Siem Lovely Reap
Siem Lovely Reap
I am up in SR with the family for four days and I have got to say ...I am well impressed. I was here in 2006 and it was pretty basic then but now..wow. Beautiful hotels, a lovely green , clean centre with canal running though it and a walking track along it to boot.Pub Street and it's surrounds ABSOLUTELY DESTROY phnom penh's offerings. Actually....it is now clear to me how embarrassingly SHIT PP non-existent entertainment districts are. We ate ate Red Piano last night and then drank round after round of cocktails at the delightful Miss Wongs and finished up eating banana and chocolate pancakes in the rain. Walking around Pub Street reminded me of the back sois of Kao San road. Cool bars and cafes, live music, happy people. Angkor was of course hot and steamy but we are staying in a friends 5 star hotel ( Royal Angkor Resort ) for a mates rate of $35 with breakfast so we are loving it. The biggest pool in SR at our disposal.
All in all.......SR seems MUCH nicer than PP and I actually have a meeting with someone about work while I am here and right now I could say I would move here in a heartbeat.
All in all.......SR seems MUCH nicer than PP and I actually have a meeting with someone about work while I am here and right now I could say I would move here in a heartbeat.
Rated R for Ricecakes
I think it's pretty nice downtown as well, but things start to wear after a while, I was living there last year a few months, and it's just a total tourist ripoff setup, I dared to drive my own moto, and was asked all the time where I rented it, it got really annoying, and some tuk-tuks really hate you, once people around town recognize your presence as not just there for a few weeks, the small town provincial feeling creeps in on you. Outside the tourist areas, you can feel the animosity towards being white from some folks, especially the older uniformed dudes, you are either completely ignored, or sneered at viciously. But breakfast at Red Piano is real nice, however, even that wears on you after a while. I'd say it's a good place to go if you need a break few weeks from the hassles of living in a real city like Phnom Penh. No offense to the business owners here, I could imagine it being an attractive setup for the right person who enjoy working in the hospitality industry.
Last edited by teamone on Thu Jul 17, 2014 11:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Good to hear about SR, always did like the place after one visit back in 2006, stayed in a place called 'Dead Fish tell no Tales', great little bar with a croc pit near the toilets. Wonder if it's still there.
Never mind.
I didn't get any of that. I simply show tuk tuk drivers my car keys and they are like a cross to a vampire. If i was to live here I doubt I would go out anymore than I would in PP which is hardly ever but it would ne nice to know that when i DID go out there were great options unlike PP. I think the lack of traffic congestion is awesome and the green areas.....PP cannot compete.teamone wrote:I think it's pretty nice downtown as well, but things start to wear after a while, I was living there last year a few months, and it's just a total tourist ripoff setup, I dared to drive my own moto, and was asked all the time where I rented it, it got really annoying, and some tuk-tuks really hate you, once people around town recognize your presence as not just there for a few weeks, the small town provincial feeling creeps in on you. Outside the tourist areas, you can feel the animosity towards being white from some folks, especially the older uniformed dudes, you are either completely ignored, or sneered at viciously. But breakfast at Red Piano is real nice, however, even that wears on you after a while. I'd say it's a good place to go if you need a break few weeks from the hassles of living in a real city like Phnom Penh. No offense to the business owners here, I could imagine it being an attractive setup for the right person who enjoy working in the hospitality industry.
Rated R for Ricecakes
Good on you to have a car, but you tend to notice more when you are riding a bike, bicycle or walking around randomly like I did, I'd say you are in the provincial headquarters, seems the locals feel very strongly about their heritage in that area, they don't like people settling down, unless they can profit from it somehow, and quickly, like on the countryside, coming and going at uneven intervals at random locations becomes a habit, something that is easier in a big town. But all hail to Siem Reap as a great travel location in my book, maybe one of the best for the money in the world these days, as service is generally professional and courteous.
