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Siem Reap (Siem Reap, also Siem Reap, Simrep, Siem Reap, etc.) – a city in the north Cambodia, main place tourist stops to access temples of the Angkor Archaeological Park (most often called simply and mistakenly Angkor Wat). The city was founded in 802, and its name literally translates as "Siam is defeated". This name was given to the city in the 16th century in honor of the victory over Thailand.
Detailed information about the Angkor temple complex is presented in a separate section.
A lot of controversy arises in connection with the correct spelling and pronunciation of the name of the city in Russian. According to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia and other later encyclopedias, the name of the city in Russian is written exactly as Siem Reap. Although this spelling does not accurately reproduce the pronunciation of the word, we will stick to it, and we immediately send all critics to the BSE for clarification. After all, we should not rename the name "Australia" to "Australia", as it is more correctly pronounced from the original.
From a tourist point of view, Siem Reap should not be considered as an interesting tourist destination without Angkor. It is for the sake of visiting the temple complexes that a huge number of tourists visit Siem Reap every year. Thanks to Angkor, the city is very popular and the tourist infrastructure has begun to develop here. Well, until the moment when Angkor was rediscovered by French researchers at the beginning of the 19th century, Siem Reap was simply a village.
To date, Siem Reap is a tourist city with a large number of hotels, cafes and restaurants, and in addition to the temples of Angkor, other attractions and entertainment have appeared. An international airport has been built near the city, ready to receive flights from all over the world. The population of the city is 171,800 people (according to 2009 data).
There is no beach holiday in Siem Reap, and you can sunbathe only by the hotel pool.
If you stay in Siem Reap for a few days and have days off from visiting the temples of Angkor, there will be something to do in the city. There is quite an interesting and very modern Angkor National Museum, you can spend time in "Cultural village of Cambodia". However, the main entertainment begins in the evening, with the arrival of darkness. Several night markets are starting to operate in the center, where you can buy original souvenirs, all kinds of fakes and even real works of art by local craftsmen. On the famous Pub Street, a huge number of tourists gather in bars and restaurants. Many traditional massage parlors and fish massage parlors invite tourists to get a massage for little money. Hopefully there is a place for adult night entertainment. In general, we can say that in the evenings life in Siem Reap boils, and every year it gets stronger.
If you want to explore Siem Reap in more detail before your trip, read the information:
- How to get to Siem Reap;
- Transport, what to use to get around;
- Hotels in Siem Reap;
- Sights of Siem Reap;
- Maps of Siem Reap and Angkor
Weather, seasons
The climate of Siem Reap is tropical, humid, hot all year round. The average daytime temperature during the year never drops below 30 degrees.
As usual in Asia, the year is divided into a wet season (rainy season) and a dry season:
Rainy season in Simreapa (low season) lasts from April to November, with the rainiest months being September and October.
Dry season (high season) lasts from December to March. There is almost no precipitation during these months, especially in January.
The best time to visit Siem Reap and the high tourist season is during the winter months, i.e. during the dry season. In addition, most festivals and holidays take place at this time. In April, November and August, the average level of precipitation is also lower, and there are fewer chances to find non-rainy weather. In general, given the non-beach nature of holidays in Siem Reap, you can visit it throughout the year, just in the rainy months there will be much more chances to get wet in the rain when visiting temples.
Time in Siem Reap
The time in Siem Reap, as in Cambodia as a whole, is +4 hours ahead of Moscow time in summer and winter.
| Москва: +4 | Самара: +3 |
| Казань: +4 | Нижний Новгород: +4 |
| Екатеринбург: +2 | Новосибирск: 0 |
| Иркутск: -1 | Владивосток: -3 |
Useful information
Guidebooks. In almost all Siem Reap hotels, you can get very useful guides to the temples of Angkor "Siem Reap Angkor Visitors Guide" and Siem Reap Pocket Guide for Siem Reap for free. Both guidebooks are in English.
Markets. Prices in Siem Reap markets may initially seem frighteningly high. But if you bargain, you can buy souvenirs and all kinds of fakes for almost nothing.
Money. Do not rush to change dollars to the local currency of the real estate (currency of Cambodia, exchange rate). Almost all payments in Cambodia are made in dollars, and you will need local money only as souvenirs home.
Supermarket in Siem Reap. A good supermarket Lucky Supermarket is located in the shopping center of the same name on Sivatha road. There you can buy drinks, semi-finished products, canned food. Another supermarket with wholesale prices is located in the old market area on the same Sivatha road. All prices, as usual, are in dollars.