Unsolicited Advice for Siem Reap

Are you now inspired to visit Angkor Wat? Well regardless of your answer, here's my unsolicited advice:

Visa: No matter what you've been told, currently you can obtain a tourist visa at the airport when you arrive in Siem Reap. The visa will cost you $20 (yes that's US dollars). Best bet is to download the visa application and take a passport photo with you. We sailed thru immigration quickly b/c we were prepared.

Money: Cambodia works in US dollars. Siem Reap has a few international ATMs that will spit out dollars. Very handy considering that Cambodia is a third world county (in fact international ATMs are hard to find here in Japan, a first world country). Cambodia does have their own money; riel. This site recommends carrying riel and I would disagree. The only time I had it was when someone tried to give me change. In fact I would recommend you ask for change in dollars. Everyone wants dollars.

Accommodations: There are many places to stay. We stayed at Two Dragons Guesthouse. They say that they have the cleanest rooms in the country. Well it was clean, nice, no curfew, and the staff doesn't try to make a commission off of you by recommending stuff. They were really honest. They will also pick you up at the airport. Also I found that they have a sense of humor in their advertising on hostel sites.

Food: The food was amazing in Cambodia, however we did run into some stomach rolling and food waste body disposal issues. I honestly think the stomach stuff was related to having ice in drinks. We were on holiday and of course you get suckered into ordering a lovely tropical drink to match the scenery. The ice in many places isn't made with bottled water so beware. OK food... I would recommend Angkor Cafe (pictured). It's conveniently across from Angkor Wat, right behind all of the parked tuk tuks. There is a sign on the building and it also has a nice (expensive) gift shop and a beautiful courtyard dining area. The food was fresh, good, and really cheap; appetizer, beer, and two dishes for $10. Now don't get fooled; further beyond the well signed Angkor Cafe is another large restaurant. Not sure of the name, but we had a very sketchy breakfast there. DON'T GO THERE! Ick! Another really good place to eat is Viroth's. We spent $33 (expensive for Cambodia), but had cocktails (many), soup, appetizer, two main course dishes, and dessert. It was well worth the price and a good experience of modern Khmer cuisine. I honestly think it was our favorite meal the entire trip. We also ate at Hawaii Pizza (on the same street as Two Dragons Guesthouse). Don't let the name fool you; they have a variety of food and not just pizza. Excellent! They also rent bike's for a $1 a day.

Miscellaneous: $12 will get you a tuk tuk all day to drive you around the ruins. Tales of Asia is a great website with loads of information. English is spoken just about everywhere. Bargaining is the key when shopping at the market.

Angkor Adventure Story: We were walking around Angkor Wat when the call of nature came upon us. We followed a sign for toilets only to discover that we were walking back into what appeared to be a small housing area. A little boy (age 5) pops up and asks us if we are looking for the toilet. We respond yes and then follow him. He leads us to a row of toilets and stands in front of the door and demands $1. We negotiate $1 for the both of us. We give him the dollar and surprisingly he insists on giving us back change; of course in riel. We didn't expect change from $1 (pictured is Rich holding all of the change; many many riels. He insisted on proclaiming that he was rich when I took this photo). Come to find out he gives us just about the exact amount of riel that is worth $1. We then turned around and bought a coconut to drink and eat. So for a buck we got a to use the loo and eat a coconut.