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[thehairytraveller-blog]

Seeing the World | Cambodia

From Bangkok, we decided that we were going to loop the South East Asian countries anti-clockwise and hit Cambodia next! There are trains running twice a day from Bangkok Hualamphong to Aranyaprathet; one at 5:55am and the other at 1:05pm. Aranyaprathet is home to the border crossing into Cambodia, and we were told that if we wanted to make it during opening hours, we'd need to get the 5:55am train; however I've since learned that the border is open until 10pm, so either train should be fine. 

The fare is ฿48 (just over £1) and takes about 5 hours. The train itself is very basic; it's all 3rd class, so you'll have to deal with nature's aircon (open windows), however I find this to be amazing as you can really witness the sights and smells of Thailand! The downside is that if you're facing forwards, you'll get filthy from the dust coming in the open window. You'll experience the street vendors try to sell you things in the aisle and through the windows, but they're polite and will leave you alone if you want. 

Once you get to Aranyaprathet station, you'll need to get a Tuktuk or taxi to the actual border, but it's only 6km, so you can get it for next to nothing if you're good at bargaining (we settled at ฿60 between 4 of us!). When you get the border you'll be surrounded by plenty of people trying to sell you 'cheap visas' for Cambodia, DO NOT BUY FROM THEM! They're selling you knock offs and you'll just have to buy a real one when you walk over the border. 

In Aranyaprathet there are plenty of places to eat and a market when you can buy last minute things with the Baht you have left (little shops over the border might take Baht, but the rest of Cambodia won't). 

CHECKLIST! When crossing the border, make sure you have these things:

Passport 

At least one passport photo (you'll pay through the nose before the border if you don't)

$30 or ฿1200 (they took Baht for us) 

Your departure card that you received when entering Thailand

If you have all these things, as well as your wits about you, you'll be fine. Once you get across, there are plenty of buses and taxis to take you to wherever you need to go next, our next stop was Siem Reap.

Siem Reap

The first stop on our Cambodian adventure was Siem Reap. This province is world-renown for its famous Angkor temples and that's exactly the reason we were here! 

Getting to Siem Reap seemed easy at first, but turned out to be a bit more difficult than previously imagined. At the border we bumped into a seemingly lovely man named Long, who said he worked for the Department of transportation and would happily find us a taxi to our Hostel in Siem Reap. We got into the taxi and drove for over two hours to the city for ฿400 each. When we were about another 5 minute drive from the hostel, he pulled over and said he couldn't take us any further and a tuktuk driver told us that he was going to take us for free. We soon found out that this was only free if we go on a tour of the temples with him... We'd been done! We soon decided to refuse the tuktuk walk the rest of the way on principle (you’ll find this quite a lot in Cambodia). It took us about 30 minutes but we finally arrived at our destination, Siem Reap Uncle's House (http://siemreapunclehouse.com/).

Siem Reap Uncle's House is a lovely little hostel; it's very homely and the staff were very friendly and helpful. We stayed here for 3 nights and only paid $16.50 for two beds in a six bedroom dorm with aircon! BARGAIN! The immediate locality was a lot less touristy than other places, but it was nice to be in the 'real Cambodia' and the people were lovely. They would all say hello and the children wanted to practice their English on you, it's amazing to see such a friendly and caring place!

On February 1st, the Cambodian government increased the price of entry to Angkor Archaeological Park for foreign visitors. Now, a one-day ticket will cost you $37, a three-day costs £62 and a seven-day costs $72. It's a huge leap from the original prices ($20, $40, $60) but from every ticket sold, $2 is being donated to Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital, which provides free treatment to Cambodian children. Now, to get the ticket you need to go to the main ticket sales office at the Angkor Conservation Area ticket booth on Charles de Gaulle Road. This is a fair distance from the temples, so make sure you don't miss it on your way, otherwise you'll be turned away when you get there! As far as I know, currently there is no way of buying tickets online. 

Before you buy your tickets, you need to figure out how you're going to navigate the temples (some of them are over 10km from the others). When deciding how to do the Angkor temples, there are a few options to consider as there are different ways of doing it: tuktuk, bicycle, scooter or walking.

You can hire a tuktuk for the day and he'll take you around to all the temples and he'll wait for you as you go in and out of them.

