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Cambodia was a vibe. We toured Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and other tourist spots. Unlike other SE and E Asian countries, I wasn’t fondled or ogled for being Black. The people were kind and not pushy and I always appreciate that. The food I ate wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the worst either. This is my personal experience and I would definitely return. One of my favorite holidays to-date!
Cambodia is a nice country infamous for the genocide from the crazy dictator who wanted to purge the country from anything foreign and intellectuals. This is common for dictators because uneducated people are easier to control. Even if you simply wore glasses you might have been killed. They have bad history with Vietnam. I stayed with a nice local and his family and he told me they were being experimented on, they were being injected with something although I cant remember if he had any side effects. If I go back to cambodia I will stay with his family again because they were so nice. I hade good conversations with the host. Explore the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is located in Siem Reap, a city to the north popular for tourist. I saw Angkor Wat from a distance because traveling there can be expensive due to its rarity and popularity. Its very similar to Thailand, both in speaking and buildings.
The Atlanta Black Star inspired me to travel to see the Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia. It’s one of the oldest standing temples in the world. After i had learned of the Negrito Slaves’ “Kunlun” influence of the architecture of the temple, and the nevroid features spread abd mixed throughout Southeast Asian culture, i sought to see the temple myself.
I was thoroughly impressed with how expansive the temple was. How old it was. The Africanoid features in some of the figures, sculptures, statues, totems, etc. Our tour was very thorough. You should do it in two days abd hire the same tuk tuk driver the whole time. The dollar goes far in Cambodia. The food in Siem Reap was fantastic. I recommend the Airbnb route for lodging. See the elephants and monkeys but keep your distance from the monkeys at the temple. They steal anything loose.
Ciao
JJ
Siem Reap Cambodia is truly amazing and a one of my favorite trips! From the ruins of Angkor Wat to the delicious food I can’t say enough about this amazing destination! We booked our tour through the Marriott Hotel. While it was billed as a half day tour it took about 6 hours and was less than $100 total for two people. This included a private vehicle, driver and tour guide. We visited the temples of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm. These ancient sites will blow your mind and are wonders of the world. While you can visit these sites on your own, I highly recommend a tour guide because there is so much history and details you would miss on your own. Cambodia is inexpensive even for SE Asia standards while the quality of restaurants, hotels and nightlife in Siem Reap are first rate! The US dollar is universally accepted and the locals are open and friendly. It cost $2-3 dollars to get anywhere in the city. Pub Street in where most of the nightlife is. We enjoyed Miss Wong Bar, Angkor What, Temple Club and Kitchen 2002 restaurant. Also checkout Soul Train Reggae Bar which is a block off Pub Street. If your traveling to SE Asia add this destination…you won’t be disappointed!
I had always wanted to go to Siem Reap, Cambodia ever since I saw pics on Pinterest and then National Geographic’s Adventure magazine. To be able to go was a dream. The city is small. The locals were nice. I am not sure when I went in 2016 how many black people they had seen, but 3 black women definitely got looks, waves, and smiles. If you ever get to back I will stay longer. The only thing on my to-do list was to see Angkor Wat complex. We got up before sun rise to see it, but the clouds were too stubborn to move. I only got to see 2 parts of it, so I would suggest 1. carving out time to see it in its entirety, and 2. going with people who really appreciate the gravity of being there as much as you do. Warnings: 1. Don’t ride the elephants. It is tempting. They are majestic, but you don’t know how they are being treated. 2. If you see small kids selling post cards or asking for money do not give it to them. They are being exploited. Before we went I did some research, and that was one of the warnings outside of trafficking. When we were in Angkor Thom a little girl no more than 4 years old came out of no where trying to sell us post cards. I didn’t buy any, and I encouraged my friends to do the same. They didn’t listen and thought they were were showing compassion. About a hour later we saw and heard a woman sending out a call and all of these small kids came out of no where to hand her money. They were so upset.
More tips:
-They use USD than their own currency, so make sure to have some.
-When you arrive at the airport you need a visa. You can get one there, but you have to pay for it in USD. They have an ATM, but it’s smarter to be prepared. I wasn’t, but it wasn’t too much of a hassle.
-Check reviews on where you’re staying. We did have an issue at our hostel, Mad Monkey Siem Reap. It was their fault, but it got worked out at the end. Also give a review as well!
-Check out Pub Street/Foreigner Street. There is a restaurant, The Red Piano, that Angelina Jolie went to while filming Tomb Raider, that’s their whole claim to fame. You can skip. The food and staff were mediocre. We weren’t sure if the waitress was rude because we were black or not, but the food was a waste of money.
-Take a Tuk Tuk
-A lot of food places closed early.
