Siem Reap is the gateway to the temples of Angkor, Cambodia's spiritual and cultural heartbeat. A sleepy backwater until a few years ago, it is fast reinventing itself as a sophisticated centre for the new wave of visitors passing through each year, with restaurant and bar prices climbing weekly.

If Cambodia is hot right now, then Siem Reap is boiling over. It's the one place everyone hits during their visit, mainly due to its proximity to Angkor Wat. Pleasing remnants of the past, like French shop-houses, tree-lined boulevards and a gentle winding river, nestle up to pointers to the future.