After breakfast on board the ship, our cruise ended in Angkor Ban and we travelled north for around 5 1/2 hours to Siem Reap through some of the most gorgeous rural landscapes.
Greens as green can be, farm land, small villages, market gardens, rice fields, rivers and dams. The tine in the bus just flew by.
We had a couple of rest stops along the way and stretched our legs.
We arrived in Siem Reap at the Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort for our last three days before heading home.
And what a place to spend it !
Firstly we were given a complimentary room upgrade which was a nice surprise. Then we set about exploring the property which is on acres of beautifully landscaped gardens with a bird sanctuary on site.
The temps remain mid-high 30s so a quick dip and a refreshing local ale was ideal.
Prong Siem Reap is a resort town in northwest Cambodia and is the gateway to the mighty Angkor Wat Temples – more on that later.
The township was settled in around 800BC with a current population of around 250,000
Originally settled by the Siamese Kingdom (Thailand), Siem Reap was the middle of continual conflict between the Siamese and Khmers until the King of Kampuchea repelled the Siamese and took control.
Today it’s a fascinating little city, heavily reliant on the tourist trade based around the popularity of Angkor Wat.
As the temps started to drop, we headed by tuk tuk into “town” with a couple of lovely people we’d met on the ship for a look around and dinner.
Tuk Tuk ride took took about 5 minutes and cost $3 and dropped us right in the middle of Siem Reap Town at “Pub Street”. At this stage the sun hadn’t yet set, so we sat in a roof top bar that was a bit quirky with a fabulous view right up Pub Street as the lights came on and the surrounds came to life.
This bar was a bit wild – it has a six metre skateboard half pipe on the roof ! The great Tony Hawk has visited many times and performed on the half pipe about 30 metres or more above street level.
“Happy Hour” runs until 10pm
I don’t know when (if) it starts at a Particular time. But USD$4 ($6 Aussie) for a bucket of six beers is reasonable. 😬
“Pub Street” is approximately 200metres long and is the place to be for locals and visitors alike.
Pubs, restaurants, cafes line both sides of the street – all of them look fantastic to be honest.
And all of them are enticing to you sit and relax with offers of 50cent or 75cent draft beers, $1 bottle beers, 2 for 1 cocktails @ $3 per drink.
Music is playing but not deafening and even the bar owners are very polite when you pass by and they don’t hassle you at all. Each restaurant along the road is often set up high with verandahs and rooftop Dining.
It’s gotta be the best “Pub Street” we’ve visited and then the lights come on just after sunset around 6pm ….
What a great night out. We will definitely be back over the next couple of days.
The restaurant scene in Siem Reap is something else. so many great dining options with a huge focus on fresh ingredients and Khmer influences.
Deciding which one to visit is a challenge because they are all so highly regarded.
We were recommended a place called SPOONS Cambodia which has a fantastic back story.
The Organisation that backs the restaurant enables underprivileged adults and teens the chance to undergo training in the area of hospitality. They have a training centre adjacent to the restaurant and each night young people on their development journey learn in the job by working in the restaurant as a cook, waiter/waitress, bar tender, cleaner – whatever is needed.
The restaurant itself is gorgeous- the staff extraordinarily good and the food just superb.
All profits go 100% toward continuing the training process and placing the trainees into the full time workplace. What a brilliant concept.
The food was insanely good, all local produce and recipes – Karen reckons the best meal we’ve had the entire trip and it’s hard to disagree.
And the price for four adults sharing three entrees and four main meals, two beers, two cocktails and two wines came to $90 Aussie.
If you’re ever in Siem Reap or know someone who is visiting please give this place an opportunity- you won’t be disappointed and you’re Sou g a great thing for the local community.
I should also mention we got another tuk tuk from Pub Street to the restaurant for $2 and the driver offered to eat at the restaurant for us. We felt bad and told him to go and make some money
Lo and behold… we exit the restaurant a couple of hours later and old mate is sitting there smiling and waiting. He got more than another $2 for the ride home.
The next day was spent visiting the Angkor Wat Temples sites and you can read about that Here
At the end of a long but totally mesmerising day exploring the three temples, we came back to the hotel, showered, changed and kept moving otherwise we’d just stop completely.