-Be ware that sex trafficking is very real here. I went to find something to eat once about 6pm, and most of the places were closed. I went into this one bar. When I walked in everyone paused and starred. Ok so the scene, a lot of older looking Cambodian women and a bunch of old white men all over those women. In walks this very young girl. One of the women behind the bar finally asks, “What can I do fo you baby?” in like a house mother voice. I told her I wanted a burger and fries. She turns to the others and says “She only wants food.” You could see visibly all the women ease up after that. I was like where in the world did I just go for food. I was smart enough to get my food to go though. Over all the city is beautiful, and I can’t wait to go back.
Siem reap is an amazing city!! we were three young black girls, and let’s say that we enjoyed this city to fullest.
We had left Phnom Penh by bus in the afternoon (Giant Ibis Bus company) and we arrived in Siem Reap around 9pm. Many tuktuks were waiting at the bus station so it was relatively easy to hop on one and get to our hotel (5 dollars). Siem Reap is a small city so everything is reachable by tuktuks in 10-15 minutes.
The second day, we began with the exploration of a floating village on the banks of Tonle Sap Lake (the largest lake in Asia), to discover the daily life of Cambodian fishermen. On the way back, we ask the driver of our tuktuk to stop at the edge of huge expanses of rice paddies.
The next day, we woke up at four in the morning, heading by tutkuk to the main reason for our stay in Cambodia: THE TEMPLES OF ANGKOR! (we paid our driver 30 dollars to stay with us the whole day). Let’s say that it is not really cheap to visit the site, each of us had to pay 37 usd for a one day pass.
There are 200 monuments and 568 archaeological sites grouped at this place, it is the largest archaeological site in the world !! We stared with Angkor Wat, the most majestic and famous of them, to observe the sunrise: CALM and SERENITY guaranteed!
So we wandered all morning among the temples and delighted to find that they are all different from all the other temples and ruins that you will have the opportunity to cross in Asia, impressive in their size and diversity.
After so much effort … we could finally enjoy comfort! The sightseeing tours of Siem Reap completed, we can enjoy this quiet little town, the atmosphere was relaxed, the people adorable and there are 4 * hotels with pool and spa really cheap! The atmosphere at the night market or the street pub makes you want to spend all our nights! We had their feet massage for $5 for 30min, pedicure by fish for $ 10, bars, massages, and food … I can honestly say that this beautiful city of Siem Reap remains my favorite in Cambodia!
I took an overnight bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap as a solo female traveler. If you’re doing the same make sure that you’re prepared for possibly arrival at a very awkward hour. Although this was a shock to me, I found the safety in Siem Reap to be much better than Phnom Penh and the tuk-tuk drivers were way less aggressive.
Here’s a list of things no to miss:
1. Big Circuit Tour of Angkor Wat and surrounding temples or temple hopping tour. I would highly recommend a guide for this tour. There’s a lot of history to absorb at the temples and I can’t imagine doing this tour without a knowledgeable and passionate guide. The day might be long and it may be hot so be prepared for that, but you cannot leave Siem without visiting the amazing temples.
2. Pub Street. I rode a bicycle at night through the lively streets filled with restaurant and pub goers. You’ll find streetfood as well with some exotic foods on offer.
3. Temple Massage Palour. The Temple Brand is quite prominent in Siem Reap and for everyday spent in Siem Reap I treated myself to a 1 hour foot massage. They had great deals which were the best I had seen and the palour was clean and has good ambiance.
I hope that you find this information useful and I’d like to wish you an amazing stay in Siem Reap.
Siem Reap! Had great memories in this city because of Angkorwat and the floating village among Tonle Sap lake. I’m big on culture trips. I stayed at Mad Monkey Hostel which planned both trips for me. The floating village enabled me to see their local way of life which I recommend. It’s a half day tour when you’re out on a boat touring through the city and have the opportunity to be canoed around with locals at they take you through the mangroves. I was here for two nights. They also have a good pub crawl for nightlife where all backpackers go to!
During my 4 day stay in Siem Reap I stayed at the beautiful Park Hyatt Siem Reap. Located right in the middle of the bustling city but an oasis when you are actually inside. The Park Hyatt is only a 5 minute walk to the nightlife/club scene, night market and restaurants. The staff were hospitable and the food was great. The pool was amazing after a long day of touring. I would absolutely stay there again.
I recommend not changing your currency if you are from the USA, i was happily surprised that they only take USD. To get around, I did some research and found a guy that has a car/ tuk tuk service and utilized them for the duration of my stay when needing to get around. Our tuk tuk driver was always on time, nice and spoke English. He took us to every temple that we needed to go to. As far as visiting the temples, go the day before to get your pass. I got a 3 day pass but could have done with a 1 day pass. After seeing the 3 main temples (Angkor Watt, Angkor Thom & Ta Prohm) and learning the amazing history you tend to get over it. The heat and the constant walking becomes very tiring and all you want to do is view the temples while passing in your car or tuk tuk. On other days, I visited the waterfall, the laying Buddha and did a Countryside dirt bike ride experience.
