The Best of Cambodia & Laos

126
SIEM REAP
6
SHOPPING
Express Tours don’t even have offices in town, and must be booked through hotel front
desks.
• Neak Krorhorm Travel and Tours, just adjacent to the Old Market (east side;
& 063/964-924), is a good one for onward bus connections to rural stops like Battambang.
In fact, book with one of the other operators and you’ll likely end up waiting
for the bus out in front of these offices.
• PTM, right in the heart of the bar street near the Old Market (& 063/964-388; fax
063/965-486; www.ptm.com.kh) offers basic bus services and can book flights.
5 SHOPPING
Shopping in the Angkor temple town has boomed, and new boutiques pop up daily. The
old standbys, like the market and smaller boutiques, are also benefiting from increased
numbers of tourists and expats.
You can find good reproductions of temple statuary anywhere in town, but it’s a
pretty cumbersome buy unless Siem Reap is your last stop before, say, Bangkok and a
flight home. Rubbings of temple bas-reliefs can be found anywhere and are easily transported,
best in a light poster tube. Original artwork and photography are available at
every turn. Silk hangings and clothing are on sale in many boutiques, but “buyer beware”
of price and quality before making a big investment. The vendors below are the best of
many, and the Old Market area, where most are concentrated, is all within easy walking.
Don’t miss the chic FCC compound and its many upmarket shops and galleries.
You’ll find lots of small convenience stores in and around town. Star Mart is a familiar
convenience store open 24 hours (on the airport road), though just one among many. It’s
not a bad idea to stock up on a few snacks before a day of temple touring.
ARTS & CRAFTS
Beyond This place is indeed “beyond,” and parents should certainly heed the warning
at the door that within they will find explicit material. The artwork of owner Jerry Swaffield,
an Irishman and longtime expat, is wonderfully bizarre. A pastiche on Asian travel
and the state of the world in pen and ink drawings (like refined political cartoons), they are
odd and sometimes a bit vulgar. He also prints his own comic book about the typical visitor
in Cambodia (check the website at www.cheapcharliecomics.com). Swaffield also has a
collection of extreme photographs, set in a chaotic yet stylistic display, in the back room.
Images of Khmer Rouge cannibalism and atrocities as well as diseased figures are a bit
much for some. It’s a very unique collection not to be missed (but maybe just stay in the
front room). Open daily from 9am to 9pm. MasterCard and Visa accepted. At the FCC
Angkor, Pokambor Ave. & 063/760-609. beyondart@online.com.kh.
Carnets d’Asie Bookstore, boutique, gallery, and tea shop all in one, Carnets d’ Asie
features some rare finds, including works by local artists as well as fine temple reproductions
and statuary. The large, tinted photographs of Pier Poretti (also see his gallery in
Siem Reap; & 012/925-684) features large in the collection, with some classic views of
the temples as well as scenes of life in rural Cambodia. The large, open tea area at the
back of the gallery is a good place to meet with friends and have a look at your finds.
Open daily from 10am to 10pm. No. 333 Sivatha. & 063/746-701. www.carnetsdasie-angkor.
com.