We checked: The slow but steady return of Siem Reap is happening

Two years of lockdowns, constant roadwork and the absence of tourists due to the pandemic put Siem Reap in a very tough spot. And while many optimistic voices have spoken about an imminent comeback for the city, our recent visit to look at the situation on the ground says otherwise.

To read about visiting an empty Angkor Wat click here

Signs of life – Pub Street is back, kinda 

One of the best barometers of the state of Siem Reap’s economy is how the legendary Pub Street is doing. For the longest time it has resembled less a street of bars and more Beirut circa 1985. New Year’s however was an outlier in this. For one night at least, Pub Street was pumping.

Manager of trendy cocktail bar Picasso, Tom Kay, has this to say, “For one night at least things things felt like old times, excepting that 90 percent of the crowd were Khmer”. He added that while there have been more people around since New Year’s that it did not necessarily mean more money was being spent.

Kay noted in our chat, “There are more people in Siem Reap now but tourist levels still remain very low. More bars have reopened, but that translates into the customers that are here being spread more thinly”.

This was echoed by Tim Scott, the owner of the legendary Star Bar. He said, “Things are definitely better now but the local expat scene has still not recovered from the previous exodus of people. The locals tend to flock to places that have events, so you get the odd busy night, but generally speaking things are steady rather than crazy”. 

This was evident on the weekend Khmer Nights went bar hopping around the city. The icons of Pub Street were at best 10-20 percent full, even at 11pm on a Saturday night when things usually start to “kick-off”.

So while things were not exactly kicking during our visit, they do at least look more “normal”. The re-emergent presence of street hawkers, beggars and the infamous cocktail trucks speak to that.

Mr Pran, who served us an excellent Black Russian from his aptly named Van Bar, told Khmer Nights, “Things aren’t that busy yet but at least we are working and there are enough customers to make coming out worthwhile”.

City’s hotel sector is waking up steadily

Another “canary in the coal mine” that is showing hope, if not full recovery, is the hotel sector in Siem Reap. While the city-scape is still dominated by boarded up properties, many bigger players are making a return, as well as old hands that have managed to hang on by deep-discounting.

The Shinta Mani Angkor, which we were lucky enough to check out recently, is seeing promising bookings despite being at the highest end of the price scale. Chandra Oum, the Executive Assistant Manager of the property, told Khmer Nights, “We only recently reopened and while we have not heavily marketed yet, we are getting bookings from both local and foreign tourists”.

Nights at the Shinta Mani Angkor start at $200 for a standard room. An evening in a private Bensley Collection Pool Villa will set you back $990 and while this might sound a lot it does comes with the aforementioned private pool and your very own highly skilled butler.  OK, that still sounds like a lot for most of us. But maybe not so much to those used to living in that particular snack bracket. And for those of us not quite so flush? I’d hazard a guess that a taste of the high life may indeed prove a memorable “one-off” worth the dent in the wallet as the setting for one of life’s very special moments.

On the flip side of the coin, budget orientated operators are offering deals to help entice customers. Star Bar, for example, offers rooms at $45 a night. That price includes $20 in consumables credit that can be applied to purchases of food and/or beverages. A bargain indeed. 

So, after our short visit? It’s clear that things are starting to get better, if rather slowly. More importantly? There’s deals afoot in the “here and now” that won’t be around once Siem Reap is fully back on its feet again. 

	Siem Reap Cambodia
	https://www.cambodialifestyle.com/siem-reap-province/
	+855 9 678 01791

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