247 326
CAMBODIA
247
October14
D
id you know that tourists started trickling
to the Angkor temples and ruins around
Siem Reap as early as 1907? By the
mid-1920s there was a proposal to
construct five hotels throughout French Indochina
to host what was turning into a flood of visitors.
They even continued to come during the Great
Depression, with 1934 alone recording 2,817
tourists, mostly from America but also Europe.
Aside from the temples, hunting was a big
attraction; right up until the 1950s, Cambodian
“game” included wild buffalo, bears, elephants,
tigers and panthers. Thank goodness it’s all about
photography safaris today – I doubt if there’d be
many of the big game animals left to hunt, even if
someone wanted to.
For me, the appeal of Siem Reap is not just the
nearby temples, but also the fact that everything
is in one area, mostly within walking or
tuk tuk
distance. The markets are cheap and the haggling
By Rebecca Bisset
Exploring a little bit of everything – old and
new, grand and simple – on a short break
in Siem Reap.
A Holiday with
Michaela at Angkor Wat