Siem Reap | jennisjourneys

Siem
Reap

I have been to Siem Reap twice and I am looking forward to going back again in February 2020. Although I have spent more than 6 weeks in Siem Reap (Volunteering at GFTV) there are still plenty of things I would like to see and do and many restaurants/cafe that I would like to visit. I have indicated below if I have stayed at, visited or eaten at an establishment and identified some that I would like to visit on my next trip in February with my sister-in-law, Linda.

Learn About Siem Reap

Ministry of Tourism Cambodia - Siem Reap Travel Guide
Wikipedia: Siem Reap - History, The Wat and the River, Economy, Attractions, Notable sites, Climate, Transportation etc.
Wikivoyage: Siem Reap - Understand, Get In, Get Around, See, Do Buy, Eat, Drink, Sleep, Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, Connect, Go Next

Finding social enterprises

Sleep

"Nearly 90 percent of hotels and guesthouses in Siem Reap as well as most restaurants are locally owned or co-owned, and the vast majority of staff is local (by law). So basically every dollar you spend in Siem Reap supports locals" (Thomas Wanhoff, 6/1/2020). Thanks for sharing this information Thomas :)

A sample of the accommodation that I am familiar with that is Khmer owned or run by social enterprises or organisations that are eco-friendly and support the local community. I have either stayed at these properties or have a connection with them through my volunteering activities with GFTV.

Khmer owned & run

Carolina Angkor Hotel (from us$15, stayed 2018, 2019 & 2020). A small hotel owned by a Khmer family and located just behind the night markets. The rooms are basic, but very clean, bright and comfortable, and the pool is sparkling clean and refreshing. Silong and his daughter Chumneanh (Maria Carolina) both speak good English and the whole family is very warm and friendly. Chumneanh also speaks Spanish. I usually stay here when I am in Siem Reap and it is walking distance to GFTV.
eOcambo Hospitality (from us$40). Three properties in the city on the east side of the river. 100% Khmer owned. They actively raise funds for a range of social enterprises and help connect guest with local volunteering opportunities. I am looking forward to visiting these properties & the staff during my next visit.
The Unique Angkor Villa - (from us$20, stayed 2018). A small hotel, owned by a Khmer family. Located within walking distance of the night markets & pub street, a quiet oasis in the hub of the city. The new rooms, finished in 2019 are beautiful, clean, light & airy with balconies overlooking the gorgeous sparkling swimming pool. I stayed here on my first trip to Siem Reap. Lucky, the owner speaks excellent English and his family are very friendly. I would definitely recommend this hotel and it is only a short walk to GFTV and Artisans d'Angkor.

Eco-friendly and/or strong community support

Bloom Garden Guesthouse (from us$50). They donate 4% of the room price to a number of child safety organisations and work with other organisations to support disadvantaged people.
Treeline Urban Resort (from us$200). Eco-friendly and supports their local staff and local communities.
White Rabbit Hostel (from us$4) Street 26, Wat Bo. Eco-friendly and work with local charities and social enterprises to help support local disadvantaged people.

Social enterprises

Sala Bai (NGO, Hotel & Restaurant Training School) - Wat Svay Village Tonle Sap Rd. 6 guest rooms.

Rural areas outside Siem Reap

Koh Ker Jungle Lodge - Koh Ker Village, Srayong Commune, Kulen District, Preah Vihear Province.

Eat-Drink

Local street stalls, locally-owned and social enterprise restaurants and cafes that have a strong commitment to supporting local communities.

Restaurants/Cafes that I have eaten at and would recommend:

Bayon Pastry School Coffee Shop Taphul Village. Daily 8am to 5:50pm
Genevieve's Restaurant - Bamboo Street, Mon-Sat 11am to 10pm
Footprint Cafe & Bookshop (SE) - Street 26, Daily 6:30am to 10pm except Tues. 9am to 5pm
Moringa Bar & Restaurant - 136 Stueng Thmei Street, Tues-Sun 4:30pm to 11pm
Spoons Cafe (Training) 0142, Group 5, Pave Road, Wat Damnak Village, Salakomreouk Commune

Restaurants/Cafes that I would like to visit:

Advocado Restaurant - Svay dongkum communte 63 , vihea Chen village, Tues-Sun 11am to 8pm
Amici Italian Restaurant - Street 27, Tues - Sun 5pm to midnight
Atmosphere – Kings Rd, Made in Cambodia Mkt, cnr Street 27 & Riverside, Tues to Sun 8:30am to 10pm

