Bayon Temple

Another must-visit is the Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom, built over the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

In contrast to the grand sprawl of Angkor Wat, the Bayon temple is compact, and its iconic giant smiling stone faces carved onto the towers of the temple are distinctive compared with other temples in the country, and are awe-inspiring.

There were once about 200 smiling stone faces carved into about 50 towers, but now there are only 37 towers left, and unfortunately, some of the smiling faces have faded.

The bas-reliefs of Bayon are also distinct, and depict scenes of daily life and religious mythology in Angkorian Cambodia.

Visitors are advised to enter the complex through the east gate, and tour in a clockwise direction, so the carvings present themselves in order of the storylines, with vivid scenes and details.

Banteay Srei, or the "Citadel of the Women", is a small square temple, but is also a must-visit, thanks to its high-quality carvings on pinkish sandstone. The carvings, covering almost every available inch of the sandstone, are very beautiful and intricate.

City pulse

Apart from temples, Siem Reap has more to offer.

For a start, there is the diverse environment and rich wildlife, and in the downtown, despite the absence of skyscrapers, bustling markets and street food vendors show the energy of the country.

The local circus troupe Phare, The Cambodian Circus, is also worth seeing.

Performers use theater, music, dance and modern circus arts to tell Cambodian stories, as their shows are inspired by real-life experiences and deal with themes such as war, discrimination, relationships, poverty and the supernatural.

The circus proceeds are used to educate children from poor families in performing arts and other crafts at Phare Ponleu Selpak, an NGO-run school in Battambang, Cambodia. Many of the graduates from the school work for the circus.

The country's capital city Phnom Penh has hidden treasures such as the old town area that has Chinese shophouses, French colonial buildings and "New Khmer Architecture" of the late 1950s and 1960s.

The Central Market, known as Psah Thmey, is a large structure in the shape of a dome with four branches. It was one of the largest markets in Asia when it opened in 1937.