SIEM REAP — Having visited Siem Reap more than a decade ago and lived through COVID-19 in the province, Claire, who is an Australian YouTuber, has been making the everyday side of Siem Reap more interesting for viewers.

With topics ranging from less visited temples to breaking down the cost of living, Claire’s videos have attracted the attention of many foreigners who wish to live in Cambodia as well as Cambodians who fled the country during the 1970s and 1980s to escape war and conflicts.

During an interview, Claire of the “For Riel” YouTube channel has discussed her intention behind the creation of these YouTube contents, why she decided to stay in Cambodia, how she views other areas of the country, and what makes Siem Reap special to her.

Caption: Jeremy and Claire at Grange Hotel. Photo provided.

Ky Chamna: In your YouTube channel description, you mention that you moved to Cambodia in 2019. So first, what prompted you to do so at the time? Later on, after a supposedly permanent move to Australia, you returned to Cambodia in November 2022. What prompted you to do so?

Claire: We lived in Hoi An, Vietnam, for a year in 2014. We knew that we had to return to our jobs in Australia at the end of that year, but we decided to work on a 5-year plan to move to Southeast Asia permanently. Between 2015 and 2019 we travelled to many different places in the region, considering each one as a possible option for our long-term plan. Over time, Siem Reap emerged as the front-runner.

We first visited Siem Reap in 2012, and decided to have another look in July 2019 just to make sure it was a good fit for us. I remember sitting in a tuk-tuk on the way to our hotel from the airport—I don’t think we had even made it to the highway—and I turned to Jeremy and said, “I think this is the place for us.” He agreed, and we returned four months later with a view to staying long term.

Little did we know that COVID was just around the corner, and that it would change everything. By March 2020, expats around us were making decisions about either staying in Cambodia or attempting to return to their home countries. We didn’t decide one way or the other but, in a very short period of time, the decision was made for us because Australia’s borders closed and flights ceased to operate.

We ended up staying in Cambodia until the end of January 2022. By that time, we hadn’t seen our families in Australia for over two years. Our original plan was to live in Cambodia and use Siem Reap as a base for travel around the region. But because of COVID, we hadn’t been able to travel at all. We also hadn’t been making much money, so we thought we’d move back to Australia for a while, spend time with family, build more cash reserves, then return in a few years when things were back to normal.

We ended up staying in Australia for just 10 months. We couldn’t shake the feeling that we wanted to be in Cambodia, and eventually decided to return. Cambodia has a way of getting under your skin and, once you’ve lived here, it’s difficult to live anywhere else. We’ve been back in Siem Reap just over two years now, and we are very happy that we returned.

Caption: A portion of Siem Reap city featuring Preah Prum Rath pagoda (left), the iconic Siem Reap river (aka Siem Reap stream), houses, and hotels. Photo: Sem Vanna

Ky Chamna: Was starting a YouTube channel part of your plan when coming to Cambodia? Is making videos on YouTube just a hobby or do you plan to make this even bigger someday?

Claire: We had been following YouTube channels made by expats living in Siem Reap and decided that making videos would be a great way to document our lives here for family and friends back home. I guess we saw other people doing it and thought we might have a go ourselves.

During COVID, information about Cambodia’s border status, vaccination requirements, quarantine rules, and flight availability was really hard to find. On top of that, things were changing very quickly. We started putting out regular video updates that attempted to accurately capture the situation in Cambodia as it was unfolding. These videos became quite popular, and we are pleased that we were able to help at a time when there was so much fear and misinformation around.

We hope our channel continues to grow and we also hope that, in time, the videos will reach a larger audience. We want to use the voice we have to promote Cambodia as a great place to live or visit for an extended period.

Caption: Jeremy and Claire at FCC gallery. Photo provided.

Ky Chamna: I have to admit that the name “For Riel” is indeed very catchy. How did you come up with this name? Is there any hidden meaning behind it?

Claire: In Australia, if someone tells you something and you are not sure if you should believe them, you can say “Are you for real?” or even just “For real?” which is an informal way of saying “Are you telling the truth?” We put that idea together with Riel, the Cambodian currency, and came up with For Riel. We try to tell people what things are really like in Cambodia, so the reference to telling the truth fits nicely.

When we became monetised, we made the decision to give all money earned through YouTube Adsense to charities in Cambodia. We did this because we wanted to acknowledge the generosity and kindness of the Cambodian people, particularly during the COVID times. This adds another element to our name, because we are making videos for money, or “For Riel.” So far, we have donated nearly $10,000. Our viewers enjoy the fact that they’re helping us to earn money by watching and sharing our videos.

Caption: A thumbnail from For Riel YouTube video. Photo provided.

Ky Chamna: How do you come up with the topics for your videos? After watching a number of them, I have the feeling that a good amount of your content is dedicated to calm areas of Angkor, lesser-known temples, news updates, general overview of what to do in Siem Reap, as well as specific things such as flooded pockets of Siem Reap city after rain. So, why do you pay more attention to these topics rather than big temples or crowded places?

Claire: Many YouTube-content creators come to Siem Reap for three to five days and make videos about Angkor Wat and Pub Street. We try to show places that are a bit lesser known or that people might not otherwise be able to visit. Sometimes people visit places because they have seen them in our videos, and for us, this is a wonderful thing. We are not often in front of the camera, preferring to show the beauty of Cambodia and its people instead.

Caption: A thumbnail from For Riel YouTube video. Photo provided.

Ky Chamna: Who are your target audiences for the videos? Do you think your videos help better inform international audiences about the daily life of Siem Reap?

Claire: Our audience mainly consists of people living overseas who are interested in moving to Cambodia, although our audience within Cambodia is growing. We make videos that address information gaps that we experienced ourselves when we were thinking of moving here. We also make videos about things we like to do here, and things that we find interesting about living here.

