Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Laundry Bar
Northwest of Psar Chas
T
012 301743;
map p.140.
The battered old brown-leather sofas aren't
exactly cutting-edge chic, and the atmosphere can
sometimes be sleepy going on moribund, but the long-
running
Laundry
remains a nice place for a cosy quiet drink
and a game of pool - while things liven up considerably
during the regular live music sessions.
Daily 4pm-2/3am.
Linga Bar
The Passage
T
012 246912; map p.140.
Pint-
sized gay-friendly bar serving great cocktails and hosting
Siem Reap's only drag show every Wed and Sat at 10.30.
Daily 4pm-1am.
★
can bag one of the coveted streetside wicker armchairs. The
good drinks list includes lots of Belgian beers (Duvel,
Hoegaarden, Chimay and Leffe), or try the “Tomb Raider”
cocktail - still going strong after more than a decade.
Daily
7am-midnight.
The Station Wine Bar
Street 7
T
097 850 4043,
W
thestationwinebarsiemreap.com; map p.140.
Chic,
very gay-friendly modern wine bar offering an unrivalled
selection of wines by the glass (from $3.50) and bottle,
plus numerous other tipples. Also hosts regular cabaret,
drag and talent shows.
Daily 4pm-late.
The Warehouse
Hospital St; map p.140.
Relaxed two-
storey bar, usually lively without being rammed (and
there's plenty of space - and good street views - from
upstairs if downstairs is full). Pool table and live sports on
TV.
Daily 9am-2pm.
X Bar
Sivatha Blvd; map p.140.
Grungy rooftop bar that
pounds out hard rock and heavy metal until late, with live
bands on Wed and Fri at around 9pm and a DJ most other
nights, plus a big-screen TV showing live sports.
Daily
2pm-3/4am.
Miss Wong
The Lane
T
092 428332,
W
misswong
.net; map p.140.
Alluring little retro-Shanghai-style bar
- one of central Siem Reap's most enjoyable places to
linger of an evening. The excellent cocktails (around $5)
come with a pronounced Asian twist - Singapore slings,
lemongrass Collins, apricot and ka
r lime martinis and so
on - and there's excellent food too (see p.150).
Daily
6pm-1am.
Red Piano
Pub St
T
063 964750; map p.140.
One of
Pub Street's more civilized drinking spots, especially if you
3
NIGHTLIFE AND ENTERTAINMENT
The city is a prime place to experience traditional Cambodian arts, including
shadow puppetry
and
apsara dancing
,
while the stomach-churning acrobatics performed at the intimate Phare
circus
are also well worth a look.
children staged over dinner at this hotel (see p.149) every
Wed evening. Only a few puppets are used at each
performance, changes of character being effected by
dressing them in different
kramas
. $7, plus whatever food
you order from the restaurant's à la carte menu.
Temple Bar
Pub St
T
092 405760.
Ever-popular nightly
apsara dance shows held on the upstairs balcony of this
long-running Pub Street bar. Around 7.30pm; free.
CULTURAL AND SHADOW PUPPET SHOWS
A number of hotels around town offer traditional dance
performances as part of a cultural show (dinner included).
These usually feature several different styles including
apsara dance, lighthearted items depicting popular folk
tales, and choreographed enacted events from the
Reamker
, with dancers opulently attired in elaborate masks
and costumes heavily embroidered and embellished with
tails, epaulettes and wings. You will also have the
opportunity to catch shadow puppetry (see box, p.155), a
Cambodian folk art dating back to Angkorian times that
was all but lost during the Khmer Rouge era but has since
been revived.
Acodo Orphanage
1km south of the centre along the
riverside road towards Chong Khneas.
Nightly
performances (6.30pm) of traditional music and dance by
local orphans. Free, but donations appreciated.
Apsara Terrace
Ra
es Grand Hotel d'Angkor,
Royal
Gardens
T
063 963888,
W
ra
es.com/siemreap.
Pricey
but memorable nightly dancing shows ($50, including
pan-Asian BBQ buffet dinner) at the famous old
Ra
es
Grand Hotel d'Angkor
(see p.147). Mon, Wed & Fri 7pm.
Apsara Theatre
Contact the Angkor Village hotel (see
p.147) for information and reservations.
Nightly dance
performances ($25, including dinner) at the a/c Apsara
Theatre, opposite the
Angkor Village
hotel.
La Noria
River Rd
T
063 964242,
W
lanoriaangkor
.com.
Entertaining shadow-puppet shows by street
CIRCUS
Phare
Comaille Rd (opposite Angkor Century Resort,
behind the Angkor National Museum)
T
015 499480,
W
pharecambodiancircus.org.
Developed by the Phare
Ponleu Selpak NGO (
W
phareps.org) as part of their work
with vulnerable Cambodian children and young adults, the
Phare circus has proved a massive success both locally and
internationally, with the troupe now touring regularly to
destinations including Korea, Japan and India.
Performances in the intimate big-top tent feature regularly
changing shows and casts, comprising a mixture of
slapstick narrative theatre and spectacular feats of
acrobatics - performers train for thirteen years before
graduating from the circus school, and to witness displays
of such gymnastic virtuosity at such close quarters (with
performers flipped, spun, tossed and catapaulted with
prodigious abandon) is a memorable, if sometimes nerve-
wracking, experience. Nightly 7.30pm; $15, children 5-11
$8, under-5s free.
