Safety Tips in Khett Siem Reab

Begging is very common throughout Cambodia, especially in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Many of them are children.

Think twice before you give them money as you will then be helping them to depend on this way of living.

Many of them work for gangs or are made to beg by their family, a lot beg to support their glue sniffing habits - especially in the market areas.

Its far better to buy them a drink or something to eat!!

Violence against tourists is pretty rare, however if you are in a crowded nightclub or bar, just be alert.

If you do happen to get into an argument with a young rich Khmer, just back off, many of them carry guns so its just not worth standing your ground and arguing.

When you arrive in Siem Reap Airport, you can get the visa on arrival without waiting too long. It will cost you 20 USD per person. While you are leaving Cambodia, you need to pay a departure tax of 25 USD per person.

I think that tourists who nowadays come to Siem Reap are safe. Everywhere we went we met smiling people, offering help if needed. We (two middle-aged women) often walked away from the tourist places to see the 'real life' and never met with any hostile gestures or words. So it is not tourists that are in danger but Angkor itself.
In 1993, when Angkor was added to the UNESCO Heritage list, the number of tourists who visited it was just 7 600 people. Since then, though, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of visitors with almost 2 million in 2007 and predictions of 3 million in 2010. What's the problem? - someone may ask. Tourists leave money and give work to local people, so it seems there's nothing to complain about. There is - the problem is too serious to ignore it.
Pollution from cars and buses may cause darkening of the stone. People walking in and out of the temples are bound to damage them, unless the direct contact with the stone is made impossible. But the most serious thing seems to be upsetting of foundations on which Angkor wat sits. Siem Reap, with more than 250 hotels and guesthouses, is sucking up groundwater and destabilising the soil beneath Angkor. It's already visible in the wonderful Bayon temple which is collapsing into sandy ground.

At the point of departure, the airport at Siem Reap has a counter, which requires you to pay airport service charge. It's a USD 25 for every foreigner and USD 13 for children. That's shocking! No pay on arrival though. They accept credit cards, which was a relief for me (all this while I thought once you're heading home, it's good enough to have little cash).

Of my many trips worldwide, this was the second experience of such a regulation after Indonesia, but the charge was very minimal.

A minor warning really. Siem Reap is only a small town. We wanted to get to the Night Markets (from Bar Street) and were told it was too far to walk and we should get a tuk-tuk. I wasn't too sure about this as the map looked very small and we decided to just try and walk - just as well, the Markets were just at the end of the street. Obviously just trying to get commission for a tuk-tuk driver, but just be on the look out.

IF YOU PLAN TO GO OFF THE BEATEN TRACK TO VISIT TEMPLES OR OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU STICK TO THE WELL MARKED TRAILS..
THIS IS BECAUSE THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF MINES IN THE AREA..
PLACES TO TAKE CARE ARE KBAL SPEAN AND THE MORE OUTLYING TEMPLES FAR FROM ANGKOR.
IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS CHECK WITH A LOCAL GUIDE.
BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN VERY SORRY.

One of the oldest, advertises a restaurant, we have been here since 2002! in fact that was the year of my first visit to Siem Reap,and the explosion is incredible. The sad part is that everything, with few exceptions, unlike in other countries, are owned by expatriates.. there are over 200 restaurants catering for foreigners, and over 100 hotels and more on the way. apart from waiters khmer people are scarce in the tourist industry, which is rather sad.
choose your restaurant carefully, also your hotel, i dont know how to make sure that khmer people benefit, but go by the reputation if you are are a repeat visitor to Siem Reap.