Open for business
After you’ve explored the ancient temples of Angkor, a freshly polished Siem Reap turns on the charm and surprises. It won’t stay under the radar for long.
Like most tourist-dependent destinations, pandemic lockdowns brought the Cambodian city of Siem Reap to its knees. Guides at the nearby ancient temples of Angkor lost their jobs, hospitality workers were forced to look for employment elsewhere, and many hotels, restaurants and bars closed permanently.
And despite the Cambodian government claiming that the country welcomed 3 million visitors in the first seven months of 2023, the empty shells of mega-hotels, the deserted bars of Pub St and the lack of queues at Angkor Wat tell a different story.
But while the tourists may be slow to return, the enforced shutdown during the pandemic transformed the city of Siem Reap into a shimmering showpiece, as Chinesefunded infrastructure projects forged ahead.
As well as a new international airport (opened on October 16, 2023), there are now wide new highways, 20 new traffic lights, pothole-free streets and underground electricity, ridding the city of the Southeast Asian scourge of tangled overhead wiring.
Siem Reap is ready for business and for those savvy enough to visit while the destination remains under the radar, there is not only easier access and smooth travelling, but also plenty to keep them occupied in the city between temple visits.
For information on what’s trending and quirky, my private butler at Shinta Mani Angkor and Bensley Collection Pool Villas is an enlightened source, providing walking directions or securing the services of a fixedprice tuk-tuk with an ear-piercing whistle.
At Son’s suggestion, I stroll to nearby Kandal Village, a low-key arts and dining precinct peppered with local designer boutiques, leafy cafes and shops selling sustainable crafts and kampot pepper.
Across the river, the streets surrounding Wat Bo – named the coolest neighbourhood in Asia by Time Out in 2022 – are home to the social enterprise organic cafe Tevy’s Place, as well as speakeasy-style cocktail lounges So 26 and Miss Wong, chic afterdark alternatives to rowdy Pub St.
While there’s a certain charm to pulling up a plastic chair at a riverside street stall to devour a $2 bowl of noodles, I don’t have to travel far to find the best food in Siem Reap. Located in the main wing of Shinta Mani Angkor, Kroya by Chef Chanrith showcases modern interpretations of the locally trained chef’s family recipes.
Chanrith’s four- or six-course tasting menus are innovative, plant-forward and popping with flavour: think a duck breast soup with mangosteen and tamarind, sprinkled with red tree ants, or Khmer pumpkin and mushroom with crispy tofu and garnished with cashew nuts.
The menu is cohesive and always surprising and at just US$40 (NZ$67) for the six-course degustation (US$30 for the four-course), it’s remarkable value for those seeking an authentic culinary experience.
Also paying homage to the past is the burgeoning arts scene in Siem Reap, drawing inspiration from the artistic achievements of the Khmer empire while empowering young creatives to find a voice.
For an intimate peek into the life and achievements of one of Cambodia’s most renowned visual artists, a visit to Theam’s Gallery is as inspiring as it is fascinating.
Home to French-trained Lim Muy Theam – a refugee of Pol Pot’s genocide who returned to Cambodia to help revive the craft sector – this gorgeous teak home set in tropical gardens includes a gallery space and workshops where young apprentices learn traditional craft techniques such as lacquerwork and gilding. In Theam’s own painting studio his bold, polychrome paintings feature haunting monochromatic portraits of monks and children set against fiery dreamscapes.
Cambodia’s recent tragic past continues to loom over its tourist industry, but nowhere is dark tourism given a more positive spin than at Siem Reap’s latest attraction, APOPO Visitor Centre.
Here, African giant pouch rats are trained to sniff out land mines, and with 25,000 amputees and more than 64,000 landminerelated casualties in Cambodia since 1978, the work these rats are undertaking is crucial to the commitment to clear Cambodia of all remaining mines by 2025.
At the APOPO, I watch as a rodent named Glen demonstrates his incredible ability to sniff out TNT, before he snuggles up to 4-year-old Jenny, a recent retiree from the field who is happy to pose for the camera in return for a tickle under the chin. It just goes to show that not all superheroes wear capes … and some smell like rats.