Other Things to do in Siem Reap

As enthralling as the temples of Angkor may be, there are lots of other things to see and do in Siem Reap besides touring Angkor and hanging out on Pub Street - cultural and countryside tours, Cooking Classes, Traditional Dance, Cambodian Circus, the famous Landmine Museum, floating villages on the Tonle Sap...

Seeing a bit of Cambodia away from the temples can help avert ‘temple-burnout’ and round out your Cambodian experience. It also helps Cambodia by taking some of the tourist pressure off of the temples and main temple area, and it helps spread the tourism dollars a bit more widely. In addition to the following suggestions, check out the sections on visiting the Tonle Sap Lake and bird watching at Prek Toal, and on traditional dance performance.

9D Cinema Rides

9D Cinema rides - an exciting simulator ride, great fun for the whole family! The intimate 9D theater plays 9D animated movies with surround sound, 'active motion' luxury seats and loads of dramatic effects such as rain, fog, lightning, wind, snow and more - offering a "the ultimate in sensory cinema experiences." Located inside the China Tang Market in the center of town, on Sivutha Street at the corner of Night Market road, just 2-minutes from Pub Street.

Angkor Hospital for Children

The Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC), is a charitable organization, was founded by renowned Japanese photographer Kenro Izu in 1999. The hospital provides treatment and care to local children as well as children from neighboring provinces. The hospital is recognized by Cambodian’s Ministry of Health as an official teaching hospital and AHC’s Medical Education Center serves as a training site for health professionals from all over Cambodia. Our Capacity Building and Health Education Program works to strengthen the capacity and improve the quality of local health practices. The Friends Center at Angkor Hospital for Children gives visitors the unique opportunity to visit the hospital and learn more about its programs. Designed for environmental sustainability with the purpose of educating about the hospital the Friends Center also displays prints donated by Kenro Izu and hosts rotating art and photography exhibitions. The donation of money and blood are much appreciated!

Apsara Dance Performances

It has been a tradition since the earliest days of tourism in the 19th century to treat visitors to Siem Reap with a ‘Apsara dance performance’ - a taste of classical Khmer culture. These days no visit to Cambodia is complete without attending at least one traditional performance.

In Siem Reap dinner performances are now the most popular venue with most places offering buffet or set menus combined with a one-hour traditional performance, usually dance though some places also offer traditional puppet performances.

Dinner ordinarily begins at 6:00 or 7:00PM and the performance at 7:30PM or 8:00PM. The usual dance performance consists of 4 or 5 different dances, both classical and folk dancing. Most dinner performances run $10-$35 including dinner and admission. Some place do not charge admission for the performance, but you are expected to order dinner. For the best seats, call for reservations.

Bird Watching and Environmental Tours

Siem Reap offers some unique bird watching opportunities. The Prek Toal bird sanctuary on the Tonle Sap Lake and the Ang Trapeng Thmor reservoir northeast of Siem Reap both are home to many rare and threatened species. For the Prek Toal bird sanctuary see on the Tonle Sap page.

(The following about Ang Trapeng Thmor comes courtesy of the Sam Veasna Center.) Originating as a reservoir on the Angkorian highway 66 it was rebuilt as a man-made irrigation and water storage reservoir by slave labor during the Khmer Rouge Regime in 1976. The reservoir now harbors a unique wetland associated with grassland, dipterocarp forests and paddy fields. Aside from being a feeding ground for more than 300 Sarus Crane in the dry (non-breeding) season, more than 200 species of other birds occur here, of which 18 have been classified as globally or near globally threatened. This is also one of the handful of sites in Cambodia where the endangered Eld’s Deer can be seen. Colonies of fruit bats inhabit larger trees that are often semi submerged on the edge of the reservoir.

The best time to see the Sarus Crane is from February to May though an abundance of bird species can be viewed all year. There is also a hill top Angkorian temple a few kilometers into the forest while traditional silk weaving is still practiced in the adjacent village. A boat trip can be taken on the reservoir which depending on the time of year is 11km along and 8 wide and offers fantastic views of the surrounding countryside

Officially declared a Sarus Crane Reserve by Royal Decree in 2000 the area designated covers over 12000 Hectares, following the work of Sam Veasna and his friends at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), all foreign visitors are required are required to register at the WCS Office in the adjacent village.

