Cambodia used to be one of the countries I least wanted to visit in Asia but since Max & I will be traveling to Indochina, we couldn’t skip Cambodia. But as soon as we arrived in Phnom Penh, I was wrong. Cambodia is a beautiful country that is rich in history & culture! I really respect & admire the people who have gone through so much in their recent history but are still standing & smiling. I came to the conclusion that Cambodia is one of the best countries to visit in Asia – with all those lovely white sand beaches, cheap tasty local dishes, locals who smile at you genuinely, & its history – it doesn’t look unappealing to me at all!
Phnom Penh
Choeng Ek Genocide Center
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
Most travel agencies already include the Choeng Ek Genocide Center & Tuol Sleng Museum together – which I suppose is the most popular tourist spot at Phnom Penh. Your trip to Cambodia wouldn’t be complete without visiting these sites. Pay your visit & show respect to the victims who have struggled & lost their lives. We even met some of the few survivors here!
Koh Rong
Phnom Penh > Sihanoukville > Koh Rong
Next day is beach day! Koh rong is one of the go-to islands in Cambodia.
From Phnom Penh we took the bus to Sihanoukville, where the ferry’s pick up point is going to Koh Rong – remember to leave Phnom Penh as early as possible since it’s a “connecting” journey. You wouldn’t want to miss the ferry.
Max & I arrived at Koh Rong after about an hour & stayed at Coconut Beach (Skip the main beach & head to the east – it is where the best beach is! The complete opposite of the main beach where the ferry drops you off). Max & I booked a tent for 2 nights with a clean shared bathroom. One of the most unforgettable things that we have done is that every night, there is a guide (one of the staff) who will take you to the ocean (hip deep) to see the magical bio-luminescent plankton – it was incredible! There’s pretty much nothing to do on this island but it’s a perfect spot to just relax & enjoy the island life!
After our 3 wonderful days in this beach – unfortunately, we had to leave. We booked a fast boat going straight back to Sihanoukville, paying $20 instead of taking the taxi boat to the main beach then ferry to Sihanoukville with the same rate. It was much quicker as well! So it’s worth the price.
Siem Reap
We arrived at Siem Reap early in the morning, perfect timing to do our first temple hopping. We checked in at Le Tigre Hotel, prepared ourselves, ate lunch, & hired a tuktuk to take us to the Angkor big circuit – haggle down!
The tuktuk driver dropped us at the ticketing center & we bought the 3-day pass ticket (note that there’s no 2-day pass ticket which we were planning to get).
We were told that we will be picked up at 4:30 to see the sunrise but we weren’t able to go to the very top with the better view of the sunrise as it was ‘Buddha Day’ so nobody was allowed on top. Once you arrive at the temple, there will be so many touts with silly nicknames that will try to persuade you to eat breakfast at their restaurant. After we did the small circuit. Take note to tell the driver to drive the opposite way to prevent a large group of noisy tourists!
Overall the trip to Cambodia was off the hook! Cambodia has given us different reasons to come back. It’s the people, the history, the country itself that draws us in.
PS: Note that in Cambodia, they prefer using USD than their local currency when paying.
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