Days there: 14

Route: Phnom Penh (PP)-Siem Reap-PP-Sihanoukville-Kampot-PP-Kratie

Costs: $433.08
$30.93/day. Including all transportation, tours, food, drinks, accommodation.

Overview:

Once the greatest empire in Asia, Cambodia but has since gone through horrible times of war with basically all of its neighbors, and more recently with itself. There is an almost inconceivable recent history, all in the last 30 years, when the country was ruled by Pol Pot and the ruthless Khmer Rouge. They took power by force in 1975 and single handedly set the clocks back to year zero. They abolished schools, businesses, the monetary system, and sent everybody who was not in government, out to the countryside to grow rice, whereby rice production was to be the only future of Cambodia. The educated, wealthy, literate, elite and even those who wore glasses, were thought to oppose this new regime and sent to be tortured and/or killed. Many were unfortunate enough to be guilty by association. Unofficial estimates put the number of Cambodian deaths at 1.5 million, 1/5 of the population dying from murder, torture, and starvation by the hands of its own government. Since the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the country has been constantly struggling to rebuild the little that they were left with and seem to be in high spirits, looking forward to a bright future. To come and get a real feel for the history, and to see the beauty of the people and the land, is to get the real Cambodian experience.

Best Experience: Learning of the horrible past this country has endured, and witnessing its rebirth and optimism.

Cultural Highlights:

-The ambitious temples of Angkor are very deserving of their fame, of which Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious building, will put all other temples to shame.
-The S-21 museum and killing fields are a gruesome look into a horrific recent history of Cambodia. Tough pills to swallow, but a necessary look into the past.

Party Spots:

-Sihanoukville. A decent and busy beach lined with bars, restaurants, and loungers.
-Siem Reap. This gateway to Angkor is surprisingly the biggest party spot in the country with a full-on nightlife and strip of bars, aptly named Bar Street.

Chill spots:

-Kampot. A very chilled out riverside town with not all that much to do. Just come and feel.

Best Adventures:

-Siem Reap. Drinking rice wine with our tuk tuk driver and letting him take us on a tour of the countryside, zooming through rural villages and along active mine fields to a closed down army base for a little target practice with M-16’s. For a price you can shoot a Tommy gun, sniper rifle, throw a grenade and yes…even fire a rocket launcher.
-Catching the rare and elusive Irrawaddy river dolphins in Kratie was a nice treat as well.

Food:

-The food here, known as Khmer, is drawn from many influencing nations, such as China, India, Thailand, and France. Rice or noodles are the main staples served with most meals and often accompanied by curries, soups, chiles, and meats. Some must try’s include, Amok: Steamed fish covered with kroeung and coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves. Babar: a type of congee or rice porridge. Bok L’hong: a green papaya salad. Street vendors offer great baguettes with pate and fresh vegetables for a very cheap option.

What to Expect:

-After Vietnam, the traffic was much more tame, but a lot more cars take up the road so be careful crossing the street.
-The friendliest people you may ever encounter. Fortunately they have not been jaded by tourism…yet.
-The US dollar is the currency used.
-Accommodation and food is very cheap. The smaller purchases, however, tend to be more expensive because of the US dollar. The short tuk-tuk rides, bottles of water, snacks, etc. that would normally be super cheap, are all rounded up to $1.00. This adds up after a while.
-Phnom Penh is the jumping on and off point for the whole country, so expect to come and go from here numerous times. Try staying in different areas each time, the city is quite diverse.
-There will be thousands of people joining you at Angkor…no matter when you go.

Travel Tips:

-Bank machines charge $4US a pop. Not to mention the same or higher fee from your own bank. So take out enough cash to last.
-Check out Momma’s Guesthouse. You will be treated like part of the family, but you should know, by being part of this family you will spend your days drinking rice wine and passing plates of food around the picnic tables.
-Unless you’re a temple junkie, you really don’t need more than a day at Angkor. A one day pass grants you access to the grounds from 5 pm to sunset the night before your full day visit. So, it is possible to catch a beautiful sunset atop Pre Rup temple overlooking the entire region the night before you spend a full day roaming the grounds. This breaks up the tour nicely since you will probably be back at 5:00am the next day to catch a stunning sunrise over Angkor Wat.
-Motor bike exhaust pipes will burn you. Learn to get off on the left side and then count how many mid-calf burns you see walking around.

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