ATT is a day trip from Siem Reap though accommodation can be arranged at the WCS HQ (Tel: 012-703033) or organized through the Sam Veasna Center in Siem Reap (Tel: 012-520828) in the adjacent village, giving birdwatchers the chance of dawn sightings and offering the opportunity of visiting the massive Angkorian temple complex of Banteay Chmar.

 

Beatocello

Dr. Beat Richner plays Bach on the cello and speaks about the activities of his children’s hospitals (Jayavarman VII in Siem Reap, Kantha Bopha 1 and 2 in Phnom Penh) every Friday and Saturday evening at 7:15PM. Performances are held at the Jayavarman VII Hospital, located on the road to Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. Dr. Richner provides an entertaining and worthy Saturday evening. The hospital welcomes both monetary and blood donations.
 

Balloon Rides

Take a tethered helium balloon ride 200 meters straight up for a pretty good aerial view of Angkor Wat (1km away), the surrounding countryside and a couple of other temples peeking up through the jungle. The balloon itself does not float free, but is attached to the ground by a heavy teather that is reeled out then back in to allow the balloon to rise and return to the ground. The balloon itself is filled with helium with a fenced in gondola capable of holding more than a a couple dozen people. They give you about 10-15 minutes at the top, more than enough time to take in the full panorama and take plenty of pictures. The balloon does not run during inclement weather and is best on days that are not too windy. The big, yellow balloon is based about 1km east of Angkor Wat on the road from the airport. You can't miss it. Usually you can show up without reservations and be on the balloon within 15-40 minutes. Admission $15/adult; $7.50/child.

Countryside Tours and Temples

If your schedule allows, set aside a day or three to get out of the Siem Reap Town/main temple area and into the countryside. Within just a few kilometers of town the landscape turns to rice paddies, small towns and villages, offering an opportunity to get a look at 'real Cambodia' - the rural countryside where the vast majority of Cambodians live and work.

Some tour operators specialize in countryside and cultural tours and can help arrange a variety of trips - from a simple half day cultural tours of the nearby rural areas from the back of an air-conditioned car, to extensive multi-day motorcycle adventure tours of the countryside, distant temples and greater country tours outside of the Siem Reap area.

One of the more popular and easy ways to see a bit of countryside is to take a trip to one of the more distant temples such as Koh Ker, Beng Mealea, or Banteay Chhmar. Touring these temples, located well outside Siem Reap in jungled and rural areas, allows you not only to experience untouristed Angkorian temples but to to get a glimpse of the Cambodian countryside on the trip there and back. A stop in a village, often to see some NGO or charity project, is often included as part of the distant temple tour. 

Helicopter Rides

Helistar Cambodia
Offers scenic helicopter tours of the temples beginning at US$90/person for an 8 minute jaunt around Angkor Wat. It isn’t a particularly cheap way to tour but the view is spectacular and memorable. Helistar Cambodia offers specialized tours, aerial photography and charter services. Multiple aircraft in service. Conveniently located at Siem Reap International Airport, Domestic Terminal. Walk-in customers welcome.

Angkor National Museum

The Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap houses eight chronologically ordered galleries of Angkorian-era artifacts and multi-media presentations of Angkorian history and culture. The Museum had just opened its doors and was not quite completed at time of printing, but should be very soon. Admissions price: US$12 (for foreigners). $2 for a camera.

Cambodia Land Mine Museum & Relief Facility

The museum has evolved from a small shack museum by former soldier and deminer Akira to a formal museum and charitable organization. The museum exhibits a variety of defused mines, bombs and other ordinance as well as information on mines, demining and Cambodia’s mine problem. Located 7km south of Banteay Srey. Open 7:30AM-5:30PM. Guided tours: M/T/Th/F 9AM-3PM. Located 7km south of Banteay Srey.

Located six km south of Banteay Srey

Cambodian Cultural Village

A unique, sprawling new cultural attraction in Siem Reap, intended to introduce the visitor to Cambodian culture and history. Wax museum with scenes and figures from history. Fascinating 1/20th scale models of sites such as Phsar Thmey and the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh and the hills and temples of Oudong. Full scale models of a variety of Cambodian architectural types, including different styles of huts and homes, hill tribe houses, pagoda and mosque.