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I got that impression too, after just a few days. Same as Sihanookville. If you don't give money to everyone that asks, you're not welcome. Never got that in PP.teamone wrote:I think it's pretty nice downtown as well, but things start to wear after a while, I was living there last year a few months, and it's just a total tourist ripoff setup, I dared to drive my own moto, and was asked all the time where I rented it, it got really annoying, and some tuk-tuks really hate you, once people around town recognize your presence as not just there for a few weeks, the small town provincial feeling creeps in on you. Outside the tourist areas, you can feel the animosity towards being white from some folks, especially the older uniformed dudes, you are either completely ignored, or sneered at viciously. But breakfast at Red Piano is real nice, however, even that wears on you after a while. I'd say it's a good place to go if you need a break few weeks from the hassles of living in a real city like Phnom Penh. No offense to the business owners here, I could imagine it being an attractive setup for the right person who enjoy working in the hospitality industry.
Tell me about it, I was getting real tired of it after a month, suddenly the breakfast was bland, going to the same supermarket cause it's the only one with nice bread sucks, and besides gawking age old stones, and looking for a nice pool, what else is there to do? And true to the business ethics going, no money no honey.
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I enjoyed living in Siem Reap. Do they still have the little night market area on those back streets? Quite upmarket, relatively speaking even several years ago. The place makes PP look like it could be in the ''If the worlds got an arsehole Top Ten cities''.
They even have things like fairly large grass areas...and trees...and flying foxes in the park, French colonial buildings.
If you live there, and like to walk though, SR has without doubt the most insatiable, mindless TukTuk drivers in Cambodia imo. I one saw a tourist get asked where he wanted to go AS he was walking into Red Piano once. Greed is definitely good in SR.
They even have things like fairly large grass areas...and trees...and flying foxes in the park, French colonial buildings.
If you live there, and like to walk though, SR has without doubt the most insatiable, mindless TukTuk drivers in Cambodia imo. I one saw a tourist get asked where he wanted to go AS he was walking into Red Piano once. Greed is definitely good in SR.
"I don't care what the people are thinking, i ain't drunk i'm just drinking"
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Last time I went to Siem Reap was in December 1997. It was a lovely, quiet, and sleepy little place and I had Angkor Wat almost to myself. Has it changed much since then?
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Dead Fish Towers - quite a big restaurant! Sadly now gone, I think.RainMan wrote:Good to hear about SR, always did like the place after one visit back in 2006, stayed in a place called 'Dead Fish tell no Tales', great little bar with a croc pit near the toilets. Wonder if it's still there.
Crocs were outside the ladies' loos - one place where I wasn't shy to watch ladies going to and returning from the toilet!
I came, I argued, I'm out
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Ha, still have photos. Going to the men's you had to cross a small bridge over the pit, the sign above read 'CHILDREN, PLEASE NOT FALL IN'andyinasia wrote:Dead Fish Towers - quite a big restaurant! Sadly now gone, I think.RainMan wrote:Good to hear about SR, always did like the place after one visit back in 2006, stayed in a place called 'Dead Fish tell no Tales', great little bar with a croc pit near the toilets. Wonder if it's still there.
Crocs were outside the ladies' loos - one place where I wasn't shy to watch ladies going to and returning from the toilet!
Never mind.
I am guessing it's a tad different ! But in a good way.keeping_it_riel wrote:Last time I went to Siem Reap was in December 1997. It was a lovely, quiet, and sleepy little place and I had Angkor Wat almost to myself. Has it changed much since then?
We had Bayonne to ourselves in 2006 due to a light rain shower, the koreans and japs were literally runnning to their buses.
Angkor Wat is a cluster fuck of the highest order.
I forgot to mention....to the eurotrash tourist with the freshly picked up taxi slut gf who walked up to the first step of AW and promptly stubbed his cigarette out on the ancient stone....i hope she gives you AIDS you douche bag.
Rated R for Ricecakes
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I have cleaned up some crass and juvenile gay-related comments in this thread.
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