The resort’s small shop elegantly squeezes in an array of stylish and philanthropic products, from wild Samlot honey from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation to hand woven ikat from Golden Silk, a Franco-Khmer NGO preserving an ancient local silk known for its gilded sheen.

Pack new purchases in a quirky carry-on satchel fashioned from recycled Khmer rice sacks sold at Bloom Cambodia, a corner store committed to “making trade fair – one bag at a time.” It was founded in 2006 as a social enterprise and the same ten sewers make all of the bags in the workshop in Phnom Penh. The motto is “Buy something beautiful, do something beautiful.”

Madagascar-born Eric Raisina trained in the Paris ateliers of Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix before coming as a tourist to Angkor Wat in the late 1990s. He fell in love with the silk weaving and with the people and decided to stay. After a year spent training a dozen Khmer women to weave silk and raffia that he imports from Madagascar, Raisina began designing couture ball gowns, including skirts and wraps made of psychedelic hued ‘silk fur’ and men’s traditional fishermen pants reimagined in his talented hands. His fashion empire has grown from a boutique inside the house where he lived and his weavers worked to include multiple boutiques in Siem Reap, including a fabulous four-story couture atelier with a dramatic ground floor boutique in the so-called Charming City on the road to Angkor. The newest showroom and atelier opened in 2013 within the same week as his first boutique in Paris. The dramatic modern space showcases his Technicolor fashion and accessories, from his signature fluttering shawls and silk fur trimmed scarves to velvet cardigans and organza evening bags woven like those used by local fishermen to hold the day’s catch, tie-dye silk wraps, and dresses that he sends down catwalks from South Africa to New York. Indagare members can contact the Bookings Team for an introduction to the designer as well as a private couture appointment and visit to the workrooms.

If you don’t have time to visit Eric Raisina’s show-stopper of a main boutique and atelier in the Chamming City on the way to Angkor, he has a small but sleek boutique in the Foreign Correspondent’s Club, which is alongside the river, not far from the Amansara and the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. Madagascar-born Eric Raisina trained in the Paris ateliers of Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix, then came as a tourist to Angkor Wat. He fell in love with the silk and the people and decided to stay. You’ll find a great selection of his Technicolor fashion and accessories from colorful, fluffy evening bags woven like those used by local fishermen to hold the day’s catch, tie-dye silk blouses, and his signature flowing silk scarves. This shop is a tease but for the greatest range of products head to his main shop and even visit the workrooms upstairs.

Louise Loubatieres, a graduate from London’s Royal College of Art, grew up watching her Franco-Vietnamese designer mother working with Indochinese hill tribes. Her eponymous boutique, opened in 2013, is filled with must-have homewares, like white-on-grey bird ikat cushions made by the Goel Community NGO, and Lo-Yuyu ceramics from Prolung Khmer Pottery and Weaving Training Centre. Other objects of desire include brightly colored lacquer bowls and trays, silk-covered, beaded necklaces in a rainbow of vibrant hues (made in the southwestern Takeo region) and organic tie-dye silk scarves. Louise picks up treasures on her travels around Southeast Asia and works with craftsmen to bring a more modern interpretation to traditional crafts so her stock is ever-changing.

On the first Saturday afternoon of the month, the street running perpendicular to the Siem Reap River in front of Shinta Mani hotel transforms into a festive fair. The vendors sell everything from boho-chic woven handbags, from marginalized communities in Ratankiri province to Sombai rice spirits, infused by the villagers of Salamkomreuk with anise, cinnamon or mangoes with red chilies. After watching the Phare circus performers and snacking on homemade sweet potato chips or crispy spring rolls, look for Eric Stocker’s finely lacquered Buddha statures, as well as handbags made from recycled Pirelli truck tires by KILT - Khmer Independent Life Team (www.kiltjewelry.weebly.com).

This simple silk tailor shop down the street from Louise Loubatieres sells silks and cottons by the meter. The owner will fashion tops and pants from what you choose or you can buy the gorgeous ikat silks for pillows or clothing that you have made at home. It is a shop frequented more by locals than tourists so don’t expect the staff to speak English. Note that the ikat silk weaves are not antique but new and soften with washing.