Siem Reap, Cambodia, February 10th 2024

For our first night in Siem Reap we got tickets to see a local circus show at the Phare Circus. This is a testament to the country’s cultural revival post the Khmer Rouge era. Established in 1994 by artists seeking healing through art, the Phare Ponleu Selpak vocational training centre became a sanctuary for Cambodian youth, fostering education and artistic expression.

Out of this initiative, the Phare Circus emerged, blending traditional Khmer culture with contemporary circus arts. The artists are students and graduates.

Outside of their big red circus tent, there were several food stalls that served street food and nice drinks – and not to forget popcorn for the circus!

There was also a small show with children performing traditional Cambodian dances.

The show takes place in an old-fashioned circus tent, and the ambiance was great inside the venue.

We saw the show Sokiras (Eclipse), which was performed in a mix of theater, dance and circus arts, where the story is based on traditional Cambodian folk tale telling the story of a disfigured man that is rejected from the community, and his way through revenge to eventual forgiveness.

The evening with jetlag effect crept slowly upon us, so it was a quiet night nestling in at a local bar for a single nightcap, and then a nighttime walk in the city streets.

The city was indeed lively on this Saturday night, but it will be a long and exiting day touring Angkor Wat tomorrow, so we were smart enough to call it an early night.

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This blog post is part of the Indochina trip 2024 – see other blogs from the same trip