Siem Reap & Angkor

Currency

Cambodia runs on US dollars and gives change in riel below a dollar — roughly 4,000 to one. Bring clean, untorn notes, because damaged ones are refused. There is no reason to buy riel deliberately.

ATMs & cards

ABA, Acleda and Canadia machines dispense dollars and charge $4-5 per withdrawal, so take larger amounts less often. Ask for small notes — nobody at a market can break a fifty.

Every withdrawal costs $4-5, so take larger amounts less often. Ask for small notes — nobody at a market can break a fifty, and torn notes are refused outright.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

Crime against visitors is rare and the town is comfortable at night. The real hazards are heat and dehydration at the temples, where there is little shade and people faint every day, and traffic. Never walk off marked paths in rural areas — Cambodia still has unexploded ordnance outside the tourist zones.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Worth having

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Tetanus up to date
• Rabies for longer stays
• Japanese encephalitis for rural stays

Getting treated

Royal Angkor International Hospital in Siem Reap handles most things and is used to treating visitors; anything serious means evacuation to Bangkok, which is an hour by air. Public facilities are poor. Insurance with evacuation cover matters here.

Dengue is common. Do not drink the tap water. Heat exhaustion at the temples sends people to clinics daily — start at dawn and carry more water than you think you need.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Fish amok and lok lak are the dishes to have. Eat at Khmer places off Pub Street rather than on it — the same meal costs a third as much and tastes considerably better.

Getting around

• Tuk-tuk by the day — the standard way to do the temples, ~$20-25 including sunrise and a full circuit
• PassApp and Grab — metered tuk-tuks in town, a dollar or two per ride
• Bicycle — the small circuit is flat and rideable if you start before the heat
• Remork to the outer temples — Banteay Srei and Beng Mealea are an hour out and cost more
• Airport: Siem Reap-Angkor (SAI) is now 50km out, about an hour from town

Must-see

Things to do

• Be at Angkor Wat before the gate opens for sunrise
• Spend a full day on the small circuit, and a second on the outer temples
• Climb Phnom Bakheng for sunset, or skip the crowd and take Pre Rup
• Take a boat through the floating villages on Tonlé Sap
• Visit the landmine museum, which is sobering and honest

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Khmer

• HelloSuosteisoos-DEY
• Thank youArkunar-KOON
• Thank you very muchArkun chranar-KOON chran
• Yes / NoBat / Chas — Tebaat / chaah — tey
• Excuse meSohm tohsom TOH
• How much is it?Thlai ponman?tlai pon-MAAN
• Too expensiveThlai pektlai PEK
• GoodbyeLea suon hao-ylia hao-y

Add the polite particle to almost anything: bat if you are a man, chas if you are a woman. It softens every sentence and Cambodians notice immediately.

Religion

Theravada Buddhist

Around 95% Buddhist. Angkor was built as a Hindu temple and became Buddhist, which is why you see both. Monks may not be touched by women, and shoulders and knees must be covered to enter the temples.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Return the sampeah — palms together, a slight bow — when it is offered to you
• Cover shoulders and knees at Angkor; guards turn people away at the gate
• Remove shoes and hats before entering a temple building or someone’s home
• Use both hands, or the right with the left touching the forearm, when giving or receiving

Don't

• Do not touch anyone on the head, including children, however affectionate the impulse
• Do not point your feet at a person or at a Buddha image, and do not sit with soles showing
• Do not give money to begging children — it keeps them out of school; give to a school or a proper charity instead
• Do not climb on temple structures or lean on the carvings, even where nobody stops you