Top Khett Siem Reab hotels
Seems like a strange thing to do while on holidays I know, but a couple of our tour group took part in giving blood. You can give blood at either the Angkor Hospital for Children or the Government Hospital in Siem Reap. Our donators had whopping bruises after doing so, but I don't believe there was any other side effects.
Most of the landscape around Siem Reap is flat and not to exciting. So it is a good option to head to the hills and a very sacred place for Khmer. Phnom Kulen is a over an hour drive from Siem Reap but worth the visit. It has nicely wooded hills but the road is not too good and is one way only. Therefore you need to get their in the morning, and cant really leave for home until the afternoon. No porblemo, its worth staying a few hours.It has a Bhuddist temple with a huge reclinging Buddhist statue and many shrines. Also carved linga. Just down from the temple is a small market with some restaurants and souvenir stalls. Unfortunately they had a bear skin and part of other local fauna for sale here. There is also a beautiful clear river with many linga carved in the rock based riverbed. THis river flows all the way to Siem Reap and it is believed that the Linga impart good fortune on the...
Went by tuk tuk to Tonle sap lake, return cost $8. It was the most bumpy road I had ever been on. Price of boat after a haggle, cost $20 for 11/2hours. It was an old boat, with not a very pleasant driver. The young man (guide) was nice. The river in April is very low, the lake is also. The village is interesting, you could see the children at school, a chemist, basket ball court on water, church, restaurants, fish farms, and local homes. The vietnamese live together, and the muslims together, they do not mix, and I was told by the guide, they do not like each other. As the tourist boats head out into the lake, teenager boat drivers, with very young children, speed after the boats and jump on to sell cans of drink.Worth the trip out.
At the villages on the way to Banteay Srei, you see big pots cooking. In these, they are cooking Palm Sugar which they make into lollies and sell. It is very sweet. Ask your driver to stop at one of the roadside stalls.
Just south of Siem Reap town is the floating village called Chong K'neas. I got driven to the port where I took the boat ride which takes you along a small river past the floating house boats of the locals. You also see schools and shops, anything you may see in a land based village. Amazing. Houses are powered by car batteries and most have satellite dishes for TV and comms. Not a bad set up. The boat ride opens out to the Tonle Sap lake where there are more houses and a restaurant/souvenir shop with caged fish and Cambodian Crocs. This was not the highlight of Chong K'Neas but you get a good idea of the size of the lake as you get to the top story.
As I love nature, I wanted to explore more in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat not limiting myself to temples. Our guide Neang suggested a trekking route which would take us to waterfalls. It took us approximately 1 hour car drive from Banteay Srey to reach Kbal Spean. After 35-40 minutes trekking, we found ourselves at the top of the hill where we saw some stone carvings on the water. Following the sound of water, we reached the waterfalls. It was relaxing and different to be in the nature. This short escape was a good change as we had started getting bored with visiting temples all the time
Can someone tell me why there is a grove of young Australian Eucalyptus trees on the road to Beng Mealea? My driver wondered why I asked him to stop, thought I needed a "pit stop" or something. I just had to stop and take a photo as it just something you expect to see.
Around 1km before to Beng Mealea, there is a road that heads north towards Phnom Kulen. the road takes you to tiny bridge over a creek where you can see a creek bed with the what is left of the sandstone after the rock was cut to build the temple structures etc.
Around the platform we see tens of boats with kids. Some are trying to sell bananas, others, with snakes around their necks, want to attract our attention and hope to get a dollar or two when we take a picture. Oh, and these little kids in metal bowls equipped in a stick to steer with ..., it's an unforgettable sight. It's time to go back. Our boatman doesn't say much so I can think about what we've just seen. I've got mixed feelings ... It's so sad to look at the poverty of these people, but giving them money doesn't solve the problem. Isn't it their government that should provide for their basic needs? (They even don't have easy access to drinking water - isn't it a paradox?) Yet, the tourist police take the lion's share of money left by visitors here and in Angkor.The visit to Chong Kneas is considered by many a 'tourist trap'. They say it is better to visit places a bit further from...
We leave our tuk-tuk driver behind and follow a young boy who is to be our guide in Chong Khneas. After boarding a small motor boat (there are only two of us and the guide) the trip begins. The boatman- guide knows English well enough to give information about the place. We pass a floating village school with a basketball court, different shops and houses. Chong Khneas is inhabited by over 5000 people ethnically diverse: there are the Vietnamese, Khmer, Cham and Chinese living there. The concept of address is practically unknown here: people have to move several times a year back and forth as the waters of Tonle Sap increase and shrink.After a couple of minutes we get to the open lake. What a mass of murky brown water it is! Our guide points at a nice blue building - it's a catholic church. We stop at a floating platform crowded with tourists. There's a snack and souvenir shop and a kind...
La Residence d'Angkor Siem Reap
1 Review and 371 Opinions The hotel is simply splendid. The spa is the ideal manner for relaxing after a long sightseeing of...
Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa Siem Reap
1 Review and 422 Opinions The Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa was our haven during our stay in Cambodia, and it was wonderful!...
The Kool Hotel Siem Reap
1 Review and 514 Opinions Rooms are a quite big size, clean and comfortable. We Stayed at this place for 4 nights. staff are...
Reviews and photos of Khett Siem Reab attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Khett Siem Reab sightseeing.
Q: Hello, I'm scheduled to arrive in Siem Reap on November 13 (and leave on November 16, originally to go to BKK, but will have to...
A: My brother who lives in Siem Reap wrote a couple of days ago to say that the flooding has eased in Siem Reap. He runs the Mandalay Inn and had very few guests but he kept...
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