Originally Posted by
SQTraveller
I travelled to Siem Reap as a poor recent graduate ... maybe it's time to go back.
Dunno when you went but my trips were 1997 and 2000 and I think it'd be too depressing to go back. That's a very fragile site and I doubt the admission costs are going to help preserve it or keep the hands and feet off the most sensitive surfaces.
If there had been more Internet back in 1997 I probably would have talked myself out of that one...the Khmer Rouge came back and briefly occupied months after I went. You couldn't stray far from trails because of mines, but crowds were low. I went with friends on the 2000 trip and insisted on going to Banteay Srei, since back in 1997 you needed an armed guard to go there and I didn't want to mess with that. The guesthouse had a fan and mosquito net at $4 and the moto driver cost $6/day and just wanted to sleep in a hammock at the sites (I was prepared for that).
These days I'm sure you've got oodles more hotels and places to eat. I remember the Bayon Restaurant as one of the better choices, and there were the "dog places" that operated only a few days per month. I remember having the viewing peak overlooking the main temple to myself. Thankfully the Lonely Planet had a pretty extensive background section about all the temples, including the minor ones.
The FCCC in Phnom Penh was a wonderful, wonderful place...great atmosphere and all. Because of the direct flights to Siem Reap, maybe PP hasn't been overrun quite as much.