Siem Reap, Cambodia - City Guide
After visiting Siem Reap earlier this year, I couldn’t resist coming back a second time. Luckily it did not take much of convincing to Matias and as soon as we left Laos we found ourselves in Siem Reap. This city in northwestern Cambodia is mostly known for its location next to Angkor.
Angkor was the largest city in the world before the industrial times started. Today it is a very popular tourist attraction and most images of the city show Angkor Wat, a temple that was build for the Hindu god Vishnu. Every tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap tries to sell you an excursion to see the temples and it didn’t took long until we accepted an offer to explore Angkor the following day. Our trip started at 5 in the morning. Tired and excited we drove 15 minutes to a big hall where we found ourselves among many other tired tourists. We purchased our tickets that even had our pictures on it. Angkor is one of the more pricier things to see. The ticket for the day pass was 37$ per person. Then our driver drove us to the most popular temple, Angkor Wat, where we could see the sunrise. It was stunning to see that, and also to see how many people got up that early. Once the sun was up the mass of people were spreading out over the big temple area. We took some pictures and were truly amazed by the art and skills that went into building the temple. In the temple there are also some monks and we received a blessing from one. That was a very special experience that if you are open for it should not miss.
After this temple our driver drove us to the Bayon Temple and from there we walked to other temples close by. We loved walking around sometimes just the two of us to see the beauty of Angkor. At the end of the tour we purchased 2 drawings from a street artist and then went back to our driver who drove us home. It was a long day and an early morning, but Angkor leaves you stunned. Amazing what beauty people created back then. We would always come back and visit it again.
The Guesthouse we stayed in is called Tropical Breeze. It is located right outside the center and just 5 minutes walk to the famous night market. Good room service and an amazing pool made this a nice home for us. We booked this place on booking.com long before because we knew it would be busy during Christmas and paid 122$ for 10 nights.
Of course Siem Reap has many restaurants and luckily super good ones too. We were graving some Mexican food during our stay here so we tried few different mexican restaurants. Our 2 favorites are tuk tuk taco and maybe later. Another place that we did not expect to find in Cambodia was Vibe. This is a pure vegan place where you can eat everything without a bad conscience. Cold pressed juices, smoothiebowls, zucchini pasta, falafel just to name a few of their delicious options. For breakfast we went nearly everyday to a place called Damnak Riverside restaurant. Just outside of our Guesthouse owned by a lovely young family. They offer beautiful breakfasts both western and Asian that are super affordable. On our last day we went to Siem Reap Food Coop. They serve a lot of healthy options and promises that all their dishes are made with fresh ingredients, and fresh ingredients only. And we could taste that. Next to the cashier there is a little store where they sell handmade Cambodian ware: natural cold pressed coconut oil, muesli, rice, honey, soap, after shave, lip balm, bamboo straws and much more. We wished we could have bought all of it but unfortunately our backpacks only have limited space. If we would have stayed longer I’m sure we would have eaten there more than once.
Since we spend Christmas in Siem Reap we were thinking a lot about where to eat our Christmas dinner. Several places offered a typical Christmas dinner for around 20 – 50$. We checked some of these places but none of them had the cozy vibe we were looking for Christmas. At the end of our search we landed in to a small French restaurant called l’annexe. We took a look at the menu, another one in their romantic garden and we knew where to spend Christmas Eve. The reservation was very easy and we chose the coziest table in the whole restaurant. 2 days later we were served the best meal we could have imagined. This restaurant puts so much love in every detail that we wished we could eat there everyday. If you are in Siem Reap for a special occasion please consider dinning there. We did not regret it!!
Anyway, 10 days full of amazing food. My favorite place will always be a Café called Bloom. Bloom Café started in Phnom Phen, the capital of Cambodia, but after few years it expanded to Siem Reap. The purpose of this cafe is to help young woman without education and teach them in sales, how to decorate cakes & cupcakes and teaching them english. So there you can eat and help for a good cause too. I first went to Bloom because Matias invited me there. Now I’m pretty sure he regrets it cause I’m spending all our money in this café. For my defense they have the most beautiful and delicious cupcakes ever. After I heard what Bloom does for many young woman I ordered loads of cupcakes for take away and whenever I ate one – I felt lucky for the circumstances I grew up in!
In case you shouldn’t feel busy enough with trying all the amazing food, there are plenty of other activities you can do in the city. They have 2 escape rooms that cost around 20$ per person. An acrobatic Circus that performs every evening at 8pm. This one you can visit for around 18$. Our favorite thing besides eating was to visit the cinema. It’s called Major Cineplex and has newly been renovated. We watched Star Wars – The last Jedi and Jumanji there, both amazing movies. It was really cozy, their caramel popcorn was my favorite while Matias preferred the cheesy popcorn. The movies cost around 2-4$ per person. If you want to watch 3D you pay 1$ for the glasses but you can keep them. Staff speaks good English and is very friendly. Definitely recommended.
Siem Reap should be on your list if you visit Cambodia. I completely fell in love with the city, the food, Angkor, the vibe and many lovely people we met here.
Leave your favorite Siem Reap memories in the comments and feel free to ask us whatever is on your mind.
Peace and Love – Tabea.