Destination Guide : Siem Reap

Ah, Siem Reap! You introduced us to Southeast Asia. We fell in love with your food and, even more, your people. There is something magical about Siem Reap. An energy that we just didn’t find many other places during our travels. Some say that Siem Reap has a positive vortex, like Sedona, Arizona. I don’t care the reasoning behind it, I just love spending time in Siem Reap!

We spent 20 days in Siem Reap and towards the end of our stay we felt like locals. We ran into our IG-friends turned real-life friends at dinner. We heard a restaurant owner call our names while walking across the street. I attended my “regular” yoga class. After so many months of “newness”, we appreciated dining at the same restaurants and having a routine.

We loved our time there so much that we contemplated moving to Siem Reap. And we would not have been alone if we had made the move! We met so many expats who told us about how they traveled there once and then never left. Alas, we did not move there, but it’s at the top of the list of places in Southeast Asia that we want to return to.

Let’s dig into how we spent our 20 days in Siem Reap!

STAY : We won the accommodation lottery in Siem Reap! We divided our time between two stays and both were perfect for what they provide.

Our first 5 nights were spent at Villa Wat Damnak. At $43/night it was our cheapest accommodation of all of our travels! And for the price, it was perfect. Large rooms, breakfast each morning, and a pool. It’s located walking distance to many sights, including the Old Market and night markets. The restaurant onsite was one of our favorite places for dinner. Check out more about it in our Siem Reap Restaurants post (Wednesday’s post!). It serves some of the best Khmer (Cambodian) food in town. We ate dinner there often during our entire 20 day stay. And the people who work there are so delightful! We had long conversations with them over dinners. They’re so open to share about themselves, so curious about our travels, and they loved playing with the kids. We were sad when it came time to say goodbye.

Our second stay was one of our favorites during our travels. The Banana Resort is a small accommodation of 6 villas with a swimming pool in the center. The property is tiny but full of mango and banana trees. And Caroline, the owner, and her Khmer staff are so kind and welcoming. We loved getting to know her and her story throughout our stay. We savored her breakfasts each morning because we knew how much we would miss them. Fresh fruit, juice, strong coffee, eggs, and always a freshly baked bread. Her French roots make for delicious food and were very much appreciated! We spent so many slow afternoons around the pool, swimming, playing rummikub, and getting to know the other travelers. It was hard to want to do anything else with our time there.

GETTING AROUND : Transportation in Siem Reap equals one response… Tuk Tuk! We were initiated into life in Cambodia as soon as we exited the airport and saw our tuk tuk pull up. The hotel scheduled the ride for us (complimentary airport pick ups are very common with Southeast Asian accommodations) and we had no idea that we would be traveling by tuk tuk. We crammed ourselves and all of our luggage into the tuk tuk and sped down the streets. We all nervously laughed for the first 5 minutes, then Liv fell asleep and the rest of us settled into our new life in Siem Reap. Bumpy tuk tuk rides became a daily routine. We took them, and motorized rickshaws, throughout town and out to Angkor Wat. Rides were very inexpensive (usually $3-5) and we booked rides through the Passapp (the uber of Cambodia, although I’ve heard that the Grab app is available there too).

We also walked a lot in Cambodia, less with the kids, more when we were sightseeing solo. Sidewalks are inconsistent and crossing the street takes some guts (although it’s much easier than in Vietnam!).

THINGS TO KNOW : Traveling to a new country always takes a bit of research, and our first travels to Southeast Asia were no exception. We had done our research regarding not drinking the tap water and mosquito repellant care. Drinking water in almost all of Southeast Asia means bottled water only. That includes when you brush your teeth, cook food, put ice in drinks, etc. Our hosts were good about providing us with a lot of drinking water in our rooms. For mosquitos, don’t be afraid to use the strong stuff (DEET spray) when traveling in areas where mosquito-spread illness is rampant. We had a hard time finding any mosquito repellent when we were in Japan before heading to Cambodia. But once we were in Cambodia, it was easy to find the spray in all pharmacies.

Siem Reap mainly uses U.S. Dollars as their currency. Crazy, right?! They use the Cambodian riel for smaller amounts. Make sure to always carry small (U.S. dollar) bills on you to pay for tuk tuk rides. Many drivers don’t carry much change. If you don’t have small bills on you, your $3 ride could easily become a $10 ride!

EAT… After 20 days in Siem Reap, we just have too many restaurants to share with you! Siem Reap is getting its own restaurant post. Stay tuned!

DO : Siem Reap is a relatively small city but it is packed with things to see and do.

