Practical Information for Trips to Siem Reap
Trip Start
Sep 20, 2009
1
15
17
Trip End
Oct 08, 2009
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
SAFETY: I felt completely safe in and around Siem Reap, even (especially!) in remote areas. And I am a woman traveling alone. Because it was off season, I was often completely alone in some remote parts of the temple ruins. I took lovely walks in the countryside at sun up and sun down, and took bike rides to countryside villages. At night I also traveled about the city alone, but when outside of the pub street area my tuk-tuk driver was with me after sundown. During the day, I felt safe everywhere. There is a fair amount of petty thievery, like simple theft, purse-snatching, and pickpocketing. But nothing serious. They may take your stuff, but they won't hurt you. A money belt is always a good idea, like it is in any country. And be sure to always lock up valuables in your hotel safe (almost all hotels and guest houses have them)
Traffic in downtown Siem Reap
. Despite all this, most Cambodians are extremely honest. They wouldn't dream of harming you in any way, including taking your stuff.When traveling outside of the city there is a danger from land mines. Stay on the road, don't walk or ride on the margins or walk across the small footbridges without a local person with you. There are still millions of land mines set by the Khmer Rouge. There is also some unexploded ordinance left from the Viet Nam war. While I was there the city was digging in the street to do a repair out in front of the Hotel De La Paix. They found two giant still-live, 1-ton unexploded bombs beneath the road. The army came and disarmed them, and hauled them away. Wow.
Despite all this, the most dangerous thing, in my opinion, is traffic. The drivers are CRAZY over there. They drive on the wrong side of the road, don't yield for much of anything, and there are only a couple of traffic lights or stop signs. Most intersections are a free-for-all. My niece was wiped off her bicycle twice by big sports utility vehicles. If you are on foot, it's important to know that the right-of-way in Cambodia is exactly the opposite of the western world. In the west, the smallest mode of transport has the right-of-way, with pedestrians having the ultimate right-of-way
Road Hazard
. In Cambodia the opposite is true. The cars will not stop or slow down for a person on foot, or a bicycle. The biggest vehicle has the right-of-way no matter what direction they are going or where they are. They will literally hit you if you are in their way. There are also no crosswalks, so you are on your own.Non-residents are no longer allowed to rent cars or motorcycles in Siem Reap, due to the high accident rate. No problem. Tuk Tuks with driver are cheap.
Remeber this is a third world country. There are no ambulances, so ask a tuk-tuk to go to the Angkor Children's Hospital if you need to. A sad fact is that if someone is unconcious, or passes away, there is no mechanism in the government of Cambodia to contact family. There are no official records of deaths, accidents, or police calls. People just dissapear. Poof!
STUFF YOU NEED: You can buy almost anything you need there. The only thing I couldn't find was Pepto Bismol in tablet form. If you are staying a few days, you can have lovely custom-tailored clothing made. Off the rack is sometimes tough to fit due to the different sizing in Asia.
Health Hazard - Filthy Floodwater
HEALTH: There is virtually no medical care. Not good care, anyway. Doctors at the local clinics are not adequately trained and do not meet world standards. Medications from local pharmacies could be something other than what it says on the box, expired, or counterfeit. If you do need drugs there is one western-style pharmacy that carries French-supplied pharmaceuticals - it's located near the Blue Pumpkin near Pub Street. You can get almost anything without a prescription. And I heard a Thai clinic was just built on the road to the airport, though I don't have any information on the quality of its care.
Go healthy, stay healthy. If something really serious happens like a heart attack or stroke, I heard through the grapevine that the Angkor Children's Hospital emergency room will treat you in an absolute emergency (even though they are a charitable hospital for local children). Their care meets world standards, and it is the ONLY teaching hospital in Cambodia. Otherwise hop over the border to Thailand. It's only an hour or so by plane and they have good medical care there.
Another few thoughts on staying healthy - they say the ice is safe in Siem Reap. I'm not so sure.
1000 Riel - Worth about 25 cents U.S.
I picked up a bug there, source unknown. I'd avoid the ice, just in case. Make sure they open water and beer bottles in front of you. If it comes open, ask for another. And for food - peel it, cook it, or leave it. And watch yourself for symptoms up to 2 months after leaving the country. Most illnesses will make you sick within a week of exposure, but Typhoid can take up to 2 months to show symptoms. A partial list of serious things you can't control exposure to if a food service worker is infected and doesn't wash their hands: Typhoid, C-Diff, TB, e-coli.My travel doc told me to see a doctor when I get home if I have had "flu like symptoms." That's a crock. Nobody would equate the nosebleeds, abdominal pain, exhaustion, constipation, etc. with "flu-like symptoms," so the average person wouldn't see a doctor right away upon return to the U.S., which would be a mistake on their part. Bottom line, if you are sick in any way during your trip, even if it is gone when you get home, see your doctor. Just because it's better doesn't mean it's gone. (Trust me.)
FEET: The best thing I packed were my Keen Hybrid sandals. Great during monsoon season. They were excellent on muddy roads and cleaned up nicely, dried quickly to prevent foot rot, were ultra-comfortable for hiking, and the enclosed toes protected my feet when scrambling around the stone temple ruins
Land Mine Victims earning a living through music
. You can't get these in Siem Reap - so bring 'em along. Otherwise flip flops are the standard footwear for almost everyone in Siem Reap, local or visitor. MONEY: If you are from the U.S., when you arrive in Siem Reap you don't need to exchange money at the airport or anywhere else. In Siem Reap the U.S. dollar is happily accepted, with an exchange rate of about 4000 Riel per dollar. (This is in Siem Reap only. Most other towns require the Riel.) Coins are not accepted - paper money only. Torn US dollars are also not accepted by businesses or banks. I brought my extra Riel home. It makes great monopoly game money.