Siem Reap Cambodia was a very interesting place to visit and we got stares being black but not nearly as many as we did in other countries in Asia so it was fine. We felt safe the entire time and we stayed for almost a month. Cambodia uses the U.S. dollar and the Cambodian riel is used only for change because they do not have coins and the U.S. Dollars have to be in good condition or they will not accept it. We can’t stress how important it is to check your bills for rips or folds if you are happy with the change someone gives you ask them for a better bill before you leave the store. Everyone kept asking if we were from Africa because we are black and they were shocked when we stated we were Americans but this happens all over Asia so it wasn’t a problem. When going to the tourist spots especially visiting the Angkor Wat temples many Asians especially the Chinese will ask to take pictures with you, they literally stood in line and waited or they will take photos of you taking photos of yourself. Better yet sneak a photo by standing in front of you to take a photo really quick with you in the background while your standing there. Cambodia is more focused on the hustle of making a dollar and we noticed less staring than in neighboring Asian countries but noticed many scams especially the one with the mom holding a baby asking you to buy formula. They want you to buy an extremely high price formula and then they return it and the store owner and the mom both split the money so beware!! We had read about it before arriving and were shocked when we were approached by a woman holding a baby. Transportation is easy to come by and is generally Grab or a tuk tuk and you can’t walk a block without someone asking you if you need a ride in a tuk tuk. The nightlife is cool on Pub Street it’s lots of food, rolled ice cream, music, bars. It’s actually cheaper to get drunk off the synthetic alcohol than it is to eat! The food is cheaper when you are in areas not frequented by tourist. We ate less street food in Cambodia due to sanitary conditions and our comfort levels but the restaurants seemed fine and we even came across a Happy Pizza where they place something extra in your pizza which shocked us that those establishments even openly exsist! Cambodia is still developing just 10yrs ago there was one street light and all dirt roads! There’s still dirt roads but more roads are developing while staying there the power went out in the whole city for about 1-2 hrs but a local explained to us that when this happens they are happy because that means a new village is now on the grid. We have been to a few countries in Asia and Cambodia enjoyed the fact that many didn’t stare as if we were a science experiment like other Asian countries but we enjoyed the experience although food wise it is definitely not on our top list. We did not come across many other black people during our stay in Cambodia not even when being in tourist areas maybe 1 or 2 and sometimes we were the only black people we seen but if you haven’t been to Cambodia you should definitely go and get the experience of a lifetime.
Check out our experience in Cambodia at Happy Pizza Or Angkor Waton our YouTube channel.
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During a multi-week stay in Asia, Siem Reap was a destination. One thing I wish I had known was that Cambodians use USD. I transferred about $100 USD to Cambodian currency in the airport and everywhere I went Cambodians asked if I had American money. We found a really nice resort with beautiful pictures and great reviews. They provided personal airport pick-up service and had Tuk Tuks available to take you where you would like. Our plans involved the Angkor Temples: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Phrom (from Tomb Raider.) In late March, the temperatures were near a 100 degrees. When our Tuk Tuk driver stopped to allow us to buy the Angkor day pass, I bought a shirt to cover my tank top as they are not allowed in the temples. I also had a rice hat (like Raiden from Mortal Kombat) and had that as sun protection. The temples were utterly breathtaking and considering their age were in remarkable condition. They are perfect for epic, remarkable pictures. In the temples , there were monks of all ages performing blessings on tourists. While going through the temples I was getting strange looks from natives and I didn’t know why. Eventually some one asked me in broken English and gestured to take off my (rice) hat. I was confused because there were 100s of different kinds of hats that weren’t be told to take them off. I initially thought it because I was black. The next person that asked me to take it off in broken English and I gestured to everyone else wearing hats. His response was “No Vietnam hats here, its disrespectful in temple.” So I took it off. When we got back to our driver who spoke English I asked him about it. Evidently that style of hat is not sold in Cambodia and is considered Vietnamese. I’m not sure why Cambodians and Vietnamese are at odds but I experienced it. Aside from that, the Cambodians that I actually interacted were the nicest in the world. On my resort I got a 3 hour treatment, body scrub, and massage for $20. So Amazing! I will definitely visit again. When we arrive back to the airport there was two tour buses of Chinese tourists unloading. We knew we had to get in front of them or we would miss our flight. The airport is small and immigration was backed up with the Chinese but we got in front of them. As a result, I didn’t get the chance to change back to my American Money or Thai Baht before I left Cambodia. I wasn’t worried about it but I should have been because once I left Cambodia, no one would accept Cambodian currency so I will have it until my next trip back.
