The People Who Shape a Place
One of the best parts of our time in Siem Reap wasn’t just where we went, but the people who became part of our daily rhythm along the way.
Some of the most meaningful parts of our time in Siem Reap weren’t the temples or activities we planned ahead of time.
They were the smaller moments in between.
The conversations. The familiar faces. The people who slowly became part of our daily rhythm while we were there.
For us, a lot of those moments centered around Mr. Sokhom.
Finding Our Rhythm
We first met Mr. Sokhom not long after arriving in Siem Reap.
His teaching job was on break for Khmer New Year, so he was driving his remorque full time while school was out.
At first, we simply hired him for rides around town.
But over the days that followed, we kept calling him back.
Traveling with kids in the heat gets tiring, and having someone familiar made daily logistics easier.
Over time, we fell into a natural rhythm.
A Day at Tonlé Sap Lake
Visiting Tonlé Sap during the dry season gave us a different perspective on how much life here changes throughout the year.
One day, Mr. Sokhom took us out to Tonlé Sap Lake.
We were visiting during the dry season, and the water levels were low. As we moved through the area, he pointed out the water line along the buildings, showing us how high it rises during the wet season.
It was one of those details that helped us understand the rhythm of life there more clearly.
As we passed through, we saw children walking home from school. Many of them smiled and waved as we went by, friendly and curious about the visitors passing through.
Many of the children we passed smiled and waved as we moved through the area.
There were parts of the area that stayed with us, too.
We didn’t try to explain everything or overanalyze it. We simply took it in quietly and let the kids ask questions as they came.
We stopped for lunch out on the lake, where our boat driver took us to a small floating restaurant, and after a while, we made our way back.
Then it was back into Mr. Sokhom’s trusty remorque and back to Side Walk Hotel.
The Seed Pods
Somewhere along the way, helicopter seed pods became part of the trip too.
During one of our days exploring Angkor, everyone was getting a little hot and tired, and moods were starting to shift.
Mr. Sokhom picked up a handful of seed pods and started tossing them with our son, showing him how to get them to spin just right.
What started as a small moment with helicopter seed pods became one of the memories our son talked about most afterward.
It was such a small thing.
But it changed the mood almost instantly.
After that, the seed pods became a running interaction between the two of them throughout the rest of our stay—trading them back and forth, testing different ones, and seeing which worked best.
It became one of the small moments we kept remembering afterward.
An Evening We Won’t Forget
Toward the end of our time in Siem Reap, we asked Mr. Sokhom if he and his family would like to join us for dinner.
He suggested an Apsara dance performance with a traditional dinner, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our stay.
Meeting his family added a completely different layer to the experience.
What could have been just another evening out became more personal—shared conversation, familiar faces, and a connection that had grown over the time we spent together.
Watching the performance alongside them made the evening feel even more personal.
It wasn’t just about the food or the show.
It was about the people we were sharing it with.
What Stayed With Us
We came to Siem Reap expecting to remember the temples.
And we do.
But when we look back on our time there, it’s often the smaller moments that come back first.
The remorque rides.
The seed pods.
The conversations.
The people.
Those are the parts of Siem Reap we carried with us afterward.
Before You Go
If you’re just starting to plan your time in Siem Reap, you can also read:
Siem Reap with Kids: Arrival, First Impressions & Settling In
The Curious Compass Co.™ 