The travel books say there aren't cash machines in Cambodia. That's outdated. Cash machines are plentiful in Siem Reap. If your card doesn't work in the blue machines, try the red ones.
PESTS. Whatever you do, don't buy anything from the adorable little kids. If you do they will never leave you alone again. Ever. They will memorize your face and pester you constantly day after day after day until you leave the town for good.
But buying from the land mine victims is a good thing
Adorable Children Begging
. It's the only way they have to earn a living. Local Cambodian business owners will not employ them in any capacity. So be nice and buy a guidebook or other book from a landmine victim. You are helping them survive in the only way that is open to them. Same goes for the landmine victims that have formed musical bands. Your donations are the only way they have to earn a living. On another topic.... mosquitos! There are two kinds of mosquitos - one variety comes out at night, one kind during the day. The nighttime mosquitos carry Dengue Fever, and teh daytime ones Malaria. Malaria isn't prevalent around Siem Reap, but is in the rest of the country. Due to the Typhoon, I've been wary of all mosquitos, assuming the storm spread the disease carrying bugs. Google Dengue Fever and Malaria. It'll make you want to wear that mosquito repellent.
Something surprised me. After about 3 days the mosquitos quit biting me. My theory is that the local food and local spices eventually start coming out your pores, and it keeps the bugs away. Who knows if that's true, but I kept eating local food anyway and gave up the bug repllent. I also learned something surprising about DEET. It dissolves paint, and dulls plastic. Normally this wouldn't matter to me, but I loved the paint on my laptop and the plastic in my expensive sunglasses. I was sad when the DEET on my hands and other body parts wrecks them.
FOOD: The food here is FANTASTIC, and very cheap. If you want a picnic lunch with sandwiches get it from the Hotel de la Paix. Wow are they great! While you in Siem Reap you must eat at the Sugar Palm Restaurant. It is the best Cambodian food in town. It is usually jam-packed for dinner and reservations are almost always needed. Call 844-063,964-838. Vegetarian food is easy to come by in Siem Reap. But many restaurants don't understand "no fish sauce." To get a list of vegetarian restaurants in Siem Reap, visit the Happy Cow website.
GIVING: I was continuously exposed to charities asking for my dollar. There is deep need over there. But also many scams. I was surprised to learn most of the "orphans" aren't orphans. One of the best and highest impact things you can contribute to is the Angkor Children's Hospital. http://angkorhospital.org/default.php
If you want to make a high-impact gift that takes little effort and no research, when you pass by one of the many Pagodas (temples), give an offering of money to the monks. They are the social safety net in Cambodia, and provide many of the services to the people that the government can't (or won't). Just walk in - you will be instantly welcome. The monks will make wise use of the funds to support orphans, feed the hungry, house the disabled, educate children, shelter stray animals, etc.
GETTING AROUND. Grab one of those free Siem Reap travel brochures at your hotel. They have maps and are immensely helpful in getting around. Also grab a business card or brochure for your hotel. It will help you communicate where "home" is to your tuk-tuk driver. My hotel had a map they gave me with their location clearly marked. That was even better.
Speaking of tuk-tuk drivers, when you find a really good one, keep him. Book that tuk-tuk driver in advance for the duration of your stay. Pay him at the end of each day, and give him a big tip at the very end. The one I finally stuck with spoke excellent English, was a very careful driver, always watched for me to emerge from wherever I was and never kept me waiting. He really knew his way around town. For $15/day he drove me around from 8:00 in the morning into the night. I gave him the freedom to pick up other fares when I was back at the hotel for awhile or in the spa for some hours, etc. If you do this be sure to get your tuk-tuk driver's cellphone number so you can get him when you need him.
COMMUNICATION: Cellphones are cheap there. So are SIM cards for your existing cellphone. If you are there for more than a week, it's worth it. All you need is your passport and Visa/entry card copy, as well as the pre-requisite fee. Ask your tuk-tuk driver for help finding a store - but really, the cellphone stores are on almost every road!
I also had my netbook (computer) with me, so I used Skype to call home. It was really cheap - about $3.50 for a month of unlimited calling all over the world. There isn't enough bandwidth over there to use the video feature, but being able to talk as long as I wanted was really nice. Many cafes on Pub Street have free wireless. Some hotels have free wireless, some charge. Hint: If your hotel charges for wireless, use your wireless utility to look for an unlocked wireless router within range. Then just hop on. There seems to be quite a few that don't bother to encrypt or use a key.
An extra thought:
Things I wish I would have bought while I was there, but didn't:
- A beautiful stone carving. It would have been worth carrying onto the plane and back home.
- More silk. It's gorgeous, and cheap, cheap, cheap.
- More art. There are some truly stunning pieces to be found among the standard mass produced junk, for very reasonable prices.
- Amok seasoning. It's hard to buy authentic seasoning in the U.S., even online.
- A quilt from Mekong Quilts. But you can order one online.
- Custom-made silk clothing. It's dirt-cheap, and gorgeous. You can order it in the garment section of the old market, or at various clothing shops around town.
The local people are so wonderful. Anything you need to know, they are very happy to help you, the best that they can. They may steer you towards their friends for business purposes, but if not to help each other's businesses succeed, then what are friends for? :)
I would love to hear from you if you visit Siem Reap. Send me a link to your travel blog, or a quick email!