OLD MARKET - I loved wandering and shopping around the Old Market. Lots of touristy, Cambodian gift items. We filled up a box of little goodies and sent them home to our family for Christmas.

PHNOM KULEN - This mountain range is located about 2 hours outside of Siem Reap but worth the trip. We enjoyed seeing what life is outside of the city and the temple on the top of the mountain was beautiful. The temple is home to the largest reclining Buddha in Cambodia (25 feet long). But our favorite part, swimming up to a 60 foot waterfall! It’s one of our 41 Tourist Attractions that We Actually Loved!

NIGHT MARKETS - The night market across from the Old Market is fun to walk through at night. So much street food to eat!

PHARE - Cambodia’s version of Cirque du Soliel. The show’s mission to help the youth in Cambodia is so wonderful. T and I went to the show and were underwhelmed overall. The show that we saw didn’t keep his interest and was definitely not geared for kids (most of the time the cast just pretended to get drunk). For kids, this is a skip for us. Without kids, it makes for a fun evening event and you would be supporting a great cause!

MINI GOLF - We didn’t make it to Angkor Wat Putt but travelers love it! Miniature golf around mini Angkor Wat temple structures.

SEE : The number one reason why travelers head to Siem Reap? Angkor Wat, of course! The temples of the Angkor Wat complex are awesome, in the truest meaning of the word. I will be writing a full post on visiting Angkor Wat (would I really be a travel blogger if I didn’t have a dedicated Angkor Wat post?!).

PLAY : Our children’s only complaint about Siem Reap? There are no playgrounds! Playgrounds are hard to come by in the perpetually hot climates of Southeast Asia. Another traveling family told us about Kids Park, the indoor playground at The Heritage Walk, and our kids loved it. We visited twice and were happy to pay the $4/kid to enjoy some time in the A/C while our kids played their hearts out. (Don’t forget to bring socks.)

There might night be outdoor playgrounds, but our kids love time in the pool, so they were happy to swim each afternoon. An accommodation with a pool is a must in Siem Reap. After long, hot days visiting the temples of Angkor Wat, a beer and time in the pool is exactly what you will need.

TREAT : During the first months of our travels, our kids ate ice cream/gelato, daily. Time in Siem Reap finally broke that streak. Thankfully! Our kids loved snacking on fresh fruit and drinking coconut water. They, of course, still had gelato from Fifty-5 Kitchen Bar about one a week.

RUN : Running in Siem Reap is…. rough. There’s no other way to describe it. Want some insight on running in Siem Reap? Here’s what Trent has to say… “The roads are rocky and dusty, the tuk tuks and motorbikes blast fumes in your face, it’s hot and wet out here… But what makes it easy to get back out are the people. The little kids on the back of their parent’s motorbikes who smile and wave as they go by, the shopkeepers who holler out encouraging words, and the old men who jog alongside telling you you’re doing a good job.” To me this is the epitome of travel, and running, done right. Sometimes it’s rough and hard… and rewarding. Leaving you wanting more!

As inspiring as Trent’s words were, I put running on pause while in Siem Reap. Instead, I did more yoga that I ever had in my life! I signed up for a 10 day yoga pass at Navutu Dreams Resort. I loved my morning routine of breakfast, a walk down the dirt road to class, a quick coffee before rolling out the mat. My favorite yoga teacher would bring me coffee with a “No coffee, no prana” reminder.

DRINK : We loved falling into a daily routine in Siem Reap. And included in that routine… drinking beer! Angkor beer, made in Cambodia, is a simple lager perfect for the hot afternoons. Tiger beers are popular there too. But Siem Reap also has some great IPAs. We enjoyed IPAs and a couple of meals at Siem Reap Brewpub and Kingdom IPA at Pomme Restaurant, Bar, and Hostel.

One of our favorite “lost in translation” stories is when Trent asked our tuk tuk driver to stop for beer on the way home. Trent handed the store clerk $20 and asked him to give him $20 worth of beer. We had no idea that we would be walking away with two, filled bags of beer! (Luckily, we had 2 weeks left of our stay.) We joked with our driver that we were having a party. Thought nothing of it and then got WhatsApp message after message from him later that night asking to come to the party!

I can’t wait to re-visit our both favorite and new spots one day. It seems that Siem Reap has been hit especially hard due to the coronavirus. It broke my heart to research our favorite spots and see that are now temporarily closed. I’m hopeful for the future and keeping our favorite places and people in our hearts.

Have you been to Siem Reap? Share a favorite in the comments below! If you haven’t, do you have Siem Reap on our list of dream destinations?