War Museum Cambodia

Displaying a wide variety of battlefield military hardware and equipment used in the wars in Cambodia over the last three decades of the 20th century. Heavy armor including T-54 tanks, anti-aircraft guns, artillery pieces, rocket launchers, APCs and piles of disarmed mines, bombs and shells. Interesting collection of (disarmed) small arms that you can handle. 8AM-5:30PM. 5km from town center, Airport Road. Admission: $5 for foreigners; $1 for Cambodians. Free guide service.

Pagodas & Shrines

Over 95% of the Cambodian population is Buddhist and Buddhist pagodas are the traditional seat of Khmer culture. Siem Reap, like many Cambodian towns, is a collection of villages, which grew around individual pagodas, later coalescing into the town. To get a true feel for Cambodia, a visit to at least one pagoda is a must.

Pagoda grounds are colorful and photogenic places and most are open and welcoming to the general public. But if you visit a pagoda please be respectful of the place and people. Dress conservatively, remove your hat on pagoda grounds, remove your shoes before entering the vihear (main temple) and respect the privacy of monks and worshippers. See Ray Zepp’s book ‘The Pagoda's of Siem Reap’ for an introduction to Buddhism and a guide to Phnom Penh’s pagodas.

Shrine to Ya Tep

Under a huge tree in the traffic circle in front of the royal residence is a statue of Ya Tep, a neak-ta. Neak-ta are powerful spirits connected to a particular area of land. Ya Tep is local to Siem Reap and is said to help bring protection (and winning lottery numbers) to the faithful. Offerings of chicken skins can often be seen around the shrine.

Silk Farms

Cambodian silks are prized by collectors the world over. Most of the silk available in Cambodia are made from silk grown and collected in Cambodia and is hand-loomed using the traditional ikat method of dying the threads and looming in the patterns. The markets and silk shops in Siem reap offer both raw and fine silks in the form of bolts, sarongs, clothing and various handicrafts. For those with a special interest in silk, a trip to a local silk farm to see the silk making process is well-worth the time and effort. One of the longest running silk farms in the area, Pouk Silk Farm,  that also accepts visitors is run by Artisans d'Angkor and is located about 20 minute outside of town. Call or contact the Artisan d'Angkor shop in Siem Reap town (west of Sivutha Blvd, not far from the Old Market area), or book through a tour agent. Artisans d'Angkor run several daily free shuttle from their shop in Siem Reap to the Silk Farm.

Tonle Sap Lake Tours and Villages

The Tonle Sap Lake the most prominent feature on the map of Cambodia a huge dumbbell-shaped body of water stretching across the northwest of the country. In the wet season, the lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, swelling to an expansive 12,000 km2.  The Lake sits only 15 km south of town, a unique eco-system and cultural area offering the opportunity to see a different side of the Siem Reap - floating and stilted villages, culture and nature tours, bird watching.

Most lake tours begin at the port at Chong Khneas village directly south of Siem Reap town. Everything from 1 hour to multi-day tours are available. The quickest, easiest boat tours run out of the Chong Khneas port, with local operators offer 1-2 hour tours of the floating village just off shore, usually including a stop at a floating fish farm/souvenir shop. Not exactly an 'authentic Cambodian experience' but at least providing a glimpse of life on the Lake. Half and full day tours to the amazing stilted village of Kampong Khleang, or the flooded forests of Kampong Phluk, or a trip to the Prek Toal Bird sanctuary, all offer a very unique look at Cambodian culture and ecology. See the Tonle Sap Lake page for more information on these destinations.

Flight of the Gibbon

International standard Zipline course in a dense piece of jungle actually within the Angkor Archaeological Park boundaries. From Flight of the Gibbon which also has well established Zipline courses in Thailand, in Chiang Mai and just outside Bangkok. The Angkor course is a world class zipline course claiming Southeast Asia's longest and highest ziplines. The course travels through dense jungle canopy, and includes 21 platforms, 10 ziplines, 4 sky bridges , a 50 ft. abseil finish and more. Guide accompany zipliners on every tour. Great fun for the family and groups of friends. Full day multi-adventure tours also available, combining the zipline adventure with ATV Quad adventures, temple tours, bicycling tours and more.