International Traveller - Wont you take me to Temple

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Hot
List
Won’t you take me to
Temple Town?
Clockwise from top left:
A monk hitches a ride on
the back of a motorcyle
on the streets of Siem
Reap || The pool-side bar
at Shinta Mani Resort ||
Sunset over rice paddies
|| A statue on the balcony
of a traditional Khmer
timber house.
Chic boutiques, fashionable restaurants,
modish cafés and bars, and lavish hotels;
Siem Reap resident Lara Dunston shows you
how to experience ‘Temple Town’ in style.
Photography by Terence Carter.
E
nchanting Angkor Wat and
the other Khmer empire
archaeological sites are
what draw travellers to the
delightful city of Siem Reap,
one of Southeast Asia’s
hottest destinations right
now. It’s what brought me here for the first
time four years ago. But increasingly it’s
the town itself that keeps visitors here
– the colonial architecture, leafy French
Quarter and laidback riverside that inspire
people to linger longer once they’re done
scrambling over temples. Siem Reap’s chic
boutiques, artisanal crafts, atmospheric
bars and superb restaurants are providing
stiff competition to the ancient structures
down the road. So once you’ve seen the
sights, you definitely need to stay a few days
to discover the stylish side of Siem Reap.
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Chic Shopping With a Conscience
So, where to start? Perhaps make a beeline for
Eric Raisina Haute Texture (ericraisina.com)
at Charming City: Madagascan-born Raisina
worked for Yves Saint Laurent and Christian
Lacroix in Paris before establishing his atelier in
Siem Reap. His style is distinguished by vibrant
colour, texture, his trademark silk ‘fur’ and
raffia ‘lace’. Raisina’s fluffy organza handbags
are the quintessential Siem Reap souvenir.
Beside the Royal Palace at Ambre,
Cambodian-French designer Romyda Keth’s
(romydaketh.net) bold feminine fashion
exudes 1940s Hollywood-style glamour.
Also Paris-trained, Romyda uses exquisite
Cambodian silk, satin and organza, with details
such as embroidery, buttons and ruffles.
Across the Royal Gardens, secreted
away within Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor,
are Cambodian-French Nathalie Saphon
Ridel’s elegant stores: Galerie Cambodge
(galeriecambodge.com) supports sustainable,
fair-trade projects that produce beautiful
things, from handmade leather flip-flops
to light-as-a-feather shirts, while the
adjacent Khmer Attitude (khattitude.
com) showcases Cambodian-designed
fashion, jewellery and accessories.
Ridel is a supporter of Weaves of
Cambodia (weavescambodia.com), located in
the sleek visitors' centre at Angkor Hospital for
Children, where 100 per cent of the sales go
to the landmine survivors who hand-spin, -dye
and -weave the wonderful textiles on offer.
Nearby, on the riverside at the Foreign
Correspondents Club Angkor (FCC)
is a handful of chic shops. Australian
Cassandra McMillan and New Zealander
Kellianne Karatau’s Jasmine Boutique
( jasmineboutique.net) stocks elegant
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raw-silk frocks, scarves and purses that
team well with the hand-painted mango
wood bangles and vintage Asian jewellery
available from WA Gallery (facebook.com/
WA.Gallery.concept.store), all of which has
been collected by the French owners, Marie
Fabre and Frédéric Escudier, on their travels.
Around the corner at Cassia
(cassiacambodia.com) beside Shinta Mani
Resort, a complex of boutiques in glass
cubes (stunningly illuminated at night) houses
branches of WA Gallery and Eric Raisina, along
with outposts of Garden of Desire jewellery
and Theam’s, making it a great one-stop shop
if time is tight. If not, visit Theam’s House
(theamshouse.com), a studio where Theam’s
artisans work out the back on everything
from lacquerware to life-sized paintings.
