Siem Reap province is located in northwest Cambodia. It is Cambodia’s central tourist hub, the closest city to the world-famous temples of Angkor. The Angkor temple complex is north of the town. The provincial capital, also called Siem Reap, is located south of the province on the shores of the Tonle Sap Lake, the most significant freshwater reserve in Southeast Asia. The city’s name means Siamese defeated, referring to the victory of the Khmer Empire over the army of the Thai kingdom in the 17th century.

At the turn of the millennium, Siem Reap was a Cambodian provincial town with few facilities, minor surfaced roads, and little in the way of nightlife. The tourism industry catered primarily to hardy backpackers willing to brave the tortuous road from the Thai border on the tailgate of a local pick-up truck. There were a couple of large hotels and a handful of budget guesthouses. Tuk-tuks and taxis were nonexistent, and the trusty motodup was the chosen means of touring the temples of Angkor.

The proximity of the Angkorian ruins has turned Siem Reap into a boomtown and a testament to the power of human endeavor. In less than half a decade, enormous, expensive hotels have sprung up everywhere, and budget hotels have mushroomed. Property values have soared to European levels, and tourism has become a lucrative industry. The Siem Reap of today is a living, breathing example of the transformative power of tourism, barely recognizable from the Siem Reap of the year 2000.

Though some of the town’s previous ramshackle charm may have been lost, the developments of the last few years have brought many of its citizens livelihoods, if not significant wealth. This has been at a cost to the underprivileged people living within and beyond the town’s limits, who now pay inflated prices at the central markets and continue to survive on poorly paid subsistence farming and fishing. If Cambodia is a country of contrasts, Siem Reap is the embodiment of those contrasts. Despite the massive shift in its economic fortunes, Siem Reap remains a safe haven, a friendly face in a bustling world. There is an endless choice of places to stay or dine and a host of possible activities awaiting the visitor.