Embassy Restaurant (Khmer Gastronomy) – Street 27 Kings Rd Village. Mon-Sun 6pm to11pm
Haven Restaurant (Training) - Chocolate Road. Mon-Sat 11.30am to 3pm and 5.30 tp10pm
Meng Cafe - Near Art Center Market. Daily, 8am to 11pm. Thanks Inga for the recommendation.
New Leaf (SE) - Street 9 (near the Old Market). Daily, 8am to 9.30pm
New Hope Cambodia Hospitality Training Restaurant
Marum (Friends - SE) - #8A, B Phum Slokram. Between Wat Polanka & Catholic Church. Daily 11am to11pm
Sala Bai (NGO, Hotel & Restaurant Training School) Wat Svay Village Tonle Sap Rd. Mon-Fri 7am to 5pm

Sustainable travel articles:

Beyond Angkor Wat: 5 ways to enjoy Siem Reap (National Geographic Magazine) written by Sunny Fitzgerald (a freelance writer and sustainable travel specialist) that mentions some of the eating places & things to do & see that I have listed on this page.

Do-See

There are many things to do and see in or near Siem Reap, too many to list them all. Below are some of the places I have visited or would like to visit on future trips. Note: Distances shown are (Klms) from Siem Reap City.

Beautiful photos taken in Siem Reap by photographer Bo Kornum

Angkor Miniature (To-do 2020) - A detailed miniature version of Angkor Wat created by a Cambodian engineer and hidden during the Pol Pot Regime.
IKTT Institute of Khmer Traditional Textiles - (To-do 2020).

Cultural Shows

Bamboo Stage (To-do 2020) - A social enterprise contributing to the sustainable arts sector in Cambodia - Shows and Bookings. There is also a bar and restaurant on-site.
Phare Circus (Visited 2018) - The artists are graduates of the from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s, a non-profit art school, vocational training center in Battambang. The association was formed in 1994 by 9 young men coming home from a refugee camp after the Khmer Rouge regime.

Museums

Angkor National Museum
Artbox - trick art museum (To-do 2020) - a recommendation from another volunteer at GFTV.
It looks fantastic! I will definitely try to get there on my next visit.
Cambodian Landmine Museum (To-do 2020) - closed during my previous visits due to a fire
MGC Asian Traditional Textiles Museum (To-do 2020) - Linda is a quilter & interested in local textiles
War Museum Cambodia (Visited 2018) - a small outdoor museum worth a visit if you have time.

Temples

To visit the temples you will need to buy a temple pass.

There are 3 different passes available:

1-day us$37,
3-day us$62 (valid for 1 week) or
7-day us$72 (valid for 1 month) pass.

There are over 1,000 temples within the Angkor Archaeological Park and obviously I have not visited them all. The many significant archaeological sites are grouped into circuits. I have done the small circuit, the Roulos Group and Banteay Srey (links to photos below).

More info...Just Siem Reap Temple Guide

The Small Circuit (north) is 17 klms long & includes the most well-known temples.

More info...Angkor Wat Guide-Small Circuit tour (2019).

Angkor Wat (Visited 2018 & 2019) The most famous temple
Angkor Thom (Visited 2018 & 2019) A 3 square klm walled, moated city
that contains several temple ruins: Baksei Chamkrong, Bayon, Baphuon, Phimeanakas, Preah Palilay, Terrace of the Elephants, & Terrace of the Leper King, the Khleangs, & Preah Pithu
Thommanon
Chau Say Tevoda
Ta Keo - thought to be the first temple built entirely of sandstone by Khmers.
Spean Thma - bridge of stone, 400m west of Ta Ke
Ta Prohm (Visited 2018 & 2019) The famous "Tomb Raider" temple
Banteay Kdei - "A citadel of Chambers"
Srah Srang - a baray (reservoir) at Angkor dug in the mid-10th century
Prasat Kravan - a small 10th-century temple
Phnom Bakheng - located atop a hill & a popular tourist spot for sunset views of Angkor Wat

The Grand Circuit (north) is 26 klms long and is usually done as an extension to the small circuit (3-day pass).

More info... Wanderingwheatleys: Angkor Wat: Guide to the Grand Circuit tour (2019).