You’ll find Cambodian jeweller Ly
Pisith’s original Garden of Desire shop
(gardenofdesire-asia.com) in the colonial heart of
Siem Reap on The Passage. Pisith lost his family
to the murderous Khmer Rouge regime and as
a young orphan fled to Paris. After graduating
with a fine arts degree, he worked as a designer
for Alain Mikli and Philippe Starck. Each piece
of his handcrafted jewellery tells a story.
Chic stores set in renovated old Chinese
shop-houses dot the streets around Old
Market. Highlights include the Khmer
Ceramics and Fine Arts Centre
(khmerceramics.com) for replicas of Angkorera objects, from beaded jewellery to
bowls; Smateria (smateria.com), which
sells stylish totes, handbags, clutches, and
purses made from recycled, eco-friendly
materials; and Australian-owned Wild Poppy
(+855 0 77 568 874), which has pretty
cotton frocks and loose linen pants and
shirts made for Cambodia’s sticky heat.
Opposite Old Market, the aromatic gifts
at Senteurs d’Angkor (senteursdangkor.
com) are inspired by Cambodia’s olfactory
and culinary heritage, including soaps,
incense and candles, scented with
lemongrass, frangipani and jasmine, curry
spice mixes, Kampot pepper, and coffee
from the eastern province of Ratanakiri.
Hidden above bohemian French expat
hangout Laundry Bar is Christine’s
(christines-store.com). It’s worth climbing
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the steep stairs for the stunning jewellery,
accessories and clothing Christine has
sourced from Cambodia, Asia and
beyond. I love Mitsou’s line of Frenchdesigned Cambodian-made clothes
and Phnom Penh-based Waterlily’s
jewellery created from recycled cables,
buttons and other bits and pieces.
If you’re in Siem Reap on a weekend,
skip the tacky night markets and hit the
Made In Cambodia Market
(madeincambodia.weebly.com), held
out the front of Shinta Mani Resort, for
creative jewellery made from recycled
brass bullet casings by Jivit Thmey, Ammo
Designs and Sao Mao; eco-accessories
by Can’Art, including groovy ’70s-style
bags made from woven aluminium
can ring pulls; and wallets, purses and
jewellery made from recycled newspapers
and magazines by Friends’n’Stuff, the
retail arm of Friends International, which
rescues marginalised young people from
the streets and trains and employs them
in its workshops and restaurants.
Tucked in the gritty backstreets
between Old Market and the French
Quarter is an increasingly hip little district
centred around Hup Guan Street. Louise
Loubatieres (louiseloubatieres.com) is
a concept store crammed with colourful
things from Cambodia and Southeast Asia,
from vibrant lacquer trays to crocheted
key rings. Quirky Trunkh (facebook.com/
trunkh) has a carefully curated collection
of idiosyncratic objects, from retro handpainted vintage shop signs to elephant
travel pillows. You can escape the humidity
and recharge at the new Little Red Fox
(thelittleredfoxespresso.com) hair saloncum-café with Siem Reap’s first cold-drip
coffee, brewed by an Aussie barista, before
popping upstairs for a cut and colour. For
a sugar rush, head around the corner for
cupcakes at Blossom (blossomcakes.org).
Finish off with a short tuk-tuk ride along
the riverside to The 1961 (the1961.com),
a cutting-edge gallery, light-filled café, and
co-working space in a ’60s-era villa where
you can purchase art, photography, mixed
media installations and arty souvenirs.
We'll Drink to that
Good coffee can be found at Australian-owned
Café Central (thecafecentral.com), opposite
Old Market, and nearby sister café, The
Sun. Both boast colonial-style, mismatched
furniture and big picture windows. A couple
of blocks away in a lovingly restored Chinese
shop-house, breezy New Leaf Book Café
(facebook.com/NewLeafCafe.org) also does
great coffee. The books that fill the shelves
lining the walls can be bought or exchanged.
Across the river there’s retro newcomer
Pages Café (pages-siemreap.com), part
of a complex also including a library and
boutique rooms, designed by the architect
couple behind Asma Architects who are
responsible for the sleek AHA restaurantwine bar, John McDermott gallery and Hotel
Be Angkor. Also new on this side of the river
is the atmospheric Indochine-chic Cour de
Maison (facebook.com/courdemaison), a
café and bakery in a romantic airy space with
antique Chinese doors and Art Deco furniture.
