Siem Reap in the Rain: One Last Walk Before I Fly Out

The rain showed up right on schedule. I've been in Siem Reap long enough now to know the pattern — the heat builds all afternoon, the sky goes heavy and grey, and sometime after dark the whole thing finally lets go. A couple of days from now I'm flying back to the States for a stretch before I come back, so I figured I'd take advantage of the timing and walk a few of the popular streets while they were still soaked.

Turns out a wet street is a better street, at least to look at. Dry, this is just another night market strip — money exchange booths, tuk-tuk drivers, the usual neon. Add a layer of rain and the whole road turns into a mirror. Every sign, every streetlight, every red umbrella doubles itself in the puddles. The asphalt stops being asphalt and starts being something closer to a black lake with the city poured across it.

From there I made my way over toward Pub Street, which is where Siem Reap really shows off after dark.

The big arch was doing its thing, throwing pink and blue down the length of the road, and with the ground soaked it all came back up twice as bright. Most people were tucked under awnings or hauling umbrellas, the street quieter than a dry night. I didn't mind. Fewer bodies in the frame, more room for the colors to breathe.

This is the shot I kept coming back to. The reflections ran the whole length of the road like someone spilled a paint set — green, yellow, red, blue, all of it smeared across the wet stone and wobbling whenever a tuk-tuk rolled through. You don't get this on a clear night. The rain is the entire reason the photo works. It's the kind of thing that almost makes you root for bad weather.

Down toward the Temple Club end, those hanging cube lanterns glowed over an empty crosswalk, one guy crossing with an umbrella and his phone out. Half the restaurants still had people in them, eating under cover, watching the rain do its thing. That's the trade with green season — you get the color and the cool air, but you plan your night around the sky and keep an umbrella close.

I've heard people write off Cambodia's rainy season like it's a reason to stay home. I'd argue the opposite. The crowds thin out, the heat finally breaks, everything goes green, and the streets at night look like this — a city that suddenly photographs like a postcard somebody dropped in a puddle. A short downpour is a small price for that.

It was a good last taste before the flight out. I'll be back in a few weeks, hopefully in time to catch more of it — though I won't complain if I land on a dry night either.

So what do you think of these shots? And how's the rainy season treating you wherever you are — love it, hate it, or somewhere in between? Drop a comment and let me know.