Siem Reap, Cambodia – The Locals

Posted on by AliceKoh
Siem Reap, Cambodia – The Locals

Birthday Trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Every year around Shane’s birthday we make a trip to a destination we have never been before or want to revisit. This year, Shane’s birthday trip is to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We are excited because we read so much about Angkor Wat and watched videos of this ancient city.

Travel Requirements

There are travel requirements to get to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We apply at the Cambodia E-Visa website. One of the requirements for visa application is to make sure our passports are valid for 6 months. The online application requires that we have a passport photo, address and telephone number in Cambodia. Application fee is US$36 per person and we get our tourists visa email to us in less than a week. We print each a few copies and attach one to our passports. The visa is valid for 30 days.

Visa to Cambodia
Tourist visa to Cambodia is valid for 3 months. Book a hotel in Cambodia first because you need to have the hotel information when applying for your visa. Buy your flight ticket only after your visa is approved and email to you.

Hotel and Transport

Shane books us a 7 days stay at Pleasant Villa, a smoke-free villa featuring a pool, restaurant, wi-fi and free airport pickup. The price is reasonable; we have a huge room with a queen sized bed, free breakfast and it’s within minutes ride to the city center. I must add, I love the big bathroom and the shower is great. Our airport pickup is a tuk tuk style two wheeled carriage pulled by a motorbike called ‘remorque’. It means ‘trailer’ in French.

Pleasant Villa Boutique Hotel in Siem Reap
Pleasant Villa Boutique Hotel
Siem Reap Airport pickup with a remorque
Our Siem Reap airport pickup with a ‘remorque’

Siem Reap, Cambodia – the locals

We consider ourselves laid back tourists who take our time exploring places of interest and observe how the locals live their lives. This post is all about Siem Reap, Cambodia and the locals through our eyes.

First Impressions

Our first impressions of Siem Reap is how poor the locals are. Everyone seems to be working on something to make a living. ‘Remorque’ drivers are everywhere, some taking a break using a makeshift hammock tied on the carriages. I read some of these drivers live miles away from Siem Reap so they sleep in their hammocks while making a living in this city. There is such a huge contrast between the rich and poor locals. We see big mansions fortified with brick walls and just outside the walls are makeshifts gasoline/fuel kiosks and sundry shops.

Street of Siem Reap, Cambodia
Street scene in Siem Reap
Used shoes vendor
A used shoes vendor under a big tree
Sundry shop along the street of Siem Reap
Delivering water bottles to a sundry shop by the street in Siem Reap
Workers repairing a drain
Workers repairing a drain wihout any safety gears
Remorque driver in Siem Reap
Remorque drivers on the street in Siem Reap
Remorque driver taking a nap in a makeshift hammock
A remorque driver sleeping in a hammock
Street of Siem Reap, Cambodia
Street scene in Siem Reap
A vendor selling balut on the side walk
A vendor peddling Balut (similar to ones in the Philippines) on the street. Another vendor with her two children.
Galosine pump
Gasoline ‘station’ on the street of Siem Reap
Selling gasoline via pump and bottles
A friendly gasoline attendant. This ‘station’ is next to a mansion.
Big mansion in Siem Reap, Cambodia
A big mansion with fortified walls in Siem Reap

Garbage and Flies Everywhere

There are garbage and flies everywhere. The locals dry fishes in the sun and they are covered with flies! There are heaps of garbage on the road sides and some attempts at burning them which leaves a foul smell in the air. We see recycle garbage bins from old rubber sheets but in our opinion, the government needs to do more to make the city cleaner.

Garbage on the side of road in Siem Reap
Piles of garbage everywhere on the side of the roads in Siem Reap
Fish drying in the sun with flies everywhere
Fish drying out in the sun with flies everywhere
Recycled garbage bins
Recycle garbage bins

Wet Market in Siem Reap

The best place to see how the locals live and eat is by visiting a wet market in Siem Reap. The wet market here is similar to most wet markets all over Asia. I can never enter an open market of the meat section because of the smell so Shane goes in there alone. The Cambodians love their sausages and dried seafood. Meat are hanging on hooks, the counters and whole chicken on display exposed to flies and heat. There are attempts to swap the flies away but on this trip we decide we are going vegetarian. It’s quite strange to see all the vendors sitting on the counters with their goods.

Sausage stall in the wet market in Siem Reap
Sausages and dried food stall
Vendor selling dried fish and chicken
Dried fish and chicken
Vendors are squatting on the counter with their chicken
Vendors are squatting on the counter selling chicken in the wet market
Chicken stall in the wet market
Chicken stall in the Siem Reap wet market
Inside a Siem Reap wet market in the meat section. Sorry the video is shaky.

Seafood, insects, fruits, food stalls

The wet market offers everything one can think off. There is the seafood section with various types of fishes, squids, prawns, crustaceans, shellfish and even frogs. Interestingly, the insects and pickled fruits stall is most popular with the locals. We love the fruits section. It is bursting with tropical fruits, some I’ve never taste before. Our favorites are the Green Oranges and Sweet Kaimito. The vendor is very nice to let us try them before buying. Stalls selling food very similar to Thai cuisines with their fiery spicy, sweet and sour sauces and myriad of exotic dishes with fragrant herbs.

Siem Reap wet market seafood section
Wet market seafood section selling fishes, frogs and crabs
Vendor selling pickled fruits and fried insects
Fried insects and pickled fruits is most popular with locals
Fruit seller in the wet market
Fruit vendor selling exotic tropical fruits. We like the Green Oranges and Sweet Kaimito (purple round fruits)
Food stall in the Siem Reap wet market
Cambodian local dishes
Locals eating at food stall
Locals enjoying their lunch in one of the food stalls in the Siem Reap wet market

Friendly Cambodians

Our hotel is about a 30 minutes walk to the popular tourist spot called Pub Street. We meet many friendly Cambodians during our walks. They take their time attempting to talk to us, just strangers trying to get to know one another. We have all our meals in one of the restaurants in Pub Street. However, we make a huge oversight when Shane tries one of the snails from a street vendor. Fortunately it happens on the last two days of our visit after our Angkor Wat tour. E-coli is no joke. He lost so much weight. So learn from our mistake – beware of street food in Siem Reap.

Shane with a gasoline station attendant
Shane with a gasoline ‘station’ attendant
Couple with child working at the laundromat
Cambodian couple with a child working at a laundromat
Pub Street, Siem Reap
Pub Street in Siem Reap
Shane with beer delivery guys
Shane with beer deliver guys
Insects vendor in Pub Street
A Cambodian lady peddling fried insects at Pub Street
Snails cart
Vendor selling snails on the street. DO NOT eat these!

Our next post will be all about our tour of Angkor Wat and its surrounding temples.

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