Post 9: A Cultural Evening in Siem Reap

Traditional dancers perform at the Jasmin Angkor Restaurant

Our first evening in Siem Reap, we asked Sat to recommend a restaurant that also might have a cultural show. He recommended the Jasmine Angkor Restaurant. He arranged for Net to pick us up and that evening we arrived at the restaurant which was completely lit with candles. We thought this was intended as romantic ambiance but it turned out that the electricity was out and they were making do.

The lights eventually returned so that we could see what the buffet was serving: many rice and noodle dishes, pho-type soups, lots of pork and fish dishes, and for dessert Cambodian ice cream. (coconut milk frozen in what appeared to be Tupperware plastic pop holders!)
The cultural show reminded us of those we've seen in Thailand and Malaysia.  Many similar dances and musical instruments. Girls dressed in glorious iridescent costumes with fabulous golden head-dresses looked just like the celestial maidens we had seen dancing on the walls of Angkor Wat. The music was performed by a traditional pinpeat ensemble with gongs and drums.
Sat met us and explained some of the dances. There were folk dances with fish baskets, flirtatious dances, court dances representing the Ramayana tale, the tinikling-all colorfully costumed.  Cambodians are handsome people & the women are gorgeous.

Traditional dancers in front of Angkor Wat backdrop

fish & rice basket dance


Pinpeat is an orchestra of wind and percussion instruments-gong-chimes and xylophones being the most important among them.



rice threshing -xylophone player on right



acting out a story from the Ramayana

Hanuman-the Monkey King

traditional finger and hand positions

I did not join these  beautiful dancers but I did buy a lovely Cambodian outfit made of grey and gold silk. At one of the temples I purchased a troh which is like the Chinese erhu, a 2-stringed fiddle. from an old gentleman. The resonator box is covered with python skin. Here I am at home, pretending to play it!