Crossing into Cambodia, I was uncertain about what to expect, given the mixed reviews I had heard. Some described it as a beautiful paradise falling quickly in love with the country, while others saw it merely as a necessary transit from Vietnam to Thailand via Angkor.
The border guards were notably friendly. Acquiring the visa was very fast as after I’d filled in my name, nationality and passport number they declared that was good enough ignoring the other questions, stamping my passport. After a few photos with the guards, I was officially in Cambodia.
Immediately, I felt the country was less developed than Vietnam. I’m not too sure why as nothing really stuck out as being clearly behind, but I think it might’ve just been the amount of empty dusty land of that appeared everywhere. It then came as a surprise discovering the prices of everything were noticeably higher than anywhere else in south east Asia.
I first aimed for the capital city of Phnom Penh, where after checking into a hostel went for a walk around. The city was easy to walk and had lots to offer with markets, temples and a great embankment. As the sun set it became lit beautifully by night, with perhaps a touch of tackiness from a huge Carlsburg sign and Christmas decorations in mid-January.
Departing the next morning, I visited the somber site of Choeung Ek Genocidal Center better known as the Killing Fields. This was one of many places where the Cambodian Genocide took place in which approximately 2 million people (a quarter of the whole countries population) were killed by the Khemer Rouge. It was tough to grasp the enormity of the tragedy with almost 9,000 people were killed at the location, as there is little that remains. The memorial built on the site, filled with human skulls and bones was a shocking reminder.
To reach my next stop of Siem Reap, I would need to cross the Tonle Sap river which I decided to do by a small ferry taking me off the main road. Heading north, after a day and a half, I made it to Kampong Chhnang somewhere which felt untouched by tourism. The town had a chaotic market and after spending a while trying to find the ferry port I managed to get a ticket and board with lots of strange looks from the locals. The boat ride was enjoyable, navigating round the islands of this huge river and witnessing people living in the middle in houses on stilts.
The other side of the river led to a dirt track, this made progress tough in the heat with no shade alongside the road. Joining the main road between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh was quite the relief and I was surprised by its quietness, expecting heavy traffic between the two cities.
Siem Reap served as a base to explore Angkor, the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire home to many temples, the largest being the iconic Angkor Wat. The temples, built between the 9th and 14th centuries, stood in various states of disrepair, with some being restored and others quite dilapidated.
I arrived to Angkor Wat for sunrise and throughout the day went to about 10 different temples cycling between them. The lack of restrictions on exploring was notable, as you could climb everything or walk on the small ledges around the outside of each one, facing 3m drops. I was also impressed with how quiet it felt. Although it’s a huge tourist attraction, due to the huge size of the site with so many temples I almost felt I had the place to myself. I took lots of photos andv here are some of the highlights from a few of the temples…
Angkor Wat:
Tonle On:
Prasat Preah Khan:
Eastern Mebon:
Ta Prohm:
Phnom Bakheng:
That evening, I ventured onto Siem Reap’s pub street offering pretty much the same night life as the other cities I’ve visited, with one street pumping out loud music although it was the first place where I felt a noticible precence of locals along with all the tourists.
The following day after leaving Siem Reap, I encountered a group of guys offering me a cold beer in the middle of the day, accompanied by a tractor towing a large speaker system with a dj on top. I accepted their offer, and tried to get an answer as to why they were partying on a Sunday afternoon but never did. Soon, the police showed up but after they accepted a beer, they weren’t too bothered by what was going on. After about 30 minutes, the guys suddenly seemed quite keen to get rid of me and I got my answer as the what they were doing when a wedding party showed up.
Before leaving Cambodia, I took a detour through the Cardamon mountains. I was hoping for a few days riding small roads through the jungle however, this never came and instead I ended up on a dusty quarry road full of trucks. There were a few great views but not the feeling of being deep in the jungle I was hoping for.
After almost a week on intense heat, I finally decided to get a hair cut and shave at on of the many Cambodian barber shops. The barber was very amused when I showed him a photo of what I wanted.
Cambodia, while easy to travel with friendly people, hasn’t been on of my favorite countries. The dual-currency system using both local riel and USD added a layer of complexity, with large businesses accepting both, small places only accepting riels, and ATMs only dispensing dollars. Whenever paying in USD the change would be in riel, so it was quite challenging to not be left with any riel when I left the country and also check they had given the correct amount. I avoided the Cambodian coastline, as it would’ve been a large detour and was told the once paradise has become heavily developed over the past decade. Although Cambodia had its charm with amazing sunrises and sunsets every day, I found myself yearning for the unexplored allure of Laos, the natural beauty of Thailand, and the exquisite food of Vietnam. In the last few days riding through the country, I was longing for some wild beaches and began looking forward to being back in the familiar territory of Thailand.
Will Scam 