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Aside from Angkor

By Rachel Turner | Thursday, Apr 10, 2008

We’ve all heard about those famous temples near Siem Reap, Cambodia. I doubt very few international tourists visit the area without a stop at Angkor Wat on the itinerary. While the temples are certainly the region’s pièce de résistance, there are lots of other things in Siem Reap to keep a traveler entertained.

I arrived in Siem Reap too late in the day to start my pilgrimage to Angkor Wat. Instead of laying low, I decided to explore the city. First on the agenda was finding a room. There are plenty of lodging options available, from dodgy, dirt-cheap hostels to super posh resorts. I opted for a middle-of-the-road option, and stayed at a small boutique hotel, The Secrets of the Elephants (http://www.angkor-travel.com/). A private room without air conditioning set me back $25, with breakfast included. Each room in the hotel is themed according to a different Asian region: Cambodia, Thailand, Japan, China. The room was charming and comfortable. The thing that made the place a great choice, though, was the helpful staff. Ceaseless with smiles, the staff there helped me with restaurant recommendations, tour organizing, and bus tickets.

Many hotel options are available along the city’s main highway, Airport Road (National Highway 6). As a good budget option, Earthwalkers comes recommended, as does the Jasmine Lodge. If money is no object, give the Grand Hotel d’Angkor a try.

Happy with my room, I set off to find the Siem Reap War Museum. Down a dirt road off the main highway, the museum is located outdoors in a garden. Rusted tanks and rocket launchers spend their final days under flowering trees. Admission is $3 and comes with a free guided tour. My guide was falling apart...or at least he was according to his story. He was a poster boy for the horrors of landmines. He showed me his fake leg, ball bearings still trapped under his skin, scars, and a cloudy left eye. I also got a show of his bullet wounds (Khmer Rouge) and heard stories about his dead parents (Khmer Rouge) and dead wife (landmine).

After checking out the machine guns and makeshift minefield, I was on my way back to town. The streets of Siem Reap were cloudy with dirt and ringing with the grumbling and tooting of motorbikes. I spent a few hours wandering through the stalls of the central market, bargaining for silk and sundries. $2 DVDs, satin pillows, gold Buddhas, silver boxes, teak elephants, cotton blouses—all were stacked to the ceiling of teeny-tiny shops manned by teeny-tiny women shrieking "Lady! You want buy? Ladeeeeeee!"

I stocked up on tchotchkes and went off in search of dinner. The Khmer Kitchen is tucked in an alley near the central market. The menu offers a wide variety of cheap, delicious Khmer dishes. For dessert, I stopped in at the Blue Pumpkin for fresh-baked treats. Other tasty restaurant options include the Abacus and Red Piano. Siem Reap is also rife with “Happy Pizza” establishments. Be warned, though, that “happy” means more than “served with a smile.” This label means that the pizza is served with a marijuana topping. Proceed with caution.

On the way back to the hotel, I gave in to one of the many touts advertising cheap massages. I compared prices, and decided on an hour-long Thai-style massage for about $5. While a day spa it wasn’t, the place was clean and the massage was worth way more than I paid.

Other area attractions worth mentioning include Wat Thmei, a temple and school hosting a memorial to the killing fields near Siem Reap. A stark white stupa sits in the middle of the courtyard filled with the bones of victims of the Khmer Rouge. If you want to know more about Cambodia’s tumultuous past, a short drive out of town will bring you to the landmine museum. For more lighthearted entertainment, check out a traditional Cambodian Aspara dance performance. Many of these performances are available as dinner shows.

While most travelers only use Siem Reap as a place to sleep while exploring Angkor Wat, the city itself has many interesting attractions. If you have some time before or after seeing the main attraction, venture out and explore this gritty little city.