Angkor Wat Is Great and All, But It’s Time to Give Siem Reap Its Due

[geovalin]

The famous jungle ruins may be Cambodia’s crown jewel, but there’s more to take in now at this tourist town, as artists, chefs, and eco-conscious hoteliers reshape its identity. 

 

Angkor Wat rightly claims a spot near the top of many ­travelers’ bucket lists, but for most of the area’s 2.5 million annual visitors, the standard visit is about three days—just enough time to wander through the archaeological park’s central ruins and get sufficient selfies. That strategy is a mistake. The city of Siem Reap, a genuine beauty, is home to about 140,000 Cambodians and riches worth lingering for.

 

 

“Things are looking up,” says architect and conservationist Bill Bensley, who in 2000 redesigned the city’s Hôtel de la Paix, now a Park Hyatt. As in much of the developing world, sustainability in Cambodia can be an afterthought to simply making a living. But now, Bensley says, as the nation has made strides in alleviating the problems of malnutrition and has moved toward cleaner water and better medical care, it can begin to confront First World problems of conservation.

 

read more https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-17/siem-reap-travel-guide-sustainable-luxury-hotels-restaurants

[my friend I]

This must be paid advertising. Worst town in KOW.

[yellowboat]

I lived there.  It was great, but the town did not always get the number of tourists it needed and businesses were just getting buy.  Hope it becomes more dynamic in the future.

[ozmeldo]

I remember when there were two restaurants and two guest houses save for the hotel that is now Sofitel. There were also about 6-8 families that rented a room to intrepid backpackers. We drank Carlsberg cans for something like .50c in the unrenovated pub of the hotel and then grabbed a rented cub50 back to the gh.

 

1992-3

 

I prefer that time.

 

The article is pure lofty fiction. When I look back on my old photos of the temples and compare them to the last trip about ten years ago the damage makes me want to cry.

 

Next to nothing has been spent on maintaining the environs. International crime

[natway09]

It is called "Thailand disease"   Milk , milk for all it's worth

[Destiny1990]

Honestly a dead boring town.

Didn't even bothered with any temple tour package or what they wanted me to book. For these tours u had to wake up at 5 am no thanks.

The place clearly lacks a beach.