Other Temple sites include:

Western Baray - West Baray, West Mebon, Prasat Ak Yum
Sites South of Siem Reap en route to Tonle Sap Lake:
- En route to Kampong Phluk (south-east) - Roulous Group (12kms, visited 2018)
  Bakong, Preah Ko, Lolei, Prasat Prei Monti
- En route to Chong Khneas (south) - Wat Athvea (6klms) & Phnom Krom (10-12klms). Spectacular countryside and the best place to watch the sunset.
Sites further afield: (see: Hidden Cambodia Adventure Tours & Tours by Locals)
- Beng Mealea (70klms) - Sprawling jungle temple.
- Koh Ker (140klms, to-do 2020) - located in Preah Vihear province (see Map)

Banteay Srei District

Only 20klms from Siem Reap city there is lots to do and see in the district (more info...)

Banteay Srey (visited 2018) - women's temple.
Butterfly Center (BBC) - near Banteay Srei temple
Cambodian Landmine Museum
Mahendraparvata - (55kms, to-do 2020). An ancient city with 30 temples on the slopes of Phnom Kulen. This temple complex is very different from Angkor Wat and definitely off the beaten track. There are no majestic temples and the vast archaeological sites on the mountain, aside from the splendid elephant statues, are buried beneath the jungle floor and the towers that can be seen are few and are in a ruinous state (Grantourismo).
Phnom Kulen National Park (48klms north, visited 2018)
A holy mountain of special religious significance to Hindus and Buddhists with 2 famous waterfalls and other historical sights of interest.
- Preah Ang Thom, we visited the 16th-century Buddhist monastery and Naret & Visay had a blessing done by two Buddist monks. Naret & I climbed the stairs to see the giant 8m tall reclining Buddha & the view of the surrounding countryside was magnificent. Naret had another blessing done by one of the Monks.
- Waterfall picnic area: We hired a picnic shelter and had lunch beside the river (yum). After lunch Naret & I had a swim in the pond below the waterfall. A set of steep steps lead down to the pond where you can view the falls from below and swim. Whilst resting on a big rock in the middle of the pond we also got a free fish foot massage, as little fish nibbled on our feet while we were sitting there.
- Kbal Spean archeological site (42klms) - Valley of the 1000 Lingas along the Kbal Spean River. An amazing site with ancient carvings in the rocks in the river bed and beautiful scenery.

Tonle Sap Lake

The largest body of fresh water in Southeast Asia. The lake is part of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.

The reserve encompasses 3 core biosphere areas:

Prek Toal - Community-based Ecotourism Site (24klms) Located in Battambang Province. Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary & environmental research station with overnight accommodation.
Moat Khla-Boeng Chhmar ( klms) - located in Peam Bang Commune in Kampong Thom Province.
Stoeng Sen Wildlife Sanctuary - located in Kampong Thom Province, a 3 hour drive from Phnom Penh.

The reserve includes:

Tonle Sap Lake - floating & stilted villages
Flood lands & swamps surrounding the lake

- Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary
Seasonally flooded rice fields & grasslands located near two national roads that define the reserve’s outer boundary More info...

Map of Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve, Cambodia. Solid line denotes boundary of transition zone, and buffer zone is encompassed by dashed line. Core areas are shaded and numbered (1. Prek Toal, 2. Moat Khla-Boeng Chhmar, 3. Stoeng Sen).

Map of Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve, Cambodia. Solid line denotes boundary of transition zone, and buffer zone encompassed by dashed line. Core areas are shaded and numbered (1. Prek Toal, 2. Moat Khla–Boeng Chhmar, 3. Stoeng Sen)

Floating/Stilted villages

There are 4 main villages accessible from Siem Reap (Source: Siem Reap.net)

Chong Kneas (15klms) - privately owned & very"touristy", I would not recommend visiting the floating village here. It is the boat terminal to Battambang & Phnom Penh and where the boat tours depart from for Prek Toal.
Mey Chrey (25klms, south-west) - a new tour destination about half-way to Prek Toal, a grassroot real-life experience with beautiful scenery along the journey.
Kampong Phluk (30klms, south-east, visited 2018) - 3 villages with mainly stilted houses
Siem Reap Shuttle (local operator) - 1/2 day tours with hotel pickup & drop off.
Kompang Khleang (50klms) - the largest village on the lake and the one most often visited.
Community First recommended by Karen Millington, "I took a trip to the Tonle Sap river with Community First (a non-profit organisation), who support the local village, run a school and sewing enterprise - they were excellent."

