Siem Reap

[secretbidz]

Hi all   🙂

have you visited Siem Reap?

Love it, hate it?

What would you recommend seeing OR avoiding?

Would appreciate some input.

Many thanks!

[the_bob_delusion]

 Yeah, it's OK. Ofcourse you'll do Ankor Wat. Avoid the pesky kids trying to sell you stuft. 

[secretbidz]

Thanks Bob but those kids are going to see "SUCKER" clearly branded on to my forehead!  🙂

But I appreciate the advice!

[lurker172602]

We were there 2 years ago.

Siem Reap itself is nothing to write home about. The only reason to be there is Angkor Wat and that makes it a place not to be missed. I found SR hot, dusty and dirty.

We went out to the floating village on Tonle Sap Lake which was a complete financial rip off (we knew that before we went) but had a lot of fun with our "hoon" boat drivers and enjoyed the day.

The Night Market was good, but not spectacular.

Again, in saying all that, Angkor Wat and all the other temples well and truly make up for Siem Reap's inadequacies and should not put you off going.

Edit to say: I found the beggars and hawkers much more confronting in Phnom Pen than in Siem Reap

[secretbidz]

Hi Lurker,

Thanks for the input.

Angkor wat is definetly on the agenda and a few temples that I've read about on Trip Advisor that are small but worth seeing.

The hawkers are going to be a pain!

I've been to a couple of other countries where you're constantly harased by them, so far the most aggresive were in Thailand which really surprised me as they are generally such warm and welcoming people.

I just try remind myself they're doing this to feed their families even though they seriuosly do my head in.

[lurker172602]

We made it our rule to NEVER give anything to child hawkers/beggars. It completely ruins any chance they may have had of being sent to school etc. We thought it much better to support organisations like Friends (http://www.friends-international.org/children/cambodia.asp?mm=cw&sm=cam ) by eating in their cafes or shopping in their stores, and continuing to help now we are home again.
It can be pretty hear trenching ignoring their pleas but we knew we were doing the right thing.

[lurker172602]

PS My favourite temple after Angkor Wat itself was Bayon. Loved it. I think we visited about 6 all up. A few very early in the morning (dawn at Angkor Wat is not to be missed, even for a sworn non-morning person like me!) then a rest, swim and cool down at the hotel, then back later in the afternoon/evening to see a few more.

[pcmastersvortex]

Siem Reap was great. However be aware of lots of 'buddhists' asking for money to light incense as you visit the temples. One charged us over 10 to light one..also don't miss sunrise at Angkor wat its better than sunset. Afterwards try out the restaurants on pub street, we got a cook your own meal for cheap, was interesting as snake was served. Beer is 50c and Angkor What bar at night is an experience