A few of the people we met did the temples on bicycles which they rented from our hostel for $2 a day. Now whilst you'll be able to see a lot on a bicycle, other people's experience suggest it's a very tiring way of doing it yet very freeing. However, after a full day of visiting temples in the blistering heat, you'd have to cycle back.

I wouldn't really recommend walking, as you probably wouldn't get very far and wouldn't see much! However, if you're an avid walker, then you could always travel between the temples on foot, but I'd recommend getting to the start in a taxi or something.

Lastly, and the way we did it, on scooters. We arranged a price of $7 per bike and travelled to the temples on the scooters. It's such a freeing way of getting around as you're not relying on a tuktuk driver and can get around just as fast. The only issue is carrying your helmet around with you, but we didn't really find an issue with that. Even on the scooters, just walking around the temples is enough to wipe you out for the day. Plus, fuel is dirt cheap too!

All the temples we visited were absolutely spectacular, but one thing I'd definitely recommend, is getting there for sunrise and seeing it rise over Angkor Wat. It's an amazing experience and probably something I'll only ever see once in my life! Out of all the beautiful temples in Angkor, three temples stand out more than any: the infamous Angkor Wat, the Bayon Temple at Angkor Thum and Ta Prohm, the temple that's been reclaimed by the earth.

Angkor Wat is the 'poster boy' for Siem Reap and Cambodia, it's an amazing architectural feat and boasts huge towers which create and absolutely stunning skyline. It's home to troops of monkeys which will harmlessly walk through and interact with the crowds, but may get rowdy if touched. As it's the most famous temple of them all, it hosts a multitude of tourists and vendors trying to sell you trousers and paintings, but there's always enough room to grab your photographs and take in the sheer beauty of the place.

Next is the Bayon Temple at Angkor Thum. Whilst you may not have heard of this temple, you'll have definitely seen pictures of it either on TV or online, as it is home to the giant faces carved into the stone. The vastness of these faces leaves you in awe and it really makes you think of how long it must've taken to design and build such a masterpiece. This one can also get quite crowded as the walkways in the temple are a lot slimmer than Angkor Wat, so it feels a lot more cram packed!

PSA: They offer elephant rides outside of this Temple; I implore you, please do not ride these elephants. It's animal cruelty as they are treated appallingly and it's best you're not a part of it!

Lastly, my personal favourite, Ta Prohm. This temple is literally falling apart due to the forest it resides in claiming it back. There are gigantic trees which span their roots throughout the temple and through the brickwork. It's absolutely amazing to see and it's so beautiful. Out of all the temples in Angkor, I'd recommend this one the most; there's a peaceful atmosphere about the place that makes you want to sit down and take in the surroundings, its stunning.

Other than the Temples, I didn't find too much in Siem Reap in the way of excitement; the nightlife however is booming! If you're looking for a good (and cheap) night on the town, Siem Reap has what you're looking for. There are plenty of bars and restaurants on the aptly named 'Pub Street' and they all have their specific offers and gimmicks. We spent a long time in a bar with beer pong and limbo and throughout the whole night, probably only spent about $25 and we were well on our way (some more than others!).

Personally, I liked Siem Reap and would've loved to spend more time exploring the Angkor temples, but unfortunately the budget wouldn't allow it. Other than that, there isn't much else to recommend about the place. Next stop: Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh

From Siem Reap, we'd arranged a bus to the capital through our Hostel for $8, and 6 hours later we made it to Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia and home to the famous Killing Fields. For a backpacker on a budget, it's not the friendliest of places as the prices seem to hike (like any other capital), so it can get quite expensive for things like food. However, we only spent 2 nights here so you cannot take my word as gospel, I can only advise from my own personal experiences. We stayed in quite a trendy hostel in the business area of Phnom Penh called Lovely Jubbly Villa (https://lovelyjubblyvilla.com/). The reason we were super stoked about this place wasn't the dorms or the people or the food, it was the pool. We were desperate for a swim and this hostel had a lovely, clean pool with sunbeds. For two nights, it only cost us $20, for two beds. The rooms themselves were basically decorated, but the beds where quite comfy and the aircon kept the room cool throughout the day, so you're not sweating at night.