Eco-tourism sites & tours

Pearaing Biodiversity Conservation Center (13klms). Registered in 2013 and located in Sangkat Chreav - Pearaing Dam, a huge natural dam.
Prek Toal Community-based Ecotourism Site- established 1999 with support from Osmose (NGO). Environmental research station floating village & Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary
- Getting there under your own steam (Lonely Planet)
- Cambodian Bird Guide Association (CBGA)
- Osmose - Full-day & overnight tours with pick-up & drop-off at your hotel
- Prek Toal Tours & Travel - locally owned community-based business
- Sam Veasna Center for Wildlife Conservation (SVC) - specialises in bird tours & revenue generated from tours is used to conserve threatened wildlife & promote sustainable community growth.

Tour Operators

Some locally owned and social enterprise tour operators in Siem Reap. I have not personally used any of them. They were either identified through my research or recommended by people living in Siem Reap.

Cambodian Local Tours - A social enterprise operated by three Khmer families
Floating Village Tours - Locally owned & a percentage of profits are reinvested in the village
Hidden Cambodia Adventure Tours - Locally owned & supports many humanitarian projects in rural villages
Khmer Detours - a local company delivering sustainable low impact, environmentally friendly tours
Tara River Boat - a responsible company with a focus on education, training and sustainable tourism. 100% local staff, certified childsafe business & 10% of profits used to help local villages.

Shop

Buy local & ethical products - Cambodia has a wide variety of talented artisans and ethical fair-trade organisations that support them. SE = Social Enterprise

Markets: I don't have much interest in shopping so I haven't done any research on or visited many markets in Siem Reap, but there are plenty of them. If you are interested in visiting local markets then I suggest you read this article on Grantourismo.

Made in Cambodia Market - I can recommend this one :) Good quality products made and sold by local artisans.

Shops and workshops that I have visited:

Ammo Jewellery (SE) - Made from recycled bullets, sterling silver & semi-precious stones. Workshops $: jewellery
Angkor Artwork - Training local artisans
Artisans Angkor (SE) - Silk, Arts & Craft. Free guided tours
Botanic Essence - Essential oils production
Genevieve's Fair Trade Village (SE) - Handicrafts. Workshops $: handmade paper, notebook, jewellery. Where I volunteer :)
Jayav Art - Papier Mache
Senteurs D'Angkor - Free workshop visit
Soireries du Mekong (SE) - Silk Scarves

Click on the three dots to view full-screen

Shops and workshops I want to visit on my next trip:

Arthouse - Kings Road Angkor. Artworks by young creative artists and artisans in the community
Cambolic workshop (1-5pm) 196 Slorkram Village, Slorkram Commune (near Touch-A-Life)
Claycult - Handmade ceramic beads & jewellery
Green Gecko - An NGO supporting former street children and their families. They have a number of projects that you can visit
Khmer Ceramics Fine Art - Workshops available
Kumae Tour (1/2 day) - products made from banana fibre (need to book 3 days in advance)
Manava (SE) - Rattan woven products
RokHak – Water Hyacinth products, 7-Makara & Achar Sva St, Old Market bridge (east of Sivutha Rd, near GFTV)
Samatoa Lotus Textiles (SE) - Visit (appointment required) Show Room or Lotus Farm
Sombai (SE) - Handmade liqueurs and beautifully handpainted bottles. Free tastings, Workshop visit & tasting

Transport

Transportation options include: Tuk tuk (Remork moto), Cyclo, Bus, Taxi and Train (very limited).

For travel between Siem Reap and other provinces, the most economical mode of transport is by bus or mini-van. There are many bus companies, private taxis and mini-van operators in Cambodia. However, it is difficult to determine who owns the large bus companies, and how safe the locally owned transport operators are. Road safety is an issue in Cambodia so I looked at recommendations from other tourists and ex-pats to help me decide whom to use.

If you are travelling with a small group of people, a private taxi may be a good option as you can share the cost.

If you want to book your transport in advance, the easiest way to do it is online:

CamboTicket - Buses, Private Taxis, & Ferries
BookMeBus - Buses, Private Taxis, & Ferries
Giant IBIS Bus (Schedule) - They have a reputation for being the safest, most reliable & most comfortable. There are no details about the owners, but they donate a portion of their profits to conservation projects (About | CSR)

For airport-hotel transfers see Access and Parking on the Siem Reap Airport website. Also, many hotels include free airport pickup/drop-off or you can pre-book it through them.

For short journeys within the city, you can take a cyclo, tuk-tuk or air-conditioned taxi. There are lots of them and it is easy to find reviews about them.