Siem Reap

A few kilometres from the temples of Angkor is the town of Siem Reap. This town serves as a base for visits to the monuments. The name Siem Reap means 'Siamese Defeated'. It is 6.4km south of Angkor Wat and 9.7km south of the Bayon.

The world-famous temples of Angkor, constitute one of humanity's most magnificent architectural achievements. From Angkor, the kings of the Khmer Empire ruled over a vast territory that extended from the tip of what is now southern Vietnam northward to Yunnan in China, and from Vietnam westward to the Bay of Bengal.

These 100 or so temples constitute the sacred skeleton of a much larger and spectacular administrative and religious centre whose houses, public buildings and palaces were constructed out of wood - now long decayed - because the right to dwell in structures of brick or stone was reserved for the gods.

The climate of Cambodia is governed by two monsoons. The cool, dry, north-eastem monsoon, which carries little rain and occurs from around November to April. From May to October, the south-western monsoon brings strong winds, high humidity and heavy rains. It rarely rains in the morning even during the wet season - most precipitation falls in the afternoon, and even then, only occasionally.