This hotel has got everything.. including the first Champagne and Cigar Bar in Cambodia.
So what better way to start another night on the town before jumping into another tuk tuk.
A fabulous champagne flight with one Italian Prosecco and two French Champagnes including a Taittinger which is my fave … outstanding. In suck a gorgeous venue.
Off we go in another Tuk Tuk this time number 21 and we head back to Pub Street for another adventure. $2 for the ride and the entertainment is free.
Tonight we choose Temple Bar which has 75c draft beers, “buy one get one” cocktails which means 2 for 1 🤷♂️ and $4 French Chardonnay.
It was still early but the crowds were starting to arrive – time to move on for dinner – 3 beers and 2 Chardys = $10 AUD.
We’d read about another local restaurant that was originally an old teak family house that has been renovated into a lovely restaurant called The Sugar Palm and we had to go.
The chef returned to Cambodia in 2002 after escaping in the 1970’s chaos and wanted to deliver wholesome, family style Khmer food from local fresh ingredients; well she succeeded.
I was so caught up in the moment of how beautiful this place was that I didn’t take a photo all night. Well maybe 2 (I’d not had these before) 😬
Our waitress was the most beautiful young lady who had left her family village five years ago when she was just 16 years old to find a better life for herself and to be able to support her family.
She explained every dish on the menu and told us I’d ordered too much food.
She was absolutely correct.
We started with local baby prawn fritters with an insanely deep flavoured pepper dipping sauce.
Did you know Cambodia is the highest manufacturer and exported of black Pepper in the world? Nope either did we.
Then we had a Smokey flavoured whole eggplant char grilled and topped with a pork mince and bean sauce. just wow.
And I’d been wanting a Khmer Curry so we had the chicken and vegetable Khmer Curry cooked in coconut cream, potato, sweet potato, beans, onion, broccoli and made in a clay pot. Double wow.
Probably the best meal we’ve had on tour.
I know. We said that last night but this was just insanely good. So good.
And with three beers and 2 glasses of French Rose the bill came to AUD$48
I know some of you are probably thinking “but you can eat on the street for much less than that”
And you can. And we did.
But you can’t these meals or these experiences. We had pho, rice, chicken dish and beers for $12 and it was fantastic. Sitting on tiny plastic stools and tables on the footpath.
But this is different. This is next level dining. And you’d be paying more than double at home. So we think it’s worth every cent.
Our last full day in Siem Reap before we fly home on Thursday was a really slow, lazy day.
Late leisurely breakfast, then we grabbed another Tuk Tuk into “town” to have a look around the Old Market area. Even in the day time this area looks great.
The market as usual is a mixture of wet markets selling all kinds of local foodstuffs, and dry foods where locals co e and fill their cars with whatever is needed at home or their restaurants.
There are also millions of stalls selling souvenirs as expected alongside the $100% Genuine Copies of any brand name you want.
We bought zero haha ! But had a good time just kicking tyres and chatting.
Back to the hotel on a really hot day, and straight into the pool for a super relaxing day.
Our last night in Siem Reap before heading home started once again, in Pub Street.
We walked straight into a celebration of staff from one of the pubs/restaurants for a birthday which was pretty cool.
Then a parade of “celebrities” started wandering up the street. First a couple on their pre wedding photo stroll
Then a wannabe rock star recording a music video
It was all happening ! As we enjoyed 75c beers and a fab dinner.
We had purchased tickets to a local “Circus” show, based loosely on a Cirque du Soleil experience called Phare Circus
Phare artists specialise in dance, acrobatics, juggling, acting and have graduated from the local vocational training centre. it was created by 9 young men after coming home from a Khmer refugee camp in 1994. They shared their newly acquired skills with disadvantaged youth and now it is a magnificent testament to their persistence.
It is a magnificent hour of excitement, thrills and laughs set up in a small circular theatre not far from the centre of town.
The whole thing is live – music, acrobatics, lighting. All done in house and it’s spectacular.
Back in a tuk tuk for a quick ride home and the perfect ending you a sensational stay in the gorgeous Siem Reap. I reckon we will come back.
Lots more photos can be found in our Gallery Page
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