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| escape.com.au00:14Best cheap holiday destinations in Asia (that aren’t Bali) |
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Stepping into the tropical heat on our first morning in Siem Reap, I skip the offer of a ride from a tuktuk blasting ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me” and instead climb aboard one that doesn’t double as a roving disco as I set off to reacquaint myself with Cambodia’s second-largest city.
The nearby Angkor temples have enshrined Siem Reap in global “must-see” itineraries and spawned a bustling tourist mecca. It also ticks all the boxes for a sun-fuelled and action-packed escape, easy on you and your pocket.
Tuktuks are not only the most fun but also the cheapest and easiest way to get around. We traverse the city at pace. My driver deftly handles the frenzy as we take in whitewashed schools, Buddhist monasteries, hospitals and the heavily touristed Old Market. After darting across the tree-lined Siem Reap River that meanders through town, we arrive in the old French quarter.
The King’s summer palace – off-limits to the public – sits behind gilt gates adjacent to the Royal Independence Gardens. Twenty years earlier, I’d dined with friends on the gardens’ manicured lawns when it was part of the stately Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. Raffles gave up the land for public use, and today bats dangle from its trees, while yoga enthusiasts mimic batlike poses.
A small organic farmers’ market opens here on weekends, but we head further from the city centre to check out the permanent and sprawling locals’ market, a striking representation of Cambodian life where mops, toys, clothes and provisions vie for space.
Leaving a newly paved thoroughfare, we are soon enveloped by rural life, bouncing in and out of potholes in the rust-red soil of back roads, lined with palms and narrow double-storey homes. We pass Zannier Hotels’ Phum Baitang, one of Siem Reap’s most exclusive resorts, tucked behind high, solid-looking walls. Siem Reap boasts a smorgasbord of luxury hotels. For a small fee or restaurant booking, some welcome outsiders to lounge by the pool and luxuriate in the French colonial opulence of yesteryear.
FCC Angkor by Avani was once the Foreign Correspondents Club, and we quickly feel at home, taking a dip in the pool, dining, and eventually settling in the aptly named Scribe bar with its chic décor. With my taste for luxury only whetted, the next stop is Raffles, where we dine and admire one of the largest pools in Cambodia, set behind the hotel’s huge, white, Art Deco façade (pool passes are $US20 a day).
