If you love strolling, walking and eating at night markets, then you’ll have a wonderful time in Siem Reap. You can be up early in the morning around 6 am to do your shopping at markets or in the evening there are shops offering a broad mix of stalls and booths, selling traditional Cambodian crafts, clothing, silk, jewelry, paintings and other souvenirs.
Night Market: Angkor Night Market is also designed to give visitors a secure and enjoyable shopping and dining experience in a vibrant, contemporary Khmer environment. Both these night markets offer a wide variety of stalls offering a diverse range of goods and services. A ‘must visit’ when in the vicinity.
Psar Leu/High Market: is a sprawling, covered workaday market where prices are low, the air is surprisingly fragrant, and where you don’t get asked for a dollar every time you try to take a photograph.
For the real thing you need to venture slightly further afield to Siem Reap’s Psar Leu or Higher Market, about three kilometres from Old Market on National Road 6, in the direction of Phnom Penh. Every tuk tuk driver knows where it is and the fare should cost you no more than $5 return, including waiting time. If you are up to it you can cycle and leave your mechanical steed in the shade of the covered supervised parking lot out front for a one-off fee of 500 riel.
Siem Reap Art Center Market: is located on the east bank of the Siem Reap River, right opposite the Old Market (Phsar Chas). Since its opening in 2012, this market offers a broad mixture of locally manufactured products like silk, handicrafts, crocodile leather, clothing and many other souvenirs. Like with most night bazaars, there are also a couple of restaurants on-site which offer a fine combination of Khmer and Western food. Free wifi is available and payments by credit card are possible. You can also enjoy a free Apsara dance show performed every day from 20.00 till 21.00. When you come from the Old Market, just cross one of the wooden bridges over the river and you’ll find yourself at the entrance of the market.
Pub Street: The liveliest areas in Siem Reap after dark are Pub Street, the Old Market area, the alley and lane off Pub Street, and the Night Market area. Most venues are frequented by either tourists or expats, but some establishments attract both types of customers. Closing times vary widely, and range from about 12 midnight for those places that are restaurant-bar combinations, to the early hours of the morning for hardcore bars.
No matter what your taste, for both drinking and dining, there are many venues to choose from for a fun evening out. While the nightlife in Siem Reap doesn’t even come close to that of Thailand, or even Phnom Penh, you should be able to find what you are looking for. From intimate and stylish places for a quiet cocktail, to Khmer disco type paces with very loud music, to bars with very attentive ladies, there is something for everyone. See below for a few venues we have reviewed for you.