Siem Reap, Cambodia - Things to do for free

Siem Reap can be quite expensive once you have factored in the entrance tickets to Angkor Wat and the tour to Tonle Sap. Most of the things are priced in USD so if you are coming from a country with a weaker currency than USD (like us) and want to watch your spending, here's a couple of things that you can do for free:

1) Artisans Angkor

We went to the workshop of Artisans Angkor for want of something to do the evening of the day we went to Angkor Wat. It was located a couple of blocks behind our hotel (Apsara Centropole) and easy enough to locate using the map in the Lonely Planet guidebook.

The Angkor Wat and its surrounding temples, with its intricate carvings, statues and bas-reliefs, are a testament to the greatness of Khmer arts and crafts. Artisans Angkor strives to preserve and revive many of these traditional and ancient Khmer skills, e.g. silk-making, stone and wood carving, lacquering and painting. At the same time, it helps young, rural people with limited education opportunities to obtain professional skills and to improve their lives.

At the workshop, you would be allocated a guide for free, who would show you the various workshops in which young craftsmen were busy producing items for sale. A word of warning if your kids are asthmatic: some of the rooms were very dusty and may not be suitable.



A woodcarver in action

One of the popular items in the showroom - elephants carved out of woods

  

Some of the finished products

 

A craftsman working on a reproduction of an Angkorian era statue

At the end of the tour, we went to the boutique / showroom where the items produced by the craftsmen were on sale. The prices were rather expensive but the quality was top-notch, nothing like the tourist tat that flooded the Old Market. If you want to go shopping in Seam Reap for souvenirs for yourself or people back home, then this is the place to shop. And there was an ice-cream shop at the back to deposit your kids (with someone to watch over of course) should you want to feel less like having a bull in a china shop.

My only regret that day was not having the time to go on the free guided tour to the Angkor Silk Farm. The tour on mulberry trees cultivation, silkworm farming, cocoon unwinding and silk making would no doubt be very educational.

 

2) Senteurs d'Angkor

 

The night before we left Seam Reap, while having a break at Kaya Cafe, we came across an outlet of Senteurs d'Angkor which was just next door to the cafe (both are in fact sister companies). I fell in love with the frangipani-scented products and was even more attracted to see the items that I bought came in eco-friendly packaging made from weaved sugar palm leaves.

 

The next morning, we took a tuk-tuk from our hotel and squeezed in a visit to the workshop to see how the products were made. The workshop was in a beautiful colonial villa and the guided tour was free. Although it was just a short tour, it was a good introduction to show kids how soap and candles were made.

 

Entrance to the workshop



Sugar palm leaves are dried, dyed and then weaved into boxes called

"smoks"which are used as eco-frindly packaging

Bars of coconut oil-based handmade soaps - All made from

extracts derived from plant oils and 100 % natural ingredients

The making of aromatic candles

After the tour, we proceeded into the shop. I am not usually into shopping in my travels but in this case, I felt like buying everything - perfumed massage oils, body creams, body scrubs, handmade soap, bath salts. All was beautifully packaged in a rustic way and came in a range of scent which included jasmine, orchid, cinnamon, lemongrass, green tea, mango, lotus, orange and of course frangipani. You could also buy locally produced/grown food like Cambodian spices, Kampot pepper, coffee from Ratanakiri, wild honey and mango jam.

I asked Snufkin to pick something for him to buy and he chose a set of mini elephant-shaped soap, which to this day still stays in its packaging.



The shop with the nicest smell ever

Outside, you could also get free coffee or buy fresh sugar cane juice for USD1.

The products are reasonably priced. Best of all, they are not "made in China" as its raw ingredients and packaging materials are mostly sourced within Cambodia, so you will be supporting the local industry.

As a disclaimer, I would have to say that the above tours are free as they are probably banking on you to buy their products at the end of the tours. But you don't have to buy - just go for the tours and get yourself acquainted with Cambodian arts and crafts.

My only problem now is how to get a constant supply of the frangipani products from Malaysia!


Note:
Artisans Angkor - Address: Chantiers-Ecoles, Stung Thmey Street, Siem Reap 855500, Cambodia; Opening hours: 8.00 am – 5:00 pm (boutique closes at 5.30pm)

 

Free shuttle bus to the Angkor Silk Farm departs daily from the workshop at 9.30am and 1.30pm.
 

Senteurs d'Angkor - Address: No. 145, National Road No 6, Krous Village, Sangkat Svay Dangkum (Airport Road); Opening hours: 7.30 am - 5.30 pm daily