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Photo: tajai from malaysia, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This tiny museum was set up by local deminer Aki Ra to educate locals and tourists about the dangers of land mines. Piles of defused mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) lie around the site and the guides are mostly teenagers who were orphaned or injured by mines, many of whom live on-site. This is a very worthwhile attraction that brings home the scale of the problem and shows you a slice of real Cambodia. Used clearance charts from their demining operations are available for purchase at the gift shop, letting you buy the organization's waste to support their operations.
The Cambodia Landmine Museum is a museum in Siem Reap in Cambodia. It's not just a museum but an educational center that generates revenue to directly fund Landmine clearance in Cambodia. It also uses the funds to educate the kids and villagers to identify landmines and explosives and safely avoid any contact. Founded by a Cambodian humanitarian deminer Aki Ra the museum documents of one of the most inspiring true stories of hope and transformation. A story of himself as a child who was forced to plant landmines and kill and how he chose the path to remove more landmines than he had planted and made his life's mission to make Cambodia landmine and explosives free.
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Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre is a community development project and tourist destination just down the road from the Landmine Museum and Banteay Srey temple. Revenue from admissions is used to pay families in remote villages who are farming butterflies for the exhibit. The project makes a real difference to the farmers' livelihoods and provides a wonderful experience for visitors as they can see spectacular local butterfly species flying close at hand in a beautiful tropical garden.
The highest hill in the area. Temple ruins similar to those found atop of Phnom Krom and Phnom Bakong can also be found on top of Phnom Bok. It lies 20 km to the north east of Siem Reap. Expect a tiring hike up the stairs. A guard may be able to show you around. Don't forget to check out the old howitzers from the civil war. Admission is free, no pass is needed for the Angkorian ruins.
A demining organization that uses trained rats to sniff out land mines, a strategy which is much faster and safer than using metal detectors (if the rats step on a mine, they are too light to set it off). The visitor's center has guided tours including examples of land mines and UXO (unexploded ordnance) and a demonstration of how the rats find mines. The tour takes about 45 minutes and is a fascinating way to learn about the problem of land mines in Cambodia and support demining work. The guide's English may be hard to understand, but the demonstrations are so interesting, the tour is well worth doing anyway.
Beautifully kept gardens and mini zoo and playground with Rukha Cafe & Restaurant and a kids' library. A great place to visit just after visiting Apopo.
A large Buddhist temple. In the grounds is a stupa with glass sides contains bones and skulls of victims of Pol Pot's army. Be wary of people purporting to be guides or asking for donations. Also, several of the photographs on the display boards are actually of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. Take this attraction with a pinch of salt.
Explore the Cambodian countryside on a guided motorbike adventure or in a Jeep. On tour, get off the beaten path to discover authentic, rugged, and fascinating Cambodia. Sabai Moto and Jeep Adventures tours start from Siem Reap.