This photo journal, part of the Siem Reap series, features another major wat & a selection of miscellaneous photos taken around town. I will feature the colorful northeast side of the river in the next journal.

The name Siem Reap means ‘Siam Defeated’, hardly the most tactful name for a major city near Thailand (Siam is today’s Thailand). The empire of Angkor once included much of modern-day Thailand, but there’s a touch of irony about the name, given that Thailand ultimately defeated Cambodia & controlled Siem Reap & Angkor from 1794 to 1907.

Siem Reap was little more than a village when French explorers discovered Angkor in the 19th century. With the return of Angkor to Cambodian, or should that be French, control in 1907, Siem Reap began to grow, absorbing the first wave of tourists. The Grand Hotel d’Angkor opened its doors in 1929 and the temples of Angkor remained one of Asia’s leading draws until the late 1960s, luring visitors including Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Kennedy.

In 1975, however, the population of Siem Reap, along with the other cities & towns in Cambodia, was evacuated by the communist Khmer Rouge & driven into the countryside. Buddhism suffered repression during those years. Religious beliefs of any kind were banned by the Khmer Rouge and anyone caught practicing a religious faith was persecuted. With the arrival of peace, the Khmer people quickly set about building new temples, reviving old traditions, & celebrating the Buddhist holy days. Local shrines came back into use.

Cambodia’s history, & the memories of its people, are now colored by the spectre of the brutal Khmer Rouge Regime. Because of the war, Cambodia, as well as Siem Reap, entered a long slumber from which it only began to awake in the mid-1990s. Since Pol Pot's death in 1998, relative stability & a rejuvenated tourist industry have been important steps in an important, if tentative, journey forward to recovery.

Tourism is the lifeblood of Siem Reap, but without careful management, it could be trouble. There are promising signs that developers are learning from the mistakes that have blighted other regional hot spots, with restrictions on the height of hotels & bus sizes. Either way, Angkor is centre stage on the world travel map right now and there is no going back for its supply line, Siem Reap.