If you are in Siem Reap just for a day or two, read no further: you will spend them touring the Angkor temples and hardly have resorses – either time or energy – for sightseeing: an hour of Khmer massage and a savoury amok being your best friends in the evening. And whilst frankly speaking there are no high scale attractions in or around Siem Reap other than Angkor, going at a slower pace and looking around will give you the understanding and the taste of the local way of life.
Angkor related attractions
If browsing among the towering and crawling temples of Angkor is not enough, visit the mordern Angkor National Museum (6am–6pm, USD12) which helps you understand the Khmer culture and also the history of the Angkor period. Impressive galleries give you a feel for Angkor over the course of centuries. We found the museum very information rich and reckon it can be a good way to learn and contextualise the other sights nearby, most obviously Angkor Wat.
Miniature replicas of Angkor by Dy Proeung (USD1.50) is a quirky and charming place to visit. Produced by a local sculpture, small dioramas represent Angkor Wat as well as other sights such as the Bayon and Banteay Srei. We think it’s be a fun and good way to get your bearings away from the overwhelming size of the real life Angkor Wat.