Siem Reap is not only one of the most popular destinations in Cambodia but in all of Southeast Asia. It’s most famously known for its temples throughout Angkor Wat and most notably so. It’s one of the most unique places I have ever visited and throughout my travels I had seen so many temples and this place by far is unlike any other. The pure history and and magnitude of this empire is incredibly impressive and not only that but just driving from one temple to the next is so peaceful and serene.
Beyond the temples the city center is quite small however has some great places to eat and has a pretty fun nightlife. We stayed here for a total of 4 nights, which in my opinion could’ve been shorter since the temples are the main highlight, however if you only plan on visiting Siem Reap then I highly recommend seeing the Killing Fields if you don’t get a chance to make it to Phnom Penh. A real eye opener!
Location: City Center
The city center is quite small, I am pretty sure you could walk the whole thing in a day but the heat tends to make walking outside a complete nightmare so it’s a good thing it is small. We stayed right in the heart of the city center so the location was perfect. Anywhere you stay here will be the same proximity from Angkor Wat which is about 20 minutes away from here. There are some places you can stay closer to Angkor Wat however there isn’t much around those areas.
Accommodation: Mad Monkey Hostel
Throughout your travels you probably hear the same, but Mad Monkey Hostels are the shit. They are hip, clean, modern, and so fun you honestly do not even realize you are staying at a hostel. It is centrally located right in the heart of the city center so you are in walking distance from pretty much anywhere, they even have their own private tuk-tuk that will take you anywhere you’d like and we had one that stayed with us throughout the whole duration of our Angkor Wat tour which was such a nice feature. They offer so many different tours and activities at the hostel so you know that its a trusted source vs going with a vendor on the street. The staff was extremely friendly and accommodating and made the experience quite nice.
The beds were extremely comfy and huge with so much space and good security. Our room had a private bathroom which was great. There was a pool and bar located in the center of the hostel, cabana lounges on the 2nd floor overlooking the pool, and a rooftop bar on the 3rd floor filled entirely with beach sand. They had daily drinking games, activities, and promotions so I can easily say we filled up our 4 nights pretty nicely.
- Cost per night: $10
Food
The food here was actually quite nice the places we did go and because everything is within walking distance it was easy to get around and find. There is an area near the night markets called Pub Street that is absolutely jammed with places to eat so you won’t run out of options during your time here.
1. Cambodian Soup
Located on Street 8 on Pub Street, this place offers traditional Cambodian dishes which were extremely excellent. The overall ambiance of the restaurant is quite cute which huge cushioned seats and benches, and can seat a lot of people. The main reason why we came here was for the $0.50 draft beers. How can you say no to that!
2. Genevieve’s
This was one the top restaurants to go to in Siem Reap and originally when I looked at the reviews I didn’t believe that we had to make a reservation. This is Cambodia. But when I called to make a reservation that evening they didn’t have anything available until 9pm and not even time slots that we wanted for the following night so we made a reservation for our 3rd night. It was a great restaurant absolutely smashed with people every single night. This place is owned by an Aussie who opened the resaturant for his deceased wife, whom he named the restaurant after. A really great story and an absolute great guy, you can really see the love in his food and he tends to hire people who are less privileged. I highly advise the lak luk, which is a traditional Cambodian meat dish.
3. Lilypop
Again this is another place that was advised to take reservations, but this is simply because the size of the restaurant is very small. The best part about this place was how incredibly cheap it was and for decent food. They had great smoothies and drinks here and the desserts looked fantastic too. Great owners who were very sweet and had a decent variety of food to choose from.
Activities
Angkor Wat Archeological Park
Of course this was the main highlight and attraction of our time here in Siem Reap and is a must for you too! We organized our tour through our hostel which provided us a private tuk tuk driver for the whole day going to all of the temples within the park.
Our tour started very early in the morning and we met our driver at the front around 4:45am so we could make the sunrise over Angkor Wat. This is a very popular thing for tourists to do so do be aware that even though you may think you are getting a head start, don’t be fooled. It’s packed still. By the time we arrived and walked to pond overlooking the temple we had about an hour left until sunrise at 6:30am and luckily secured a pretty good spot. We maybe didn’t have to leave that early but I highly recommend getting there before 6am to make sure you get a good spot before the sun starts coming up.
From there we spent some time exploring the temple and the grounds. If there was one thing that I regret it’s that we did not get a tour guide. The architecture was absolutely stunning and beautiful but it would have been nice to get some insight on the culture and history of the empire. We then spent the rest of the day exploring the many other temples throughout the park including Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm.
- Cost: $30
Nightlife
The nightlife here was actually pretty decent and fun, primarily the best spots were all along or near Pub Street, which you honestly can’t miss with all neon lights hanging across the tops of the restaurants.
1. Pub Crawl
I am drawing a blank to how much this pub crawl costs but it definitely was worth it to really see the nightlife and atmosphere of Pub Street, and of course to meet people. We initially met at X Bar where we got our free t-shirt or tank top to start the pub crawl. There were drink deals at every bar and location we went to which honestly by the end I don’t even think I took advantage of because I was toasted!
2. Angkor What?
This bar was located right in the heart of Pub Street and was a great place to end up after the pub crawl ended. It had great music and a great overall vibe.
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