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  The name Siem Reap literally means "Siam Defeated". These days, however, the only rampaging hordes are the tourists heading to the Angkor Archaeological Park. This once quaint village has become the largest boomtown and construction site in Cambodia. It is quite laid-back and a pleasant place to stay while touring the temples  The City of Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and is the gateway to Angkor. Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market. In the city, there are traditional Apsara dance performances, craft shops, silk farms, rice-paddy countryside, fishing villages and a bird sanctuary near the Tonle Sap Lake.  I am currently in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the Angkor Temples are about six kilometers outside of town. I am staying at the Peace of Angkor Villa, accommodations are very good and the staff is very friendly and helpful. The Peace of Angkor specializes in taking care of photographers and providing special photographer oriented tours and services.  Kompong Khleang is one of the largest Tonle Sap communities with over 20,000 people. Located about 45km south east of Siem Reap town, pass Damdek town, this village is less visited by tourists and thus offers a more traditional insight to Cambodian village life by the lake as compared with Chong Khneas.  Siem Reap Town Photo Gallery by Kazuo Lim Khee Boon at pbase.com  Nestled between rice paddies and stretched along the Siem Reap River, the small provincial capital of Siem Reap Town serves as the gateway to the millennium-old temple ruins of the Khmer Empire. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Angkor Archaeological Park encompasses dozens of temple ruins including Bayon, Banteay Srey and the legendary Angkor Wat whose artistic and archaeological significance and visual impact put it in a class with the Pyramids, Machu Pichu and the Taj Mahal. We are dropped off back at Kazna, take off our shoes at the front entrance and walk barefoot up the main spiral stairs to our room after collecting our key. Whilst we have been out exploring the room and bathroom have been cleaned and the complimentary fresh fruit and bottled water have been replenished. It has been a hot and sweaty first day but incredibly rewarding. AS captivating as the temples of Angkor may be, Cambodia's scorching sun, gritty air and pot-holed roads inevitably take their toll on even the hardiest travelers. Perhaps it's by necessity, then, that Siem Reap, the town that lodges and feeds Angkor's million annual visitors, has evolved into a chic haven of rest and relaxation. Most visitors to Siem Reap, if they see any of the lake at all, will do so by taking a tour of an hour or two at the Vietnamese floating village of Chong Khneas, which is the village where the speedboats to and from Phnom Penh and Battambang dock. If, for reasons of time and money, Chong Khneas is all you can do, then that's better than nothing, but there are much better options out there. If you only mention a "lake trip" to your guesthouse, hotel, driver, or guide in all probability you will b The Siem Reap District of today includes a large part of Angkor area, the well-known UNESCO-protected world heritage site, which is a symbol of glorious Cambodian history and culture. In the Angkor era between the 9th and 15th century, the ancient city of Angkor Thom was developed one of the largest city of the world at that time, characterised by an orthogonal system covering an area of 9 km and playing an important role as magnificent capital and metropolis. Siem Reap, which literally means the 'Defeat of Siam', is the most prosperous region of contemporary Cambodia. Its close proximity to the Angkor Wat temple complex has turned the city into one of the world's premier travel destinations. More than one million travelers visit Siem Reap every year to explore over a thousand years of Khmer heritage built near Tonle Sap Lake, the foundation of the economic power of the ancient Cambodian empire.  It was the last day in Siem Reap and we had no more Angkor sites on our itinerary. The 3-day Angkor pass had expired anyway. We took the opportunity to explore Siem Reap Town, wanting to see the lifestyle of the locals. |
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