Cambodia - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 420

SIEM REAP
063 / POP 135,000
The life-support system for the one and only temples of Angkor, Siem Reap was always
destined for great things. Back in the 1960s, Siem Reap ( see -em ree- ep ) was the place to
be in Southeast Asia and saw a steady stream of the rich and famous. After three decades of
slumber, it's well and truly back, reinventing itself as the epicentre of the new Cambodia,
with more guesthouses and hotels than temples, and sumptuous spas and world-class win-
ing and dining.
At heart, though, Siem Reap - whose name rather undiplomatically means 'Siamese De-
feated' - is still a little charmer, with old French shophouses, shady tree-lined boulevards
and a slow-flowing river.