When I travelled to Cambodia, I was volunteering to teach English. On the weekend (inc. Friday), we travelled to Siem Reap. We visited the temples of Angkor through a company called Adventure Travel Co. We signed up for the “Small Temple Tour”, which included Angkor Wat (the largest religious monument in the world), Ta Prohm (this was used on set for the Tomb Raider film), Angkor Thom, and Banteay Kdei. The cost was $16USD for the tuk-tuk (which escorted you to all of the temples) up to 4 passengers
Siem Reap is enriched with so much amazing history and culture. If you truly want to understand the vast and fascinating history, I would definitely recommend having a tour guide. Unfortunately, I cannot remember his name, but he did an amazing job in explaining Angkor’s amazing past, what the temples symbolize, and the stories behind the monument’s architecture.
Cambodia is such a beautiful place and home of Angkor Wat. This is just such a beautiful place and full of things to do, the temple is just a sight to see and rightfully so the 8th wonder of the world. It is a guaranteed good time and a place where you would get a lot of history. Cambodia in general is a beautiful place, the people are amazing, there is just such peacefulness out there where you can fully relax and enjoy the beauty Cambodia has to offer. The food and drinks are affordable and beyond delicious no matter where you go. Over all Cambodia is a great destination to go and would hands down recommend it to anyone I know
Siem Reap is a unique blend of splendor and culture, a city that receives millions of visitors every year and the gateway to one of the wonders of the world – Angkor Wat. The temples of Angkor, being on the most popular attraction in Asia makes Siem Reap a popular destination. However, I was surprised to see how many other things you can do in Siem Reap!
-Visit Angkor Wat – the symbol of Cambodia at sunrise
-Must-See: Phare, The Cambodian Circus Show
-Try a Fish Spa( this was fascinating)
-Shop in the Angkor night market
-Shop in the Siem Reap Art Night Market( don’t forget to negotiate).
– visit the faces of the temple of Bayon – one of the unmissable places.
-Viewing the sunset from Phnom Bakheng is one of the things to do in Siem Reap!
– visit pub street to dance the night way!
Pub Street is Siem Reap’s definitive nightlife hub, where you can find plenty of bars, nightclubs, pubs, and restaurants that cater to any budget and preference. A five-minute stroll from Angkor Night Market, this street is very popular amongst budget-conscious travellers looking to party in Siem Reap. My experience of this place was magical people were kind and humble the place was not polluted or overcrowded like Thailand. I highly recommend Siem Reap.
The Kingdom of Wonder is…wonderful! Going to see the temples of Angkor Wat and Bayon are obviously a must. For another way to learn about the culture, travel like the locals on a motor bike tour of the countryside. Some stops along the way included spending time with children at a primary school and watching a family make woven baskets from the stem of a palm. You definitely don’t want to miss a performance at the Cambodian Circus either. It’s a mix of theater, music, dance, and acrobatics all in one. Buy tickets in advance because they sell out quick.
Hubby and I call this city Debauchery 101! I think my liver was elated when we left… Cocktails/Shots are $1.50 and beer is ONLY $0.50 ???. We drank… We Drunk… And had a GOOD time while doing it! People were soooooooo friendly and I think it was one of the BEST 4 days of our lives. Just ask your hotel/tuk tuk driver to take you to pub street and enjoy!
Highlights of the trip were our visit to the floating village, and also the Bayan Temple. I would definitely say it is worth a visit.
Siem Reap is a must see !!! I can’t recommend it enough and can’t wait to go back !!! Angkor wat is something out of movie literally. It’s incredible to think thousands of years ago that it was built by hand no big heavy machinery just pure blood sweat and tears. I would highly recommend watching the sunrise over Angkor wat. Make sure you get here early.
When you arrive at the airport if you get a Tut Tut driver he will likely be your guide to the temples. He will even come get you at 5am to take you to the temples. They know about anything you may need. But do your research as to which sites you want to see. I got a handmade scarf there. They even accept U.S. money as long as it’s not damaged. They like fresh bills. But try to give the right amount or they will try to give you there money back in change. Also be careful when they give you U.S. currency back because they will try to give you a damaged bill. Definitely get a massage but watch out for the lady boys. Oh and the kids that try to get you to buy milk is a scam. There are plenty of clubs and stuff and the people are really cool. One guy said your African but not African African lol. And have your driver take you back to the temple at sundown because your ticket is still good. Or go the day you arrive to get your ticket to the temples that way you can see the sun set and in the morning already have your ticket.
Siem Reap is the place to stay if you want to see the famous temple of Angkor Wat, i’ve been travel in almost all South East Asia and I can say that Angkor Wat ist the best temple I ever seen, you can pay a Tuk Tuk driver to stay whit you all the day and bring you to explore every corner of that amazing placef for really cheap price, and during the night you can walk in the street of the night bazar and try some Particular Cambodian food before to get ready for the night in the Pub street .