Golden Temple Villa

As we stepped out of the impressive Siem Reap International Airport Terminal building, we watched as our fellow passengers boarded their tourist buses and cars from their hotel. I was thinking that the Cambodian hotels really provide great service since they fetch their customers at the airport. I realized that competition is really tough since each hotel is trying to outdo each other. We were admiring the terminal building when the guy from our hotel approached us.

Golden Temple Villa Guy Fetching Us

He was a Cambodian local in his twenties. He spoke a little English and carried a sign with our names on it. He then motioned us to follow him to our transportation. I was looking forward to riding an air-conditioned car to our hotel when it turns out all he had was — a humble tuk-tuk.

Bedroom

I started at our tuk-tuk in disbelief for a few moments. Apparently, my friend was also having the same thoughts and started laughing. We started taking pictures of our transport and loaded our luggage on the tuk-tuk. And we were on our way. The tuk-tuk is basically a motorcycle attached to a small carriage. Our carriage is good for two people and is cushioned so sitting on it was pretty comfortable.

Terrace To View Siem Reap

It was actually not a bad idea to experience riding the tuk-tuk here since we can see Siem Reap in all it’s glory – warts and all. There is a nice paved highway from the airport to Siem Reap itself. The highway is lined with huge palatial hotels. Big hotel names all sit side by side each other along the highway. I find it a little depressing to see these huge castles and knowing how poor the country actually is. Then again, these hotels just may be the Cambodian people’s ticket out of poverty.

The Hallway

Siem Reap is a simple town. There are not a many high rises, in fact, one would be hard pressed to find a place that is more than ten stories high. There is a river that runs though it and there are a lot of bars and hotels along it. Our tuk-tuk then entered a small road and stopped outside a nice little hotel – the Golden Temple Villa.

Statue Outside the Building

The hotel is just off a main road of Siem Reap and is within walking distance of the restaurants and Siem Reap market. The hotel itself seems to be quite new, as everything seems to be well maintained. There is a Khmer statue along the driveway. The lobby is a little small, and there doesn’t seem to be space to hand around. Just off the side of the reception counter is a room with computers for guests to surf the internet. After checking in, we went to our room to leave our stuff.

Small Pond

The room was on the second floor. Along the way, we saw a lot of tastefully done decorations, this was a nice hotel. Our room was quite small but it has two beds, TV, an attached bathroom and air-conditioning. Just like the airport terminal, the room has a touch of native design to it. And all of it was tastefully done. The bathroom even has hot water. And finally, our TV actually has cable TV. I wasn’t really expecting that for a budget place like this.

Street Outside Golden Temple Villa

For anyone coming to Siem Reap for the temples and are on a budget, Golden Temple Villa is certainly great value. The staff is very friendly and would not hesitate to practice their English and help you at the same time. Location is also great since it is right at Siem Reap unlike the big hotels outside the town center along the highway. I would actually prefer this than staying in those big hotels since they are quite far from the town center. Besides, there is nothing beside those big hotels.

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Tags: bedroom, Cambodia, Golden Temple Villa, hotel, Siem Reap, statue, town, tuk-tuk