Some of our subscribers are Cambodian people who left Cambodia in the 1970’s and are now living in the U.S.. In many cases, they have not been back to Cambodia since they left and have only those old memories. They watch our videos to see the home they left behind, and they often make comments about what life was like before the genocide. These subscribers are particularly special to us.

Caption: A thumbnail from For Riel YouTube video. Photo provided.

Ky Chamna: From a foreigner's perspective, do you think Siem Reap has an adequate number of English news providers that talk about the daily life of people in a social way? Is it challenging for you or your friends to get news about Siem Reap in the English language?

Claire: Siem Reap has a lot of festivals and events, but finding out the details of these events can be very challenging for foreigners who cannot read Khmer. Often, the event details are only made available a few days before the event commences, and this doesn’t allow tourists enough time to plan ahead. Event information is often unclear or incomplete, for example specific locations are not given, or in the case of events held inside Angkor Thom [walled city], whether foreigners will be allowed to enter without an Angkor Pass [entrance ticket for the Angkor Archeological Park]. Accurate information distributed in good time ahead of events would be fantastic for both tourists and foreigners living in Cambodia.

Caption: A thumbnail from For Riel YouTube video. Photo provided.

Ky Chamna: In your opinion, what can Siem Reap improve in the long run in order to attract more long-term visitors to explore the city and beyond?

Claire: There seems to be a lot of confusion about visas and entry requirements amongst tourists looking to visit Cambodia for the first time. We see this in travel-related Facebook groups where people post questions about the places they would like to visit. More streamlined information in one location would be very helpful.

It is also stressful that some airlines operating flights into Cambodia incorrectly impose “rules” on travellers. For example, the Cambodian government has stated that it is not necessary to show proof of onward travel [the date and country of one’s next destination] when entering Cambodia. However, passengers have been prevented from boarding flights when they cannot satisfy this airline requirement.

Some fantastic changes have recently been made to the ticketing process for Angkor. There are now only ticket checkpoints at the entrances to temples and at the four entry points into Angkor Thom whereas, previously, a ticket was required just to enter the Angkor Archaeological Park. People can now enter the Archaeological Park and enjoy the temples from the outside and the beautiful nature without needing to buy a ticket. It is also now possible to buy individual tickets on site for more remote temples including Beng Mealea ($10.00) and Koh Ker ($15.00). This is a much more attractive option than buying a full multi-day ticket and will encourage tourists to stay a little longer. It might also encourage returning tourists to visit these temples to see something different without having to purchase a full ticket at $37.00.

Ky Chamna: As you have mentioned, you also lived in Phnom Penh, Kep, and Kampot. From your experience, what are the pros and cons of each of these locations?

Claire: Kep is the smallest Cambodian town we have lived in. It was a short stay of only a month, but we had only intended to stay there a week. We could have easily stayed longer as we felt very relaxed and at peace in the beautiful environment there. Having said that, Kep doesn’t really have a town centre and because the population is low, it can feel like there’s nobody around. It’s strung along a thin stretch of coastline with points of interest dotted here and there. If you intend to live in Kep, you need to be happy to make your own fun, and you need to be somewhat self-sufficient. For us it’s a great place to visit but doesn’t have enough facilities for convenient living.

Caption: A portion of Kep province beach photographed in December 2024 featuring resting areas and restaurents along the waterline. Photo: Ky Chamna

We stayed in Kampot for six months after having lived in Siem Reap for just over a year. We loved being able to see mountains from anywhere in town, and the sunsets over the river are some of the most spectacular we have seen. Overall, we found that, like Kep, it was a little small for us. In particular, there weren’t many properties in the rental pool, and the lack of a big supermarket meant that getting the things we needed took longer because we had to make several stops. These are only minor issues, and there are some amazing places you can visit by motorbike only a short distance from the town centre.

Caption: A view of Kampot public space, photographed in December 2024, featuring the newly-built seahorse landmark next to the saltwater stream close to the sea. Photo: Ky Chamna

In Phnom Penh, we lived in the Tuol Tompoung area and enjoyed it very much. There are a lot of great restaurants, bars and cafes there, and we found everything we needed within a five-minute walk from our apartment. The traffic can be crazy, and it can be difficult to spend time with friends who live in different parts of the city. Phnom Penh is also more expensive than other parts of Cambodia, roughly 25-30 percent more expensive than Siem Reap. Having said that, it’s a fun and modern city with good energy.

For us, Siem Reap [city] is the best fit of the four places. It’s bigger than Kep and Kampot, but small enough that you can ride from one side to the other in under 10 minutes. Siem Reap has a vibrant expat community, and there are events you can attend on most nights of the week. It is very easy to have a full social life here if that’s your thing. There are also loads of locally-owned businesses and it’s great to support them as well. Being able to visit the temples of Angkor is a drawcard for us, and we are grateful that the Special Pass was initiated in September 2022. Siem Reap has most of the facilities that you can find in Phnom Penh, and the things it doesn’t have give us an excuse to visit Phnom Penh regularly.

Ky Chamna: Lastly, what are your favourite activities in Siem Reap, and do you plan to stay in Siem Reap permanently?

Claire: One of the best things about living long term in Siem Reap is being able to apply for an Angkor Special Pass. It allows foreigners who have lived in Cambodia for at least two years unlimited access to the temples that are managed by the Apsara National Authority. I regularly visit the Angkor Archaeological Park and feel fortunate to be able to spend time amongst the temples and ancient stones as often as I want.

Of course, we have to mention the wonderful people of Siem Reap and Cambodia who have made us feel so welcome. Their openness and generosity of spirit are wonderful lessons in humanity.

We plan to stay in Siem Reap for as long as we can!