DESTINATIONS CAMBODIA | ASIA


exper expert ASK THE Nikki Hain,


product manager for Cambodia, Premier Holidays


FROM FAR LEFT:


Banteay Srei; Cambodia Old


Town; Tribe artwork;


Pou restaurant; Mork Mengly; artist at Tribe;


Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor; Angkor Wat at sunset


PICTURES: Shutterstock/Mikecphoto, Guitar Photographer, Waj


“Set an alarm and visit Angkor Wat at sunrise for an experience that is both eerie and magical. Seeing the temples as the sun comes up makes for an amazing scene as the light bounces off the trees and the monks arrive to pray.”


it works). Head to the soundproofed karaoke rooms on the second floor to channel your inner rockstar.


20.00: Finish the night with a sundowner at the FCC Angkor by Avani (from £96 per night), which opened at the end of 2019. Formerly the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, the framed newspapers and antique typewriters in the bedrooms are a tribute to the bullet-dodging correspondents who came here to write up their stories during the war. Amenities include a beautiful saltwater pool and an exhibition space, regularly taken over by local galleries such as Tribe. You’ll find the gorgeous open-air bar in the plant-filled grounds. The cocktails are legendary, and there’s a fantastic selection of wines, sakes and craft beers, too.


DAY TWOi


08.00: Thousands of people get up early to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat, which means fewer people at other (equally


travelweekly.co.uk


spectacular) temples. A great spot to enjoy sunrise is 10th-century Banteay Srei, or Ta Prohm, where intricate carved faces peer out from the twisted tangles of knotted wood. Combine the latter with a visit to the nearby Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre. There’s a genuine emphasis on the preservation of natural habitats, and a commitment to improving the lives of locals through training and employment.


11.00: The often-overlooked Cambodian Landmine Museum, near Banteay Srey, provides a harrowing but fascinating insight into the process of landmine clearance. The museum was founded by Aki Ra, a Cambodian whose parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Aki Ra was forced to work as a child soldier, tasked with laying thousands of landmines. After the war he worked for the United Nations as a deminer, filling his home with defused bombs. In 1999 he started charging visitors $1 to see his collection, and the Cambodian Landmine Museum


was born. This small museum’s galleries take a no-holds-barred look at the devastation caused by landmines, a point hammered home by the mind-blowingly enormous displays of weapons Aki Ra has defused.


14.00: There are several social enterprise-based restaurants in Siem Reap, but the most famous is Spoons, which is a training facility for students from Egbok, a volunteer-based organisation set up to offer training and life skills to people from Cambodia’s poorest communities. Food is delicious and traditional – try the pan-fried red snapper served with beetroot dipping sauce, washed down with Kampot pepper-infused rice wine.


16.00: Time for some more retail therapy. Another example of a business paying an innovative nod


BOOK IT


Explore’s eight-day Cambodia Highlights tour includes three days in Siem Reap. From £665 per person, including accommodation but excluding flights. explore.co.uk


10 FEBRUARY 2022 43


to Cambodia’s troubled past, Ammo was founded in 2013 by British jeweller Madeline Green, who turns spent bullets into items of jewellery. Consider signing up for one of her jewellery-making masterclasses – you’ll learn how to heat bullets using a blowtorch and bellows, before cutting the metal and engraving it using traditional stamping tools.


18.00: As much as we love Pub Street, with its cheap pints of Angkor beer and marauding troupes of breakdancing buskers, exploring the side streets that lead off it will reap the biggest rewards. Finish your night at Miss Wong, a scarlet-hued, Shanghai-themed cocktail bar metres from Pub Street. Local ingredients rule the roost there. Try gin-based China White, made with jasmine tea syrup, lychees and Cinzano Bianco.


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