Siem Reap, north of Tonle Sap Lake, is a province in North Western Cambodia. The name, if translated literally, means "Siam defeated". During a war in the 16th century, the Siam was defeated by Khmers and thereafter the province in which the war was battled is named after the event “Siam defeated”.

Siem Reap is home to hundreds of Khmer temples ruins, scattering in the area of 401 square kilometers, dating from the 9th century to 13th century. During Angkor period between 9th and 15th century, the Khmer Empire ruled by Khmer kings stretched over a vast territory of South East Asia from the tip of southern Vietnam to the Bay of Bengal. Angkor Wat is listed in the world heritage protection program by UNESCO in 1992.

Siem Reap is a small vibrant town marked by French old colonial buildings that are mostly located around the old market “Psa Chas”. The town these days is inundated by buildings and shops catering to the foreign visitors: shops, art schools, western style pubs & bars, restaurants, upscale hotels, budget guesthouses, and you can count it. Sivutha is a popular street where visitors would like to hang out and enjoy the evening searching Internet and dining out. Foreign visitors come to Siem Reap mainly to visit the temples of Angkor.

Places to visit

Visitors can enjoy with nature, people & culture. They will explore ruins which Khmer ancestors built during the past time. There are many religious temples such as:

Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Baphoun, terrace of elephant and leper king, Phimeanakas, Banteay Srei, Ta Prohm, Ta Keo, Kravan, Pre Rup, Mebon, Neak Pean, Preah Khan, Roluos group temples(Prah Ko, Bakong and Lolei), Kbal Spean, Kulen mountain, Phnom Kulen, Beng Mealea, Group of Koh Ker temples and many more.

In Angkor site, visitors can enjoy aerial sightseeing with balloon and helicopter sightseeing over the main Angkor Temples for a truly breathtaking view of this World Heritage site. It is also possible to enjoy elephant ride, riding bicycle, and tracking. Moreover, visitors can take pleasure at “The Cambodian Cultural Villages” which is the most marvelous Khmer cultural performances in Cambodia.

Tripping to the floating villages along the river is best way to learn the way of life of the local people and also to find out about the Great Lake which is one of the largest lakes in Asia. And also it is possible to see the birds at bird sanctuary, Prek Toal Battambang province. Visitors can have a bicycle tour around the rice paddies in the countryside and meet with the farmers who work hard by their hand to produce rice.

Most visitors would like to experience Khmer foods such as Amok, Carry soup, Khmer salad, Samla Kako, sour soup and many more. At art school visitors will discover the way of Khmer people make clothes with silk at ‘silk farm’, Pourk district and to discover the way of Khmer carve on wood and stone at work shop ‘Les artisants d’Angkor’ in town.

There are many more activities during the festival of Cambodia, especially during New Year which usually held on every 13th to 16th of April. Beside this, visitors can also visit Buddhist pagodas (Wat Bo’s museum, Wat Enko Sei…), old colonial buildings which were constructed during the French protectorate time (1863 – 1953), Akira Landmine & Angkor National Museum, Zoo, killing field at ‘Wat Thmei’....

How to access

Siem Reap International Airport is just 8 kilometers from town, now along the road is planted by hotels of different categories starting from 3 stars to 5 stars. To enter Siem Reap there are many direct flights from different Asia countries: such as flight from Phnom Penh, Laos (Pakse, Vientiane, Luang Prabang), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Singapore, Taiwan (Kaohsiung, Taipei), Thailand (Bangkok, U-Tapao/ Pattaya) and Vietnam (Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh City), China (Hong Kong, Taipei), Japan, Korea (Seoul). Air Asia and Jetstar Asia now fly to Siem Reap from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Visitors can come to Siem Reap by land from Phnom Penh and Thai border; it takes about 5 hours by car from both places.

Note: from Phnom Penh road is good (leading transport company: Mekong Express Limousine Bus), but from Poi Pet, Thai border, road is not good yet. It’s also accessible by boats from Phnom Penh and it takes around 5 hours as well.