In the lovely French Quarter, within the
striking old governor’s mansion, the Foreign
Correspondents Club (fcccambodia.com)
courtyard bar is brilliant for sundowners. If
it’s raining, slip upstairs to the lounge, which
oozes colonial charm with its ceiling fans
and shutters. The historic Elephant Bar
at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor (raffles.
com/siemreap) is worth dressing up for to
soak up the heritage atmosphere. Order the
signature cocktail: a coconut-based Airavata.
You can try infused rice spirits at
Sombai’s (sombai.com) smart tasting rooms
in a traditional timber Cambodian bungalow,
or learn how to make Khmer cocktails
using Cambodian spices, herbs, roots, and
fruits at the laidback Asana Bar (asanacambodia.com), housed in the last antique
house to be found in the heart of town.
Around the corner on The Lane, Miss Wong
(misswong.net) is an atmospheric bar with
décor evoking Old Shanghai, tasty dim sum in
bamboo steamers, and potent Asian cocktails
such as the jasmine-based China White.
fare's fair
Reserve a table ahead of time to savour Joannès
Rivière’s meticulously presented modern
«
Tucked in the gritty
backstreets between
Old Market and the
French Quarter is
an increasingly hip
little district.
Clockwise from top left:
The dining room of AHA
restaurant || Silk beads
at Louise Loubatieres'
store || Weaves of
Cambodia boutique ||
New Leaf book café.
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Clockwise from top left:
Monolith restaurant at Sala
Lodges || A modern take on
the traditional dish fish
amok || A room at Maison
Polanka || Swimming pool at
Shinta Mani Resort.
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*a i r fa r e s a r e c o r r e c t at t i m e o f p r i n t a n d s u b j e c t t o c h a n g e .
Enjoy sundowners
in the lovely French
Quarter, within the
striking old governor’s
mansion. If it’s raining, slip upstairs to the
lounge, which oozes
colonial charm with
its ceiling fans
and shutters.
Cambodian food at Cuisine Wat Damnak
(cuisinewatdamnak.com), easily the country’s
finest restaurant. The tasting menus change
weekly according to what’s in season and what
market produce appeals to chef Jo.
At Chanrey Tree (chanreytree.com), in a
sleek contemporary space, you can try refined
renditions of authentic dishes, including owner
Kann Soan’s mother’s recipes, such as ‘prahok
ktish’, a fermented fish and minced pork dip.
Dine on the verandah of a big old timber
bungalow at Sugar Palm (thesugarpalm.
com), where you can taste hearty homestyle Cambodian food, such as the national
dish, fish amok. Cambodian-Kiwi chef and
owner Kethana Dunnet is famous for having
taught Gordon Ramsay about Cambodian
food while he was here. You can try creative,
contemporary Cambodian tapas, like red
ant fritters, in the garden at Marum (treealliance.org), a hospitality training restaurant
for disadvantaged young people.
Cambodian Pola Siv studied in Switzerland
and worked in a Michelin-star restaurant before
opening Mie Café (miecafe-siemreap.com).
The menu features Cambodian classics
presented in a European style and French
dishes with a Cambodian touch, such as
French lava cake with local spices.
Chef Por, another local, worked his way up
from being a noodle stallholder to co-owning
his first restaurant, the sleek Por Cuisine
(porcuisine.com), which opened in early 2014.
Expect refined Khmer dishes plated westernstyle, and European classics with a local twist,
such as a fresh roasted tomato soup with
Cambodian herbs.
Similarly, newcomer Mahob Khmer
(mahobkhmer.com), chef and owner Sothea
Seng’s second restaurant, offers a modern take
on traditional Khmer cuisine, including creative
revamps of recipes not normally found on
restaurant menus.
check in here
COMFORTABLE
Maison Polanka: Spread across two
traditional Khmer timber houses, six light-filled
rooms are decorated with retro Cambodian
furniture, art and antiques that the CambodianFrench owner has collected on her travels.
