Bokor Hill Station near Kampot was built by the French in the 1920s to be used as a retreat from the heat of Phnom Penh. It has since been abandoned twice, first in the 1940s when the Japanese invaded Cambodia and again in the 1970s, when the Khmer Rouge engulfed the country. Today, Bokor Hill Station and its abandoned buildings have an eerie, ghost-town feel. As of October 2008, the road to Bokor is officially closed due to ongoing reconstruction. Independent access seems to be impossible. though there are hiking tours arranged by local travel agents.
National Museum of Cambodia
The National Museum is home to the world’s greatest collection of Khmer artifacts and is well worth a visit ahead of a trip to the temples of Angkor Wat. A stroll through the attraction takes in a range of sculptures, ceramics, and other ancient objects dating back to the prehistoric, pre-Angkorian, and post-Angkorian periods, offering an intriguing insight into the country’s rich history.
Russian Market
Stalls flogging everything from souvenirs, art, clothes, and jewelry to fruit and vegetables, household goods, and bike parts, a morning or afternoon can easily be spent wandering around the rabbit’s warren inside, with bargains waiting to be snagged if the haggling is right. Searching for Siem Reap Airbnb?
Just off Cambodia’s south coast lie a scattering of islands just as beautiful as their Thai counterparts to the west, but much less visited. Compared to the now very developed islands of Koh Samui and Phuket, Cambodia’s islands are a slice of laidback tropical bliss, where sun and sand take center stage, and the big resorts have yet to make their mark. Of all the islands, Koh Rong Samloem is one of the most beautiful with the long, sandy Saracen Bay home to a dozen beach hut resorts that offer a welcome respite from the world. It’s really all about hammock-time here, but there’s plenty of scuba diving activities on offer for the more active. You can access these islands from Sihanoukville.
Tonle Sap is Cambodia’s most important waterway and Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake. As well as being an important source of food and a vital tool for Cambodian irrigation, the lake itself is home to 170 floating villages that depend on fishing for their livelihood, with homes built directly on the water. The houses, shops, churches, schools, and temples of these villages are built on rustic buoy foundations of lashed together barrels and bamboo, and all transport is by boat. They’re a fascinating place to spend a day exploring. One of the most interesting is the sprawling village of Kompong Luong, near the town of Pursat on Tonle Sap’s western shore, although the most popular village to visit is Chong Kneas near Siem Reap.
If you have a passion for history, you must visit the War Museum in Cambodia. This is the place where you will be transported back into a world which introduces you to the historical reigns, struggles, successes and wars of Cambodia in the most comprehensive manner possible.
Highlights – Soldiers who served in the war previously act as tourist guides here. How better can it get than this? It is also one of the first kinds of museum in Cambodia and takes guests through the last 30 years of Cambodian war history with an exotic and impressive collection of jet fighter planes, helicopters, artillery guns and other war machines of various models.
Location – Siem Reap.
Timings – 8AM to 5.30PM on all days of the week.
Price – USD1 for Cambodian tourists and USD5 for foreign tourists. Entrance fee includes tourist guide, parking, photography and filming.