Advantages: A different Asian culture
Disadvantages: Commercialised

...I spent 4 days 3 nights in Siem Reap in Nov 07. If you like to see heritage sites, this is the place to go. In fact, there are a lot more to se in Siem Reap other than Angkor Wat. The small temples in Angkor Thom or those outside the Angkor Park are worth visiting. Cambodia is an interesting country with a sad history. It's developing now and the government ensures that there is zero crime to make it safe place for tourists. Getting there : My friend and I took AirAsia from Kuala Lumpur (capital of Malaysia) - (departs at 7am in the morning) and it's a 2-hour flight. You can book your air tickets from the its website and you can get it for less than RM500 return (approx. £ 70). Since it's a budget airline, you have to book early for cheap fares. You can also fly direct to Siem Reap from Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Singapore... Read review

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Advantages: Near Angkor Wat, a pit stop en route to Phnom Penn
Disadvantages: Not tha much else to keep the interest beyond a day

...Siem Reap is the nearest town to the Angkor Wat complex. It is a long and detailed review but I hope it will be worth the read. Getting There and Away You can take a 1 hour flight into Siem Reap itself and when landing fly close to the complex itself or you can go overland – as I did, by public bus. The actual journey will be covered in a separate review. A Khao San Road / travel agent package is available but should be avoided at all costs, it can take up to 15 hours instead of 9. Usually an air ticket can be picked up for around 7500 Baht. The fixed taxi fare from the airport into town – unless you have organised a hotel with a free pickup – will be US$5, the airport is only about 6km outside of town. The departure tax is an outrageous US$20 for international flights and US$5 for internal. If you are travelling onto Phnom... Read review

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Advantages: Stunning amazing place
Disadvantages: Time and distance to get there

...to recuperate in your room from the heat and the walking of Angkor. Angkor itself is truly amazing and it would be impossible to take in all the sights in a few days but all good guides will ensure you find the best. We flew from Ho Chi Min to Siem reap which was quite an adventure the plane had thirteen passengers on board. 11 korean tourists and my husband and I. Siem reap airport had the lowest level of security of any airport I have travelled from (perhaps this was also more apparnet as we had flown from Vietnam where they take things very seriously!) Anyone considering going to cambodia go now, don't hesitate it really is wonderful.... Read review

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Advantages: A great, quiet rural place to stay while visiting Angkor
Disadvantages: None

...My friend Kath and I spent a fantastic holiday in Thailand and Cambodia in 2002. Having spent a week or so in Koh Chang (Thailand), we went to visit my cousin who lives in Phomn Penh, and from there we explored the amazing wonder of the world that is Angkor. Cambodia is situated between Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. We flew from Bangkok to Phomn Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and had planned on taking a boat trip up the Tonle Sap to get to Siem Reap (Northwestern Cambodia). So, first a quick word about the boat trip. My brother took this trip previously, and gave us some tips, which I think it's important to pass on. Firstly, the trip costs $15 for a fast boat and $10 for a slow boat (7 hours, which is the one we were going to take). The safest place to sit is on the top of the boat, however, it will get very hot up there... Read review

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Advantages: This is as good as you could want anywhere - and consistently so.
Disadvantages: None

...Molly Malone's is an Irish pub and guesthouse in Bar Street - the hub of Siem Reap's nightlife area. The pub is very tastefully done out with Irish memorabilia and loads of beautiful wood. It's all very clean and well cared for, with nice toilets too. It's open to the street so you can sit at a table at the front and watch the world slowly amble by. It's friendly and fun. Invariably at some stage in the evening the music is cranked up and everyone sings "... I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone. As she wheeled her wheelbarrow..." Chucking out time is somewhere between midnight and 1am, when almost everyone, including Thierry (joint owner of Molly's), heads down the street to THE nightclub in town - Angkor What? Angkor What? "Promoting irresponsible drinking since 1998" is run by Charlie. Fantastic guy... Read review

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Advantages: The fruit shake was nice.
Disadvantages: The service was slow, and the food was pretty miserable.

