I liked Cambodia well enough. It is a nice place with some really great history. That said, don’t let the hype get you overly excited. After a while, all of the different temples look the same, and depending on the time of year it can be extremely hot. I’ve heard the beaches are really nice on the coast, and so if you are traveling by land with plenty of time on your hands go check it out, but this blog probably isn’t for you if that is the case.
Siem Riep (Spent 2.5 days here, this is about right)
Siem Riep is famous for Angkor Wat, which is really cool, but don’t expect the epic photos you see online. Leave that to professional photographers who can magically crop out the thousands of people that show up every morning to see the temple with a sunrise backdrop. If you do this it is inside the grounds, behind the basin of water on the left. I think a good view with fewer people can be found outside of the grounds on the right side in front of the main entrance. Go here, especially if you can’t get there super early for a good spot in the other location.
If you do this it is inside the grounds, behind the basin of water on the left. I think a good view with fewer people can be found outside of the grounds on the right side in front of the main entrance. Go here, especially if you can’t get there super early for a good spot in the other location. Bring lots of water and be prepared to not take as good as photos as google images.
For other temples, there is one with an echo tower that is cool, the Tomb Raider Temple that has 300-year-old trees (very cool), and everywhere there are moats/rivers that are massive and somehow hand built. All of these and Angkor Wat can be done in one day. On the second day you can do the “long trail” and while repetitive, it is still pretty cool. If you do get bored, go to the lake that is an hour away, and/or the floating villages, which are probably more fun in the wet season. If you go in the dry season it will be Texas hot, if not worse. 8:00 a.m. it is uncomfortable, and by noon it is miserable.
To recap: In the dry season it may not be worth it going to the floating villages, and so you may want to do one of the silk-making tours instead. In the wet season do the floating villages. If it is hot, which it might be year round, then just be prepared to get up early a lot, and embrace the bro-tank. The nightlife is a lot of fun, and so be sure to take advantage of it each night you can.
Phnom Penh (Didn’t go here, but may be worth a couple days)
I heard good things about it, and the Killing Fields in particular, but to be honest, if you did the war museum in Saigon, I would skip this because it can be very depressing. Maybe good to know, but depressing and so at least be prepared.
You can supposedly drive a tank outside of Phnom Penh, and I’ve seen a video of a guy shooting a rocket launcher, which is awesome, but may not be worth its own trip.
Country level of difficulty – 6/10
This entry was posted in Southeast Asia
