Friendly Little Town Has World Class Heritage

For all its name celebrates a bloody battle and its recent history has been turbulent, today’s Siem Reap is a peaceful, peaceable place.
Siem Reap is small enough to walk around, safe enough to be out after dark, close enough to world-famous monuments to draw travelers from everywhere—and big-hearted enough to welcome everyone.
The name means the Defeat of Siam—today’s Thailand—and refers to a centuries-old bloodbath, commemorated in stone in the celebrated bas relief carvings of the monuments. Visiting the 100-or-so temples studding the forests around Siem Reap is still the main reason for being in the town, but tourists on temple-overload or with a couple of extra days to relax can find plenty to do in the area.
One of the popular hangout spots for Siem Reap teen-agers is the field of lotus that stretch for hectares between the town and the ferry landing on the Tonle Sap lakeshore. There, youngsters gather in early mornings for a before-school social break.
At the other end of the day, Siem Reap families like to take a mat and climb to the top of Phnom Krom, the hill overlooking the ferry landing, and picnic while watching the sun set over the lake.
Siem Reap is quietly proud of its international renown. While there are still plenty of families clinging to the ragged edge of subsistence, many of the town’s young people have found prestige jobs at major hotels.
Private schools are thriving as Cambodians eagerly study English and other foreign languages, classes to qualify as licensed guides are packed and all residents will happily tell visitors how their town was once at the center of one of the world’s great civilizations.