The main attractions in Phnom Penh are the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, both of which show you what it was like for captives and the country during the reign of Pol Pot in Cambodia in the mid to late 70s. For entry and an audio tour of the Killing Fields it only costs $6 and I can't recommend it enough. You get to hear stories from survivors and the audio tour tells you about the time in great detail. From there we headed to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which was an old school in the early 70s before the Khmer Rouge turned into a prison where they would torture their captives. Entry to the museum is $3 without the audio tour and $6 with it; we chose the $3 option as we didn't have too much time. Here they still have the original cells that they used to keep people in, with blood stains and pictures of the captives when they were incarcerated.

BE AWARE! The Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum aren't easy places to visit and what you hear and see are not for the faint of heart. During Pol Pot's reign, millions of people were slaughtered for no reason whatsover (i.e. they wear glasses, they have soft hands, etc.). What frustrates me the most is that we don't learn about this mass genocide in schools back in the UK; for some reason it's not important enough. I definitely think people should be more aware of these atrocities and we should group together as the human race to make sure this never happens again! (Rant over.)

We rented a tuktuk from our hostel for the day to see these places and it only cost us $16 between four of us. He'd drive us to the place then wait outside whilst we're inside, before taking us to the next place. I'd recommend doing it this way as you get your own freedom, but can get around pretty easily with someone who usually knows a bit about what you're going to see.

WE only spent two nights in Phnom Penh so this is the only thing we did of any substance however, on 4th March it was Tamsin's birthday, so we headed to a local burger restaurant called Cousin's. For $7.70 we could get an awesome burger, some sweet potato fries and a drink; for Phnom Penh, that's a bargain!

Sihanoukville

From Phnom Penh we decided we needed the beach, so we booked a bus down to the coast, to a little city called Sihanoukville. The bus took just over 5 hours but only cost us $7.49 each. We had a bit of an issue with our driver as (just like the taxi in Siem Reap) he wouldn't take us the whole way; he dropped us at a station further away and we were expected to take a tuktuk the rest of the way. Of course we refused and we set off walking. When travelling, you need to expect this to happen, the bus drivers and tuktuk drivers will be in cahoots to try and get more money out of you, but just stand your ground and, if need be, walk.

We arrived at Monkey Republic (http://monkeyrepublic.info/), a large chain hostel which was just a 5 minute walk to Serendipity Beach. We were taken to a large, 4 bed, air-conditioned room with an en suite bathroom and it only cost us $5 each per night, so we couldn't complain. We didn't experience much culture in Sihanoukville as it seems to be a place where backpackers come to blow off steam, have a swim in the sea and party. We spent most of our days chilling out either by the pool or in the bar area playing card games. 

The hunt for food is a major part of our travels and we're always trying to find a balance between cheap and tasty (not always easy). In Sihanoukville there are numerous different restaurants and cafes selling pretty much any food you could want and the prices range from about $2-$6 for a main course. One of the nights we treated ourselves to a pizza at the local pizzeria, Olive and Olive. For a garlic bread and a large margarita pizza, we paid $6.50 between us; not a bad price at all.

Like I said, we stayed a 5 minute walk to Serendipity Beach, but when we got there, it was full of trash and people hassling you to buy things so we went off in search of a different beach. Just a 15 minute walk through the dirt roads of Sihanoukville, we arrived at a beautiful, white sand beach named Sokha Beach. The sea was warm and I couldn't help but go straight to it and dive in! The great thing about Sokha beach is that there is hardly anyone there and no one trying to sell you anything, however, if you want a sunbed, it's gonna set you back $20 (take a beach towel and sit on that, it’s for the best). I could've spent all day there and I can't wait for the Vietnamese and Thai beaches! We came back to Sokha Beach in the evening also, as the sun sets over the hills and sea, its stunning.

There are plenty of shops and stalls in Sihanoukville, so you literally buy anything you need from here and if you want to rent a scooter, it will only cost you $5. We spent 4 days here by the sea before heading to our next destination.

Kampot

We decided that from Sihanoukville we were going to head to the less touristy province of Kampot. Through our hostel, we booked a mini bus to take us there and it only cost us $5. Our hostel was another Monkey Republic (http://monkeykampot.com/), right in the heart of Kampot and we'd booked a double room for $30 for 3 nights. The room was smaller than Sihanoukville due to only having one double bed but it didn't have aircon, only a rotating fan on the ceiling of the room which didn't really keep the room that cool. We did keep the window open with the mesh over it to keep the bugs out which cooled it down a little. Apart from Siem Reap, Kampot was probably our favourite place in Cambodia; on arrival the place is so much cleaner, there aren't too many tourists and all the people were lovely.

