[chica]

Heya folks, I will be in Siam Reap from March 29th to April 2nd. I am all excited because its been on my list of places to see for a looooong time! Any tips and advice on places to stay, eat , go around and see the temples will be great. If anyone is going to be there at the same time, do let me know and we can catch up for a drink/ meal....

thanks a ton

[IMO]

I had a great brief visit last year, and some thoughts:

- Make sure you start early, as the heat gets really oppressive and it's unrelenting as there isn't much shade around the temples.
- I'm sure you'll get around the main temple attractions, but if you have a bit more time, sunrise or sunset at Banteay Srei is pretty good as it's a bit of the beaten track, and at sunset the reddish bricks are very pretty
- Try to see if you can visit an amazing chap called Aki Ra, who's done amazing things de-mining, raising awareness about mines and taking in loads of landmine victims. He himself grew up through the strife in the 70s and 80s - at 10 he was conscripted in to the Khmer Rouge, then at 14 he was forced to join the Vietnamese force against the Khmer Rouge, and he spent much of his time specialising in mines. He's spent the last decade of his life dedicated to removing land mines - and by 2003 had single handedly defused over 20,000 - using only a stick and simple hand tools... and he's been training others to help. He's quite easy to google search if you want more info.
- Try a massage at Seeing Hands Massage, where blind people are enabled to live independently by... providing massages. Very good value for money too - I had one for about US$4-5 for an hour when I went!

In any case, have a wonderful time!

[ontheroad]

Restaurant wise :

Khmer Kitchen is really really cheap, and absolutely delicious. You have to try the Khmer curry. Get there early before it's jam packed.

Les carnets d'Asie is more expensive/upscale but it's delicious and the setting is lovely.

Stay away from the Foreign Correspondants Club which is expensive, pretentious, the food is soso and the service is terrible.

It's better to do the small circuit/big circuit in a tuk tuk, but if you want to see the temples that are far away, and you can afford it, rent a car, you'll waste less time. Tonl? Sap lake is great too, I would do that by car too, if you have time after the faraway temples, because the smell getting there is quite foul.

Bring your own passport photos for the temple 3+day pass, because the queue is quite long to have your photo taken. Don't worry about getting a visa, you'll get it on arrival in about 10 minutes, and there is an ATM at the airport. Don't forget to keep some cash for the departure airport tax.

Have a great trip, it's one of the most beautiful and amazing places in the world, and cambodian people are incredibly friendly and nice.

[helles]

hey, great!! we're heading to cambodia - siem reap and PP just after easter. waiting for confirmation on the return flight, and we're set!!

so please let us know how it went.. i have a long list of things i wanna see there, not sure if i'll have enough time!!