There’s also a swimming pool set amid lush
gardens. From $195 a night, minimum twonight stay; maisonpolanka.com
Foreign Correspondents Club: This
sleek boutique hotel, hidden behind the
handsome old French governor’s mansion,
has contemporary, minimalist rooms that
overlook the pool or garden. From $146 per
night; fcccambodia.com
Shinta Mani Resort and Club: Designed
by famed Bangkok-based American interior
designer Bill Bensley, these affordable boutique
properties look grand and extravagant yet feel
intimate. The resort boasts one of Siem Reap’s
biggest swimming pools. From $122 per night;
shintamani.com
LUXURY
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor: Opened in
the 1920s this hotel has atmospheric heritage
rooms, the original antique elevator, frangipanifilled gardens, and a colossal swimming pool
that is reason enough to stay. From $322 per
night; raffles.com/siem-reap
Sala Lodges: These traditional timber houses
were sourced from around Cambodia,
dismantled and reassembled to create this
beautiful property, which is charmingly
decorated with rustic furniture, handmade
Cambodian quilts, and contemporary rocking
chairs. From $340 per night; salalodges.com
Belmond La Residence d’Angkor: Boasting
verdant tropical gardens, tranquil ponds and a
deep green pool, this former Orient-Express
hotel takes its inspiration from traditional Khmer
architecture. From $444 per night; belmond.
com/la-residence-d-angkor-siem-reap
Park Hyatt: Also designed by Bill Bensley, the
flamboyant style here is inspired by Art Deco
and Angkor-era temples with highlights
including the soaring 20-metre high atrium and
a courtyard with still ponds and swinging seats.
From $452 per night; siemreap.park.hyatt.com
surrounding villages to gain an insight into
local life. Here are our picks for some great
guided tours:
Beyond Unique Escapes (beyond
uniqueescapes.com) runs private temple
tours in air-conditioned vehicles, as well as
transformational experiences, including an
'Escaping the Crowds' small group tour or
two-hour 'Treak Village Walk and Talk', where
you engage with locals and participate in
village life, doing everything from weaving
thatch to harvesting rice. Beyond donates
a portion of each ticket to projects that help
pull the villages out of poverty: new houses,
a clinic, sewing centre, and English school.
Asia-based Backyard Travel
(backyardtravel.com) offers authentic luxury
tours, including a 'Siem Reap in Style'
itinerary that takes in remote temple ruins like
pretty Banteay Srei, the poignant Landmine
Museum, fascinating silk farm Golden Silk
Pheach, and a night at the Cirque du Soleilstyle Phare Cambodian Circus. It also offers
insider experiences such as a private cooking
class at the country home of CambodianKiwi chef Kethana Dunnet, and a champagne
sunset cruise on a traditional gondola.
HANDY TIPS
• While it’s not luxe, Air Asia (airasia.com)
has some of the best connections from
Australian airports via Kuala Lumpur or
Bangkok to Siem Reap from $308 each
way.*
• Cambodian riels are given as small
change, but USD is the main currency.
• Visas (US$30) are issued on arrival at
SPLASHING OUT
Amansara: In Siem Reap’s 1960s heyday, King
Norodom Sihanouk entertained statesmen and
film stars at his modernist guesthouse, now the
24 minimalist suites of this most exclusive of
accommodation have private pools. Brad and
Angelina have stayed here. From $1338 per
night; amanresorts.com
Siem Reap airport; bring crisp US notes
and two passport photos.
• Hotel prices drop up to 50 per cent during
the low season (June–November).
• Air-conditioned cars can be hired for
around $35 a day. Tuk-tuks ($1–2 for short
trips) are more fun for temple tours (up to
$18 for one day).
• Angkor Passes cost from $24 for one day
Sights and Activities in Style
and from $49 for three days.
Of course you’ll still want to see the stupendous
UNESCO World Heritage-listed Angkor
Wat while you're here, and get out to the
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