Other things to do while in Siem Reap

Being at the temples the whole day or maybe most of your stay in Siem Reap will result to temple burn out. Here are other fun things to do while in the province.

1. Hang out, eat and drink at Pub Street

The name of the street came form the numerous pubs, restaurants and shops that opened on it. This is where we headed for our meals and shopped for our souvenirs. At night, the streets were blocked from most of the traffic so people can walk freely. It is a lively place where most, if not all, tourists come to relax after a long day from the temples, to have fun and listen to music.

Huge adorable fella we saw while walking along the street. 

We dined in The Red Piano Restaurant. It was where Angeline Jolie also dined and hung out while filming in Cambodia. We arrived at the perfect timing of happy hour which meant that soft drinks were free.

I think what I ordered was Pork in Sweet and Sour Sauce. It tasted fine but I was not satisfied with the amount of rice with it. (hehehe)

We also tried the Tomb Raider cocktail which was initiated by Angelina. They have a promotion which states that every 10th sold is free and every 500th drink sold will win the cocktail (I guess this means it's free), a t-shirt and 100 USD cash. Well the night was still young at the time we were there so I think there weren't yet a lot of people ordering the drink.

2. Watch an Apsara Show

We didn't really plan to watch one also because we didn't know of such. The hotel staff offered this package with land transfers, buffet dinner and Apsara show. Since we didn't have any plans, we gladly accepted the offer. We were promptly picked up from our hotel and transferred to another hotel, The Amazon Angkor, where the event was. There were a lot of Chinese tourists who went ahead of us and were with us at the table. Drinks were not included in the meal but it was affordable at $1 for a liter of water. When we arrived a group of local musicians exhibiting their skills with their instruments were already on stage.

Later on while the guests were seated and eating, Apsara dancers showed their talents on stage. An Apsara is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. In these dances, the Apsara is played by a woman with a tight fitting traditional dress whose graceful gestures are codified to narrate classical myths or religious stories.

We were amazed at how talented these ladies were. Their fingers seem to bend backwards and even though they had difficult dance movements or they have to stand with only 1 foot on the ground, they were still graceful and nice to watch. By the way, the package for this whole event was 10 USD.

The food was ordinary but seeing this kind of dance for the first time was truly an experience.

3. ATV Ride through Cambodian rice fields

We planned way before that we'd try a friend's suggestion to ride an ATV. We emailed the company months prior and on the day, the staff promptly fetched us from our hotel.

It was the dry season when we went so the roads were really dusty. We drove through some quiet streets and rice fields...

and stopped for a spot to see the sunset.

I'm sure there are other ways to enjoy while in Siem Reap. Again with our short stay, this was the most we can do. Thank you for reading and 'til my next blog! :)