Siem Reap Travel Tours : Angkor Wat Accommodation Guesthouses Hotels & Flights<<>> Siem Reap travel guide will help you with your Siem Reap hotels, accommodation and other travel arrangements. In this small provincial capital of the region with the same name. Having catered for the tourist for over 100 years, Siem accommodation goes from simple guesthouses to five-star hotels like Raffles. This diversification has reaped the reward of a wide tourist base.
Its name means the 'Defeat of Siam' which is today’s Thailand and the town came into being as several small villages merged into each other. The town was little more than a village when the temple was re-discovered in the 19th century. Since then it has grown and developed into what it is today. Siem suffered a set back during the war years and especially in 1975 when along with other cities and towns in Cambodia the population was evacuated by the communist Khmer Rouge and driven into the countryside. It wasn’t until arouind the middle of the 90’s that things began to recover for the city.
Now Siem Reap flights feed tourists into the city day after day into the Angkor International Airport on National Road 6. This small airport is done in cambodian style and is a change from the normal concrete and glass boxes. Others come to Siem by bus and car to soak up the atmosphere, see sights and fill the Siem Reap guesthouses and other accommodation.
As you travel the 6km into the city you will feel the vibrancy of the place and marvel at the road skills of the car, moped and motorcycle drivers especially if school is starting for the day.
Siem Reap tours can be done by walking around the centre, visiting the various markets, haggling for that great bargain watch or pashmina. If you haggle you will reap the benefit of cheaper merchandise. Don't be too brutal though because the traders are trying to make a living. Then spend some time relaxing in one of the many cafes in the Old French Quarter around the Old Market area. Just to sit for awhile, with a drink in your hand, and watch the life of the town drift on past you is a very pleasurable experience.
After your break you could take a stroll by the river up past the local housing or down to the many local Wats. On your way the offer of an excursion tour in a version of the tuk tuk will be given again and again. When your ready take one because for just a few dollars you will be able to do a full tour of the city.
The town extends approximately 2km north/south along the River and about 3-4km east/west along National Road 6. All of the hotels are spread relatively evenly across the town, so to be dropped off at your Siem Reap accommodation at the end of your tour is no problem.
Siem Reap Angkor Wat are inseperable and their names have become interchangable in the minds of the tourist and the town has reaped the benefit of that. The city is thriving because it serves as the gateway to the millennium-old temple ruins of the old Khmer Empire. The temples of Angkor remained one of Asia's leading tourist draws and is the main attraction in Cambodia without a doubt. The main temple complex lies about 5-10km north of town and many tours are available.
The Angkor Archaeological Park encompasses dozens of temple ruins and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992. Stretching over 400 sq. km, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent ruins of several temples of the Khmer Empire, which were built from the 9th to the 15th century. These include the famous and legendary Temple of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple, Banteay Srey, the Baphuon, Phnom Bakheng, Ta Prohm and many others. We had a personal guide Sim on our vist check him out here.
Aki Ra Started this museum by turning the garden of his home into a museum of mines and other ordnance. The museum is now located in a purpose built location along the road to Bantay Srei.
The Angkor National Museum offers visitors the area's archeological treasures. This world-class museum presents the legend of Golden Era of Khmer Kingdom its history, civilization, and cultural heritage in eight galleries. A personal Audio tour is available in Khmer, English, German, Korean, Japanese, French, Chinese, and Thai.
<<>> The Tonle Sap Lake tour is not to be missed. A vast lake, the largest in SE Asia, expands due to water movement to approximately 250kms long by up to 100kms wide. This is where you will see the famous floating villages and houses built on stilts of up to 10 metres high. This allows for the rise in water levels.
No visit to Siem Reap would be complete without being entertained by a charming and exotic Apsara dance performance and there are many held in various locations in the town.
Siem Reap travel is very rewarding and is a delightful place.
|
