Cambodia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 84

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By moto or tuk-tuk Motos and tuk-tuks cost around
$8/$15 return. The site is about 15km east of National
Route 64; about an hour to reach from Kompong Thom.

centred on the raucous Pub St , as it's now
known, for obvious reasons.

Artisans d'Angkor
A short walk west of Psar Chas, Artisans
d'Angkor (daily 7.30am-6.30pm; free;
T

063 963330, W artisansdangkor.com)
offers a fascinating snapshot of
Cambodian arts and crafts collected
under one roof, with artesans producing
gorgeous (but very pricey) wood and
stone carvings, lacquer-work, gilding
and silver-working. he centre also
produces its own silk at the Angkor Silk
Farm (daily 8am-5pm; free), 16km west
of Siem Reap. Free buses run from
Artisans d'Angkor to the farm (daily
9.30am & 1.30pm).

Angkor
he world-renowned temples of Angkor ,
in northwest Cambodia, stand as an
impressive monument to the greatest
ancient civilization in Southeast Asia.
Spiritually, politically and geographically,
Angkor was at the heart of the great
Khmer Empire. During the Angkorian
period, the ruling god-kings ( devarajas )
built imposing temples as a way of
asserting their divinity, leaving a legacy of
more than one hundred temples built
between the ninth and fifteenth centuries.
he nearest town to the temples is
Siem Reap , which has established itself as
the base from which to make your way
round Angkor, a tradition begun by an
American, Frank Vincent Jr, who
borrowed three elephants from the
governor of Siem Reap in 1872 to explore
the ruins. hese days, there are plenty
of motos, tuk-tuks and taxis on hand for
the journey.

2

Angkor National Museum
A visit to Siem Reap's Angkor National
Museum (Angkor Wat Rd, 1.5km north
of the centre; daily 8.30am-6.30pm;
$12, students $6; W angkornational
museum.com) is an essential adjunct to a
visit to the temples themselves - the only
downside is the extortionate entrance fee.
Choice pieces of ancient Khmer sculpture
are beautifully exhibited in vast galleries,
while multimedia presentations provide
plenty of background on Cambodian
history, heritage and religion.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By plane Besides flights to Phnom Penh, there are an
increasing number of international connections. Transport
between the town and airport costs around $6-7; some

SIEM REAP
SIEM REAP is far and away Cambodia's
most touristy town, and the hordes of
foreign visitors can come as a bit of a
culture shock if you've spent long in
other parts of the country - although
you'll enjoy the incredible range of
tourist-friendly facilities and brilliant
collection of restaurants and bars. Despite
the vast number of tourists, it's retained
a surprising amount of its original
small-town charm.

INTO THAILAND AT POIPET
From Siem Reap it's a three-hour bus or
taxi ride to the busy border crossing at
Poipet (around 6-7 buses/minibuses
daily; $6-7). Thai visas are issued on the
spot. Once in Thailand, you can take a
tuk-tuk to Aranyaprathet from where you
can head on to Bangkok by bus (every
30min, last one 6pm; 4hr) or train (2 daily
leaving at 6.40am & 1.55pm, arriving
Bangkok 12.05pm and 11.30pm; latest
times can be checked at W thairailways
.com). For information about entering
Cambodia at Aranyaprathet, see the
Thailand chapter (see box, p.774).

Psar Chas
he old colonial heart of Siem Reap
around the riverfront and lively Psar Chas
market remains the most interesting
part of town, still sporting many of its
original French-era shophouses - now
transformed into buzzing cafés, bars and
shops. Just north is the main tourist area,