Adventures in Siem Reap

CEBU, Philippines - The beauty of Siem Reap, Cambodia goes far beyond the majestic and famous Angkor Wat ruins.

There are literally dozens of temples yet to be discovered, but one can only see so many temples without getting temple burn out. Soon enough you will be looking for other activities around town. Let’s see what this gateway to the Angkor region has to offer.

Accommodations

Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort, nestled in a manicured garden landscape, offers the ultimate in comfort and refinement by combining the traditional architecture of Cambodia with elegant French colonial style to create a resort of unsurpassed luxury. The rooms showcase spacious yet intimate living spaces with timber floors, wrap around terraces with pool, garden or lake views.

Sokha Angkor Resort offers dedicated round-the-clock assistance to keep you happy and content. Call in for room service or be pampered at the luxurious spa. You can also avail of the limousine service and travel in style.

Arts and Culture

The Amazon Angkor Restaurant. The honored tradition of Khmer dance stretches back over a thousand years to the Age of Angkor when it was popular with Kings and common folk alike. In the tradition of persevering this great cultural heritage, the Amazon presents nightly traditional dance performances referred to as Apsara, considered one of the most classic  dance pieces.

Artisans d Angkor was founded in 1998 to provide jobs to rural youth who were interested in traditional crafts. The majority of students are uneducated but are trained in stone and woodcarving. Under the supervision of archaeologists, graduates of the three-year program have been able to reproduce products that are sold in boutiques.

Shopping

There are many shops and market stalls selling handicrafts, silk, silverware, jewelry, carvings and the like and shopping in Siem Reap, especially in the local markets is a truly unique, fun and rewarding experience.

Massage

While hardly exclusive to Siem Reap, blind massage and "fish massage" have certainly become popular.  Fish massage is a slightly different affair - sit on the side of a paddling pool containing garufa fish, and let them nibble the dead skin from your toes - it feels much nicer than it sounds.

The central part of town, around "Pub Street," offers a range of massage places, offering reflexology and foot massages, head and shoulder massages, and variations of the services. These vary from basic rooms at a few dollars an hour, up to very high quality treatments in comfortable surroundings.

Cuisine and Entertainment

Siem Reap offers an amazing range of cuisine and dining venues. The emphasis is on Khmer-Cambodian food, which can be found at restaurants across town. Because of its location to many waterways, the staples of Cambodians remain fish and rice. Fish is the most common as they are abundant from the Mekong River, Bassac River and Tonlé Sap (the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia) and can even be freshly caught from rice paddies.

Though Pub Street is better known for its bars, a handful of places are known for great food, many with seating upstairs so you can escape above the partying milieu on the street below. Crammed along the alley is a wider selection of restaurants that offer a generally quieter and more intimate experience. The local restaurants lining Phsar Chas have extensive yet near identical menus of cheap fried rice and westernized approximations of Khmer dishes.

Tonle Sap Lake

Cambodia's Great Lake, Tonle Sap is the most prominent feature on the map of Cambodia -  a huge dumbbell-shaped body of water stretching across the northwest section of the country. The boatman will point out the different Khmer and Vietnamese floating households and the floating markets, churches, clinics and schools and other boatloads of tourists.

The great sites of Siem Reap are a symbol of the unity of the Cambodian people today and a great cultural legacy of which they are deservedly, very proud.

Getting There

Cebu Pacific Air fly’s from Manila to Siem Reap every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday with departures at 19.45 in the evening. The return from Siem Reap to Manila is every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 22.30 in the evening.