In the centre of Kampot, there is a local market which sells pretty much everything. As you walk through, it changes drastically from clothing to gold to food, yet it works. We spent about an hour in here and bought some fruit and some sort of donut thing for 1000៛. It's a lovely little market, but because it's so small inside, it can get very hot, but you'll find anything you need from here.

Kampot is built on the Kampot River and this is home to numerous boats with restaurants and night clubs on them; we were offered a party on one of them, but unfortunately it just a bit too expensive for us, so we had to decline. However, the boats also offer firefly tours and daytime city tours. By the river is where all the restaurants are and they all sell pretty much the same food at the same prices, but everyone finds their favourite. The food is delicious and staff are usually very welcoming.

There is a lot of things to do in the surrounding areas of Kampot and into the city of Kep, so we decided to rent scooters again and head out on the road. We rented them from Bison Tours, across the road from our hostel, for $4 for 24 hours. Our first stop on our scooter tour was to the Salt Fields in Kampot. Here they dry our salt water and gather baskets upon baskets of pure salt. Kampot is well-known for its pepper and salt and it was great to see where it came from (I've never really thought about where salt came from), however we didn't stay very long and we were soon back on road heading into Kep. Our next destination was the caves. 

We went to three different caves: the batcave, the white elephant cave and one cave we didn't get the name of. It was unreal to see these vast canyons in the mountain which had natural corridors that you had to side shuffle down. Others had lots of stairs heading down into darkness with bats flying about above your head. I'd definitely recommend going to see these caves, they're just so beautiful and all have their own different characteristics; I think years ago, monks inhabited some of them and they were used as temples. For entry to the caves it will cost you $1, but it will definitely be worth it. When visiting the caves there will be people around offering tours, you just need to make sure they're legit, but that should pretty obvious as they'll be with the people who take the money. The tours aren't expensive and probably worth it, but we preferred to do it without. 

From the caves we headed into Kep to look for some food and ended up at a small restaurant called Captain Chim’s. The food was inexpensive and awesome, and we met a lovely Canadian who said it was the best food in Cambodia (he wasn't wrong!); I ordered the chicken satay for $3.75 and it was delicious. 

A short drive from here is a beautiful butterfly garden in the heart of the forest that is home to hundreds of beautiful butterflys and plants. It was free to enter, however they do ask for a small donation to continue their conservation work. It's a wonderful little place and it has something for everyone, I'd definitely recommend a trip to the butterfly garden, even if you only spend half an hour there. 

The last stop on our trip was the seaside. If anyone knows me, they know I'm in love with the sea, so we stripped down to our swimmers and headed into the water. The water had warmed up all day, so it was lovely and hot and the sun was just setting, so we waited in the water for it to go down before setting off back to the hostel. You've not lived until you've watched the sunset whilst swimming in beautifully warm water.

Kampot does a lot to help people with special needs and people with other needs (i.e. Orphans, etc.) and the Kampot Traditional Music School takes orphaned and special needs children and trains them in the traditional arts. Kids live in the school and learn how to play instruments and dance; I love how it keeps them off the streets and in the school. People can go and visit the school and possibly take part in teaching, unfortunately we were there over a weekend, so they were shut. Another great venture in Kampot is the Epic Arts Cafe; its a small little cafe that hires deaf people and promotes art within the special needs community.

We loved Kampot as there is so much to do and the place itself is very beautiful. Out of all the places in Cambodia, this would be one we'd definitely come back to as we feel we didn't do everything we could.

Quick Cambodian lesson:

Hello - Sous-Dey

How are you? - Sokh Sabbay Chea Teh?

Fine - (Chah/Baht) Khñom Sokh Sabbay

Thank you - Orkun

Yes - Chah/Baht

No - Ort Teh

If you are male, use Baht or female, use Chah.

If you have any questions about my time in Cambodia, hit me up on social media or via email and I’ll be happy to answer them as quickly as possible.

Stay blessed, stay you.

[thehairytravellers-blog]

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[thehairytravellers-blog]

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