Safety in Siem Reap

Siem Reap is a small city by global standards, with just around 180,000 inhabitants. Nevertheless it is Cambodia’s second largest city and the fastest growing in terms of tourism and economic growth. There is a laidback charm to it and except inside raucous pubs, a rustic atmosphere pervades the air. Such compactness provides a provincial haven for living, but the town is not the virtually crime-free refuge as it once was more than a decade back. However, if you take a look at the number of robberies in proportion to the hundreds of thousands of tourists flocking to the city, you would realize that the crime rate is relatively lower.

Despite this, robberies that seemed to be all too prevalent in neighboring huge cities of Saigon and Bangkok, and even Phnom Penh, have become an occasional occurrence in the streets across town. Watch out for motorcyclists riding in tandem, usually two young men on the lookout for unsuspecting pedestrians and snatching their bags off. Incidents like these happen during the evenings or right after an excursion from Angkor Wat at sunset. If you are taking a moto-romauk (two-person motorbike taxi) make sure your belongings are inside and right in front of you. If you are riding a motodop (motorcycle taxi) tuck in your bag to your front.

Basic guesthouses and hostels bear basic security features, so when staying especially at the ground floor make sure your stuff are properly secured. Smaller gadgets like cellphones and cameras can be fished out surreptitiously by thieves using hooks when windows are left open by unmindful tourists who rely on metal grills covering the windows. There were reports that locked screen windows can be slashed even in the wee hours of the morning while the victim is sleeping. Despite this supposed scare, majority of the break-ins and robberies are perpetrated against expatriates rather than on tourists.

Overall, despite constant changes Siem Reap still lords it safety-wise over the seemingly stable Phnom Penh to the southeast. If ever it will be a few guesthouse owners who will coax you into believing that it is a dangerous world out in the streets of town and that it would be better to take your dinner and drink inside their establishment.

Illicit activities of various sorts litter the streets, and though they are not crimes per se, they are scams nonetheless. Watch out for beggars asking for help and lead you to stores to buy them medicines and baby formula, only to be sold back to the store when you leave. Be on alert with convincing youngsters soliciting funds for a local orphanage as well as convenience stores handing out incorrect change.

Siem Reap is still in a bucolic portion of Cambodia and further out of town in the midst of the countless temples and monuments, various animals lurk. Pythons, green tree pit viper, asiatic cobra and even the king cobra are endemic in the region. If you have watched Animal Planet, you will know of course that these animals attack only when provoked, so the chances of you getting bit by snakes are remote. Still, extra caution should be observed when peering through stones and trees in the temple grounds.

Health wise, dengue fever appears to be the most threatening disease that someone could contract when in Siem Reap. As a tropical city drenched in monsoon rains for the better part of the year, mosquitoes thrive with dangerous bites that could send a victim to high fever and chills and possibly death. Malaria is not actually a problem in the city, but beyond the areas of Angkor, this disease could pose a threat.

If you worry about being kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge, that thought might just be urban legend, as this group was destroyed back in 1998. Only rogue elements could stage a kidnap, and unless you are a millionaire or a significant local, then there is no need to fret.

While Cambodia has made serious strides in demining the entire country after the reign of the Khmer Rouge, the areas outside the Angkor Archaeological Park could still be littered with landmines. The hinterlands such as Kbal Spean and Phnom Kulen still have mines so extra caution should be practiced when venturing out. Walk only through marked trails and go where most people go. Your stay in Siem Reap will be a much safer and enjoyable holiday, though, with a balanced common sense and a bit of a carefree attitude.