3 interesting things to do in Siem Reap

When it comes to Cambodia, almost people usually think about the magnificent ancient Angkor temples, stunning Tonle Sap Lake, charming traditional Apsara Dance or a unique and attractive culture. However, this charming country also has a lot of things to see and do that you have to try once when you travel in this country. Specially, Siem Reap in Cambodia will bring you so many wonderful experiences.  If you have ever visited Siem Reap, it is a good idea for you to try a list of what to do in Siem Reap for your next visit in this country. Cambodia Discovery

  1. Enjoy Street Food

Cambodia is famous for a rich street food tradition and Siem Reap is not an exception. Therefore, to explore and learn about the local cuisine in Siem Reap, the first thing you need to do in the list of what to do in Siem Reap is to enjoy street food.

Street foods in Siem Reap
Street foods in Siem Reap

You can find different snacks available on Cambodia’s streets at different times of the day. When you walk on the Siem Reap’s streets in the early morning, you can see many vendors offering breakfast dishes such as kuy teav and bai sach chrouk at small roadside stalls. In late morning through afternoon, roving vendors sell fresh cut-up fruit and sell many restoratives like spring rolls and barbecued beef skewers tucked into baguettes and topped with a green mango slaw in the late afternoon. Tours Indochina

Some other street food favorites include iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk, fried noodles, chive cakes and paté sandwiches. You will find these dishes sold by roving vendors pushing carts around town and at small restaurants that set up shop on the sidewalk.

  1. Meet Locals on a Treak Village Walk and Talk

Another thing can help you explore Siem Reap is to join a two-hour Treak Village Walk and Talk tour. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to walk with a knowledgeable guide through tiny Treak village in Siem Reap and have a real insight into village life. The village is located about 4 kilometers to the south of Siem Reap town, the main tourism gateway for the World Heritage site at Angkor Wat. It contains almost bamboo shacks and timber houses on stilts; and is surrounded by sprawling rice paddies.

Trek Village in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Trek Village in Siem Reap, Cambodia

During your visit, you need to interact with the locals and use your guide as a translator to ask them questions about what they are doing and about their lives. The best time for your visit is the late afternoon for the kind of magic light you can see as sunset.

  1. Spend a Night at the Shadow Puppet Theater

Cambodian shadow puppet theater, also known as Sbaek, is performed at many venues around Siem Reap, but the best shows are performed by Cambodian Living Arts at Wat Bo Pagoda – the beautiful 18th century pagoda. The third thing to do on the list of what to do in Siem Reap is a good chance to learn more about Cambodian traditional art.

A Cambodian shadow puppet show
A Cambodian shadow puppet show

Traditional Cambodia shadow puppets are intricately carved cow-hide panels depicting characters from history, literature and legend. They usually have a big size and the biggest ones are about 1.5 meters and very heavy. The shadow puppets include two bamboo rods attached with which the puppeteers lift and manoeuvre them in time to music, creating magical scenes against a giant back-lit screen.  Unlike a formal stage performance, you do not have to sit still in silence and pretend to understand what the narrators narrate in Khmer after all. If you cannot catch up with the finer details of the Ramayana in the performance, you can get up and walk around and talk to your companions, and take photographs.

Cambodia is an attractive country with plenty of breathtaking natural views and interesting experiences to see and do. The list of what to do in Siem Reap is a good suggestion for you to try and enjoy different things from the thing you have ever tried in this city. Hopefully, you will have an awesome and memorable trip in Cambodia in general and Siem Reap in particular.

Travel lovers.

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