Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and a popular resort town as the gateway to Angkor region.
Siem Reap name refers to Siamese Troops defeated by Khmer, or defeated Siamese, it is related to a history that the Ayutthaya King of Thailand was defeated by Khmer Army in the 17th Century.
Population: 1 million people including in the city and the countryside.
Gateway: Siem Reap Internation Airport
Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese -style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market. In the city, there are museums, traditional Apsara dance performances, a Cambodian cultural village, souvenir and handycraft shops, silk farms, rice-paddies in the countryside, fishing villages and a bird sanctuary near the Tonle Sap Lake.
Siem Reap today, being a popular tourist destination, has a large number of hotels, resorts, restaurants and businesses closely related to tourism. This is much owed to its proximity to the Angkor temples, the most popular tourist attraction in Cambodia.
Siem Reap was little more than a village when French explorers such as Henri Mouhot "re-discovered" Angkor in the 19th century. However, European visitors had visited the temple ruins much earlier
Most tourists come to visit the Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, (about 6 km north of the city), and other Angkor ruins. There are many shopping opportunities around the Psar Chas area, and there are also a number of western-styled pubs and bars catering to tourists.
Attractions around Siem Reap City.
- Angkor Wat: is the central feature of the Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Site containing the magnificent remains of the Khmer civilization.
- Angkor Thom : is an inner royal city built by the end of the 12th century and is renowned for its temples, in particular the Bayon
- War Museum Cambodia: covers the last three decades of the 20th century when the Khmer Rouge was active in Cambodia
- Angkor National Museum: offers visitors a better understanding of the area's archaeological treasures. The Golden Era of the Khmer Kingdom is presented, including the use of state-of-the-art multimedia technology. The museum covers Khmer history, civilization, and cultural heritage in eight galleries
- Markets: The Old Market or Psah Chas is located between Pub Street and the Siem Reap River, and offers a mixture of souvenirs for tourist and a variety of food produce and other items meant for the locals.
- Cambodian Cultural Village: Opened on 24 September 2003, the Cambodian Cultural Village assembles all the miniatures of famous historical buildings and structures of Cambodia.
- Floating Villages : There are three floating villages around Siem Reap - Kompong Khleang, Kompong Phluk, Chong Kneas, with Kompong Khleang considered the most authentic.
- Tonle Sap Lake: The Tonlé Sap, Khmer for "Vast Body of Fresh Water" and more commonly translated as "Great Lake" is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia. It is located in the heart of Cambodia about 30 minutes south of downtown Siem Reap and has many attractions. The area around the Tonle Sap including the province of Siem Reap is part of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.
- Banteay Srei: is a 10th-century temple located about 30 km northeast of Siem Reap. It is notable for its fine intricate decorative carvings on rose pink