I have had therapists come over to my room to give massage for a little extra fee before I went for a nap. Apsara dance shows are an excellent, colorful and soul soothing performances to watch on a evening with a dinner. I generally try to avoid any cultural shows put out for tourists.
But, on my South East Asia trip, I really wanted to get a feel for the local dances given their connection to India and Hinduism. And the Apsara dance of Khmer that I experienced was no less beautiful.
Absolutely worth checking it out while you are eating your dinner. Another great way to get to know the local culture quickly and deeply is to learn about how they cook their food. An intimate look at their kitchen, ingredients and cooking process will get you closer to the people.
You walk around the village, pick your own vegetables and eat what you cook. I highly recommend cooking class in Siem Reap , or any new country you visit. The largest fresh water lake in Southeast Asia, Tonle Sap lake is a seasonal lake that swells up as the rain comes in year after after and drains out in the dry season.
Due to this seasonality, the community builds floating houses that can be moved as the water reaches a much higher level. During raining season from June to October, the lake swells with water flowing from the Mekong River with a whooping 14 meters in depth and expanding to the surface of 10, square Kilometers in width.
However, during the dry season from November to May it reduces to 3, square kilometers with two meters of depth and water flows out from the Lake in to Mekong River. The flooded forest surrounding the edge of the lake is what makes the lake thrive with biodiversity as the water animals spawn and breed in the forests. There are over species of fresh water fishes and others like snakes, crocodiles, tortoises, turtles and otters.
There are few million people around the lake who live off of the lake by fishing during the peak season. When I visited the lake was too low for a boat ride, nevertheless I wanted to go see the place for myself and I did. I made a mental note to come back during the peak season to see the bustling village life. Take a tour to Tonle Sap Lake during the day time or go for a sunset tour You will not be disappointed.
When the sun sets over the rice paddy fields, as the blue sky turns gold, you would want to be out in the village appreciating life and hanging out with local children. Take a Quad bike tour that takes you into deep villages at sunset time. These tour operators are mindful of locals and children running around.
Once you get into the rice field after harvesting is done , and in the clearings, now is the time to put your thrill seeking self to test as you speed through the fields. If you only have 1. You would need a minimum of 1. For that matter you can spend all your 4 days at Ankor wat.
It all depends on how deep you want to get into the history and have the eye for appreciating these ancient temples and architecture. I spent 1. Day 1, I started from the hostel with a couple of newly made friends on a tuk-tuk and we walked around from 9AM to PM in Ankor wat.
At around PM, we started lining up for sunset view from one of the temples that apparently has the best sunset views. They only allowed a certain number of people per day, so we started lining up so early at to see the sunset view and to pretty much rest from walking the whole day.
It was like hours of waiting and chit-chatting with fellow travelers. It was good but not great. After sunset we came back to the hostel to wind down early. Angkor Wat is the most important and impressive temple. Angkor Thom is another major temple featuring giant stone heads. Banteay Srei dedicated to Shiva and Pre Rup are smaller. A single ticket gives you access to all the temples for a given number of days. The foot pagoda of 14 th -century Buddhist temple Wat Phnom overlooks the city on a hilltop.
The river runs parallel to the main tourist area called the Riverside , with frequent sunset cruises running daily on the Tonle Sap. The city has an extensive Art Deco central market well worth a visit. The French colonial area is located in the Northern part of the city near the Wat Phnom temple, revolving around the 19 th century Place de la Poste French central post office, recently renovated. The Neak Banh Teuk Park hosts morning and evening aerobics classes, people playing Chinese hacky sack, and elderly walkers.
These are not fun visits but they can help some visitors understand contemporary Cambodia. Siem Reap has an overwhelming choice of restaurants, many of which good. The downtown area is often overrun with tourists and backpacker-style nightlife. The French Quarter has many trendy restaurants. Pub Street is where a lot of the animation takes place at night. In Phnom Penh, many cafes, restaurants, and boutiques concentrate around lively Street There are excellent Western, South Asian, and Middle-Eastern restaurants offering authentic food at very affordable prices.
Many coffee shops and casual food places have a relaxing chill-out type atmosphere with wi-fi. There you can meet and chat with friendly locals. The Riverside area is often considered a tourist trap with all sorts of vendors trying to sell you things. The old colonial area has more fine dining places. Prasat Kravan Temple is usually fairly quiet by the middle of the day as many people choose to visit it first or last when entering or leaving the park.
Neak Pean is more like a monument than an actual temple as it stands on an artificial island in the center of the Jayatataka baray.
As Neak Pean is thought to symbolize the mythical healing lake Anavatapta, many believe that it was built for medical purposes with the waters surrounding thought to cure diseases. Your last stop for the day at Angkor Wat will be Phnom Bakheng Temple, one of the oldest temples on the site. This is a stunning place to watch the sunset as you are raised above the rest of the Angkor Archaeological Park on a 60m hillside.
Phnom Bakheng is set over seven levels, representing the seven Hindu heavens, and as such boasts plenty of different locations from which to watch the sunset. The night market sells a whole host of different goods, from clothes and fabrics to handicrafts, ceramics, and handbags. You can spend as long as you like shopping, snacking and bartering for good prices; soaking up the vibrant atmosphere while you go.
This road is basically a strip of restaurants and bars all offering a range of Asian and Western food. This can be taken back at your hotel or at one of the many spas and massage parlors around the city. This is the perfect way to round off your first day in Siem Reap!
As yesterday was a long day, you can decide what time you want to rise on your second day in Siem Reap before heading back out to Angkor Wat. Rather than visiting at sunrise again, you can take a more leisurely start and arrive once most of the sunrise tourists have departed for other temples. You are able to walk, unrestricted, through the grounds of the Angkor Wat temple, seeing grand doorways, sweeping staircases and adorned platforms throughout.
Spend as long as you like soaking up the sights of Angkor Wat, remembering to take lots of photographs as well as saving time to pause and simply take in the atmosphere. This freshwater lake is home to a large number of the Vietnamese minority in Cambodia, who have lived and worked in this region for decades. Click here to book a half-day guided tour to the Tonle Sap Lake. To end your last day in Siem Reap you might want to visit the Smile of Angkor Grand Epic Show, a live celebration of the history and culture of Cambodia displayed through the use of dancers, lasers, lights, sounds, and songs!
The show informs the audience about the building of the temples of Angkor, the history and traditions of the Khmer community as well as Khmer, Hindu and Buddhist festivals while also including impressive martial art and acrobatic performances! This attraction employs local people to tell their stories and to show Cambodian culture to the world.
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