Tourist Attractions in Khett Siem Reab

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This was a double-edged sword. We took a bus out to the Tonle Sap lake and jumped aboard a motor boat to go and see the floating village. It was amazing to see the river life going on around you. Little boats with small children came up alongside and the children jumped on board to sell you drinks etc. It was an awesome journey, however we stopped somewhere on the lake to visit a crocodile farm. As soon as we pulled up we were accosted by boats of women and children, the children had large snakes around their necks. I hate snakes and crocodiles and wish I had known this was part of the trip. As soon as you take a photo, you will be asked for money. At one point, a guy with a crocodile jumped in front of me, I turned around to get away and was surrounded by small children with snakes around their necks. I was freaking out. Everyone was pretty silent on the trip home.

Unique Suggestions: Take a deep breath and take it in your stride. If you don't like crocodiles or snakes, just don't go.

Commission scams that involve guesthouses and hotels paying moto and taxi drivers to deliver guests. We didn't really come up against this as we were on a tour.

Fun Alternatives: Pre-book transfers or go with the flow and negotiate with the hotel once you get there, if you haven't already booked.

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With the hotel recommendation, we hired a tuk-tuk on the 1st day of our arrival to bring us to Angkor Wat at USD15 (very expensive!!!). We bought a 1-day pass with USD20, then set forth for the journey. It was alright for the 1st half of the day. After lunch, we were brought to Angkor Thom, and the driver was missing when we got back to the tuk-tuk area. We waited there for an hour, and decided to continue our journey with another tuk-tuk......

We were then had a "quarrel" with the tuk-tuk at hotel lobby, and settled at USD7 for his half work.

Unique Suggestions: Tuk-Tuk is very common there, in fact, it is very competitive. There is no need for one to hire the tuk tuk the whole day, but ONE-WAY, unless you are going to Tonle Sap.

Fun Alternatives: Cycling oneself??

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this is truly a tourist trap, a commercail enterprise put up with someone and who has contracts with package tourists and tuk tuk drivers. I couldnt stand more than a few minutes there. the quality was not that good either. for silk i would go to somotea near the old market which has much more tastefully crafted stuff rather than this mass produced stuff here

Unique Suggestions: Just look around dont buy anything. Support little shops run by khmers or khmer/foreign owned ones.

Central Market, we bought a painting from a seemingly reputable shop, it was still a little wet, so the shop-keeper promised he would deliver it to our hotel, but never showed up....We gave him directions, a map, and hotel phone number...he promised he would deliver but didn't come. We had to catch a flight so we couldn't go back...

Be careful, pay on delivery...or just cash and carry-maybe that's best

This is not a reflection of all vendors, but something one should be aware of what might happen.

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Going up the stairs is one of the greatest accomplishments done inside Angkor Wat. The problem lies in going down. The stairs is very steep and the spacing between the steps is smaller than the usual foot size. Even with the hand rails, one could easily slip if one is not careful.

Unique Suggestions: Be sure that you are not prone to dizziness. Going down the stairs with that condition is nearly impossible. Have a good grip. Placing your bag closely to your body (and not let it go dangling) would help. From experience, it is easier to go down facing the front than doing it on backward steps.

there are a lot of shops selling "Cambodian Silk", there are all selling at usd 0.5 -usd 2. They have a Tag on it written "CAMBODIAN SILK - MADE in Cambodia" on the scarf. I realised there are not cambodian silk after i went to the Silk Farm. all the "Cambodian Silk" selling in the market are all cotton from thailand or china.

Unique Suggestions: You don't need to do anything if you see this, as the price is really low. its just for your info.

During discussions with other guests at the second guesthouse we stayed in in Siem Reap recently, we discovered that while we were paying US20 per night, they were being charged US$45, for virtually identical rooms - they had a bigger bathroom.

Unique Suggestions: If you have a prearranged driver, ask him if he has an "arrangement" (as ours did) with a guesthouse, and that the rate works in your favour. Don't be nervous about talking to other guests about what they are paying, and make a bee-line for the owner if you are getting a bum deal.

Fun Alternatives: If you have an idea of a guesthouse you want to target, either before or after you get to Siem Reap - check it out on VT - and ask other members about costs as well as general experiences.