...We were looking for an English breakfast during our visit to Siem Reap in October 2006. We run a "Breakfasts around the world" feature on our own website, so we have to scoff breakfasts in various places as "research". (Any excuse.) Having searched the length of Bar Street looking for somewhere suitable that we hadn't visited before, we were running out of options. Then we came across the Koala Restaurant, just up the road from the Red Piano. "The best full English breakfast in Siem Reap", its sandwich board proclaimed. "Sounds interesting," we thought, so we went in, sat down and started looking at the menu. The breakfast menu was structured in a reasonably sensible way: Continental breakfast ($1.75) of toast or baguette plus butter and jam; American breakfast ($2.75) as for the Continental, plus eggs (done any style... Read review

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Advantages: Extremely beautiful architecture, immensely rich cultural essence, amazing photography opportunities
Disadvantages: Desperate drinks peddlers, tour-guide rip-offs, tourist crowds

...--------------- Introduction --------------- Angkor, Cambodia, is a World Heritage Site containing numerous beautiful temples that is situated a 20 minute drive from the Cambodian town of Siem Reap. Some people mistake the Angkor Wat to be the name of the entire site. Actually, the Angkor Wat is one of the temples enclosed within the Angkor site. It is, however, one of the biggest and most beautifully constructed temples among the ruins there. -------------------- The Angkor Wat -------------------- Pretty much the main drawing point of this South East Asian nation. It was built in the early 12th century as a king's state temple and capital city. The largest and best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre — first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist — since its... Read review

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Advantages: Breathtaking ruins, atmosphere
Disadvantages: volume of people, beggers, mosquitoes

...There is no doubt that this is Cambodia's star attraction. Its imposing even from a distance, and even compared to the other ruins in the Angkor complex it still blows you away. Set about 5KMs away from the centre of Siem Reap, Angor Wat is the centre piece of the whole Angkor complex, comprising some 20 plus temples. Built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century its the best known of the eras Khmer achitectural feats. There's a reason why this rules the roost. Its splendor from the grounds to the fine carvings and structure within are a true delight. You really have to see the place, experience the atmosphere for yourself to truely take it all in. Whether you go at sunrise, sunset or any time inbetween you are allmost guranteed to be among others. It would be a rare thing to get this place to yourself even... Read review

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Advantages: Some very good cooking here, staff very friendly and helpful
Disadvantages: The odd strange thing like carrot pizza

...VISIT ONE: July 2006 As our stay in Siem Reap drew to a close, we took a fancy to some pizza for a change. So we went hunting for a suitable restaurant. After checking out several, we finally settled on Pissa Italiana. (It's a strange way to spell "pizza" but that is the name of the restaurant.) All the Bar Street open-air tables were taken, so we went inside. But the wood-fired oven was producing a fair amount of both heat and smoke, so we hesitated to sit down there. Fortunately they've got tables out at the back, in a little alleyway running parallel to Bar Street. Sitting out there was surprisingly pleasant, with more of the air of a Mediterranean town back street than a South East Asian one. And there were very few hassles from passing beggars (actually, we're struggling to think of any). We ordered a salad with scallops... Read review

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Advantages: Good Story
Disadvantages: Predictable

...The Reaping Distributed By: Warner Bros. Pictures Directed By: Stephen Hopkins Running Time: 99 Minutes Released: 20 April 2007 Genre: Horror Certificate: 15 Cast: Katherine - Hilary Swank Doug - David Morrissey Ben - Idris Elba Loren McConnell - Anna Sophia Robb Father Costigan - Stephen Rea Sheriff Cade - William Ragsdale Mayor Brooks - John McConnell Jim Wakeman - David Jensen Brynn Wakeman - Yvonne Landry William Wakeman - Samuel Garland Myles Cleveland - Kyle Wakeman Maddie McConnell - Andrea Frankle Brody McConnell - Mark Lynch Gordon - Stuart Greer Isabelle - Lara Grice Story: The Reaping focusses on Katherine Winter a college professor who prides herself in revealing the so called miracles and mysteries of the world with viable, Scientific explanations. That is of course... Read review

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