kids coming to talk or play with us, and looking around the active temple. No toilets tho, so if you feel the urge, you pick the nicest looking house and ask to use theirs! on the way back on to the boat i managed to get my trainer stuck in the mud, so one of the guys on the boat kindly washed it for me!
the forest was much better than the floating village, that felt like so much of a tourist trap. we stopped at a floating restaurant/fish farm - interesting fried eel and eel stew, and all the kids in a near by radius turned up in their boats or giant mixing bowls shouting 1 dollar, 1 dollar for an hour!
So, yes, it was worth the trip! took us most of the day!

Sounds interesting, but I'm wondering if we should spend a whole day on that if we only have three full days in Siem Reap. What would you consider the "must sees" in three and a half days?

My must sees for 3.5 days? hmmm, tough one! How are you getting around, car or tuk tuk?

Day 1 - sunrise at Angkor Wat - cliched, but hey! Make sure you stay around, many people left before the sun acutally rose as they thought it had risen and was behind the clouds! Best view is from the bottom of the causeway, or the left hand lotus pond.
After sunrise, I would spend another couple of hours looking around angkor Wat. By then it will probably be 9-10 am, so I'd grab a quick drink and snack if you're peckish.
then I would go to Preah Khan - it will be virtually empty. When you are done there, I would either head back to the main Angkor restaurants - good curry in a coconut, or back to the hotel for a rest.
In the afternoon I would either go to a couple of the smaller norther temples of angkor - I'm afraid the names escape me atm, but one has 4 small surrounding pools - all dry.
If you are all templed out, then, instead, I would head to the Artisans centre, the Silk farm is 16km out of town, and well worth a visit, as the Artisans in the town - with carvings etc.
Day 2 - Get to the Bayon for around 8am. It will take an hour or so to go around there. Then wonder across the road, buy a pineapple, and wonder up to Angkor Thom. That, and the royal palace, elephant terrace etc will take you the rest of the morning.
Have lunch, and either explore some of the smaller temples in the area like the east mebon, or go into town and go around the market. You could do the usual sunset overlooking angkor, or a sunset at the roulos group.
Alternatively, if you're templed out then head to Aki Ra's landmine museum in the afternoon.
Day 3. Several options really.
a) morning going to kebal splean - river of 1000 lingas - about a 45 min walk uphill - sort of middling in difficulty! you can see the lingas, and stone carvings, and a waterfall.
afternoon - see bantey srei
b) go to the floating villages and the flooded forest.
c) travel further afield and go to Koh Ker and Beng Melea. Its about a 3hr drive away, but was great. Beng Melea was so much more than the Indiana Jones experience as advertised by the Lonely Planet. Its mostly ruined, and involves lots of climbing up and over rubble, through window frames etc. - Local police will accompany you around though to help you!

If you're there for a friday night, then I'd go to the show the children do at Aki Ra's. Truely is delightful.
One of our favourite restaurants was Borei Souvan, and Madame Butterfly.

Hope that helps!

alr837,
Thank you soooo much for all the tips. That's exactly the info I needed. We'll have a car and driver and are using Pon Heary's brother as a guide (his name escapes me right now). We'll also be there on a Friday night too

fantastic report - thank you so much for taking the time to write it!! It was great to hear your recommendations - we're counting down the days until we visit at the start of April.

LA, I expect we all have slightly different ideas of the most important places to see in Siem Reap. I really like Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor, which outlines what to see depending on how much time you have. Do take alook at that, as I think it will help with your planning. One place that I think should definitely be on your "must see" list is Banteay Srei.

You might also take a look at my traveling companion's website, www.marlandc.com to view photos of the temples.