Siem Reap
is the gateway to the temples of
Angkor, Cambodia's spiritual and
cultural heartbeat. A sleepy
backwater until a few years ago, it
is fast reinventing itself as a
sophisticated centre for the new
wave of visitors passing through
each year, with restaurant and bar
prices climbing weekly. If Cambodia
is hot right now, then Siem Reap is
boiling over. It's the one place
everyone hits during their visit,
mainly due to its proximity to
Angkor Wat. Pleasing remnants of the
past like French shop-houses,
tree-lined boulevards and a gentle
winding river nestle up to pointers
to the future.
Phnom Penh
is often overlooked by visitors to
Cambodia who head straight for the
temples of Angkor at Siem Reap.
However, this capital city has a
certain charm with its colonial
buildings, wide boulevards, pagodas
and riverside walks. Those who take
time to visit Phnom Penh will find a
bustling city, emerging with renewed
confidence from troubled times. Much
of the city was badly damaged and
its treasures thrown into the river
in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge. Decades
later city life has improved, the
streets are on a grid system, more
or less, with even-numbered streets
east to west and odd numbers north
to south.
