OnTheRoad

Siem Reap, site of the world famous Angkor Wat ... ah, wats. And innumerable small children attempting to sell you bracelets and books, primarily photocopies of the Lonely Planet guidebooks. If you want to make a purchase, you can get them down to 500 reil (about 12 cents us) per bracelet. Guidebooks go for between $US3 and $US7, depending on size. They'll start out asking between $5 and $10 though.

Anyway, I digress. The city is pretty nice, lots of good bars to be found down on "Bar Street" and a few along by the river that meanders through town. Aside from the touts, beggars and children, the city is great, although, due to the proximity of Angkor Wat and the hordes of tourists which flock to it, Siem Reap is a reasonably pricy affair by local standards.

Places to stay: I stayed at the Rosy Guesthouse, about 50m north of National Highway 6 on the east of the river. The place is run by an english couple, Simon and Rachel and have friendly staff and good (although a tad pricy) food. Small clean rooms w/shared bathroom are $US5, larger rooms w/aircon etc go for $US15 - $US20.

I understand that there are cheaper places available, but $US5 is a standard Siem Reap rate for this sort of thing, and I think you could do a lot worse.

Things to do: Well, Angkor Wat, obviously. Tickets are $US20 for one day, $US30 for three. I only did the one day, I'm a little templed out really, but it was pretty damn cool. You can hire cycles to do it (motorcycle hire in Siem Reap is disallowed by law - I sense the meddling of the TTA, the moto and tuk tuk driver's associacion) or you can rent a moto or tuk tuk for the day. Prices will be around $US1.5, $US6 and $US8 per day for cycle, moto and tuk tuk respectively. If you're with a friend, do the tuk tuk, as the price is the same for a few people. Cram to many on and they may wish for more.

Due to the large number of pubs and bars, a night out is probably worth it too. It's the low season here, but with the World Cup on, there's a few people in town most of the time.

There are a shitload of other temples within a daytrip distance of Siem Reap as well. Tuk tuks and motos can get you to most, some you may wish to charter a share taxi I hear - prices will depend on haggling skills. I'm travelling alone and couldn't find people to go with, so did not do. Beng Meala sounds cool though, maybe I'll make it back!

Another thing to do I'll mention here, although it's Cambodia wide, rather than specific to Siem Reap, is riding between cities on the back of pickup trucks. With a million other people. Ah, I joke, I joke, it's only another 20 or so people on the back :) Bring sunglasses, sunscreen and a bandanna to cover your nose and mouth. All good, authentic way to travel, faster than anything else on the bad roads and always the cheapest option as well. Natural aircon + occasional showers included for free.