It has bee a tradition since earliest days of tourism in the 19th century to treat visitors to Siem Reap with an Apsara dance performance-a taste of living Khmer culture. No visit to Cambodia is complete without attending at least one performance.
Traditional Khmer dance is better described as “dance drama” in that the dance are not merely dance but are also meant to convey a story or message. There are four main modern genres of traditional Khmer dance. 1) Classical dance.2) Show theater.3)Lakhon Khol(all-male masked dance-drama).4)Folk dance.
Artisans d’ Angkor At National Silk Center
Set aside a couple of hours to visit the National Silk Center. The Silk Farm is a fascinating farm/workshop where you can see the entire silk creation process including growing the food for the silk worms( mulberry bushes), breeding the worms, silk extraction, spinning and refinement, traditional dying, pattern creation, and looming. It’s a very interesting and educational tour well worth the time to dive out to the silk farm. Retail silk/souvenir shop from Artisans d’Angkor.Open 8:00am – 5:30 Pm.
Tonle Sap Lake
Cambodia’s great Lake, the Boeung Tonle Sap(Tonle Sap Lake) is the most prominent feature on the map of Cambodia, a huge dumbbell-shaped body of water stretching across the northwest section of the country. In the wet season, the Tonle Sap Lake is one of largest freshwater lake in Asia, swelling to an expansive 12,000 Km2. During the dry half of the year the shrinks to as small as 2500 Km2, draining into the Tonle Sap River, which meanders southeast, eventually merging with Mekong River at the “Chaktomuk” confluence of rivers opposite Phnom Penh. But during the wet season a unique hydrologic phenomenon causes the river to reverse direction, filling the lake instead of draining it.
Cambodia Cultural Village
A unique, sprawling cultural attraction, intened to introduce the visitor to Cambodia culture and history. Interesting wax museum features scenes and figures from history. Large park area with 1/20th scale models of important cultural sites and landmarks. Full scale models of a variety of Cambodia architectural types. Live shows traditional dance performances and music. Entrance $12 9:00 am – 9:00 pm.
Mine Museum
Years of the war have brought Cambodia one of the worst landmine problems in the world. The Cambodia Land Mine Museum and Relief Facilities contains exhibits displaying information and a variety of defused mines, bombs and other ordinance. The creator and proprietor of the museum , Akira worked as a deminer in the recent years. He is sometime on hand to provide personal tours and tell of his experiences as a young soldier. Located 28 km of Siem Reap.
Army Shooting Range
It’s near Banteay Srey and Kbeal Span. Armament and explosives availability apparently is only limited by how much you are willing to spend. Listening to the soldiers-turned-used car salesmen put the hard sell on a new machine gun is almost worth the trip. This is a true game of Russian roulette - fancy pulling the pin of a 30 years old grenade and possibly getting the faulty one? Make sure that whoever is supervising you is also willing to stand next to you! $30+ per round. Grenade throwing: $30.
War Museum
The War museum has tanks and other war artifacts from previous wars and it is located just off National Road No.6 to Siem Reap airport on the right hand side, where you will see a big sign when to turn off. The war museum is US$3 to enter and opens from 8:00am to 5:30pm daily. The war museum is not as popular as the Land Mine Museum, but may be more interesting to some people. The price of a tuk tuk to the museum is between US$6 and US$7 for a return trip.
