Siem Reap

 

We have moved to Siem Reap in the north of Cambodia. This is the second largest city in Cambodia and home to hundreds of overgrown temples and the ruins of Angkor Wat and Ankgor Them, which date from the12th century. Our return journey to Sihanoukville from Koh Rong Sanloem was back via our small hotel boat, followed by speed boat. Sihanoukville has a small airport, which we used to fly to Siem Reap. The story goes that Sihanoukville became the home to online casinos for the Chinese around 2016. Huge amounts of money flowed into the city and crime levels increased. This caused a massive explosion in flights from China to Sihanoukville, to the point that they could not handle the flow of people. Around 2018 Cambodia banded Casinos in the area and then the travel ground to a sudden halt. The interest in Sihanoukville from China stopped, building work dried up leaving empty carcasses of unfinished buildings. Today the airport is quiet. There was around 20 people on our flight and little other people at the airport. No doubt like Bournemouth airport in the 70's.

Siem Reap has been visited by millions of tourists over the years, attracted by the ancient ruins. In recent years UNESCO have declared Angkor Wat a world Heritage site and one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. This resulted in a massive increase in tourism, especially from China. But there is more to Siem Reap than the ancient runins and temples. It is a city with its own character and beauty.

But since the pandemic we understand it is a little quieter now, although it is a party town, which is highlighted by their most famous street - Pub Street. They clearly decided not to create any confusion on why someone should visit.

We have a 5am start tomorrow, so only a brief visit today, but it looks like a fun area.