Walking, Training, Exploring & Loving Siem Reap

Siem Reap is a great place to visit or live in Cambodia.

Yet, as it has its many positives it also comes with plenty of negatives, which I will explain in this post.

In general, these days I prefer a quieter and slower lifestyle close to nature and without much noise or traffic. Siem Reap scores well on those points – for the most part.

The Positives:

1 – The city center around the so-called Riverside (which is actually more like a man-made large pond resembling a river), is covered in ancient lush trees and greenery, which makes it ideal for walking, running, biking, yoga, and any other type of training in the breezy shade.

My favorite outdoor activities are power walking, bodyweight training, and sprinting. Plus swimming, for which you need a pool as this “pond” seems rather dirty.

2 – Angkor Wat Temples and its famously beautiful huge grounds are a 15-minute motorbike ride away.

It’s a gorgeous setting in nature boasting nice and quiet roads and trails, ideal for biking, walking, and running.

Finally, in 2024 the local government allowed foreigners to enter the grounds surrounding the temple without having to pay $39 a go. Now, you must only pay the fee if you enter the temples.

While this is a great move, it shows again how far Cambodia’s thinking is behind that of the Thais.

In Thailand, I believe you can enter all or most temples, museums, or historic sites for free, whereas in Cambodia you must pay to see any of them.

A further example of this poor strategic thinking is Thailand offers a 3-month “free on arrivals visa.” In Cambodia, you must pay $35 for a 1-month visa, which you can extend for another month for $40.

Side note: None of this makes sense and is a definite contributor to Thailand blasting Cambodia out of the water in terms of tourism and incoming new potential residents.

3 – There are great relatively affordable Western restaurants in Siem Reap, and tons of excellent cheap street food, which yet has not caused food poisoning for me.

4 – The vibe and ambiance are mostly slower and relaxing without much petty crime as far as I could tell.

However, there are plenty of expat troublemakers around. More on that soon.

The Negatives:

1 – While Siem Reap has a cozy and tranquil feeling – which is great – it’s also too small and has not so pretty underbelly within the expat community.

2 – Siem Reap is also known as THE PARTY CITY of Cambodia, because of “Pup Street,” which is largely owned by the giant F&B operator, The Temple Group.

So-called Pup Street is a vast area, which covers around 50% of the immediate city center just behind the quaint old market.

It houses I guess 500 or more pubs, bars, nightclubs, and more dubious nighttime activities. No matter what day of the week, this area is usually packed with locals and some tourists with music blasting at abnormal levels from literally every establishment.

For some reason, it appears to me that Pup Street is a bigger attraction than Angkor Wat these days.

I can tell you from experience after going there twice – it’s not a pretty scene, so I now avoid it like the plague.

Please take a moment to view my latest YouTube video about healthy living in Siem Reap:

3 – The Expat Scene

I will get a lot of backlash for saying what I’m about to from the mentioned group. But, they or their nasty tongues don’t tickle me a bit.

Example: After spending my first weekend back in Siem Reap I suddenly received an email sent from a fake email account in my name.

Guess what this jack in the box hiding behind his computer wrote to me?

“The Siem Reap anti-Rob Group” has unanimously voted and we all want you to leave ASAP!

What an idiotic thing to send to someone. I wrote back briefly telling this man to jump in the lake and then blocked him. I know who it is, my ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend.

Besides those kinds of antics, there are nightly bar fights on the famous Sok San road, which is mostly populated by expat owners and drunks.

4 – Mind Your Own Business

That is a term it appears the foreigners in Siem Reap haven’t heard before or can’t grasp. Within 3 to 4 days of being there, pretty much every expat living there will know and talk about you.

I like to keep myself to myself and I do. I only go out to walk and train during the day and never at night.

If you enjoyed this short story, I recommend you check out this one too:

Discover Siem Reap’s Secrets: Your Guide to Shinta Mani Resort

Final Thoughts

There are certainly good arguments for living in Siem Reap but also plenty going against it. I guess it depends on your personality and if you can put up with the nonsense and very limited activity options in town.

Important Final Note: There are wonderful expats in town too, who are nice, polite, and keep themselves to themselves. Probably 80% are good, but you simply don’t meet them, as like me, they choose not to go out at night and mind their own business!

Rob