Monthly Archives: June 2014

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Cambodia: Siem Reap x Phnom Penh

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Bayon Temple

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Angkor Wat at sunrise

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Here’s us looking deceptively fresh despite getting up at 4am to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat

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Cambodia was all in all, a very sobering experience. We’re all aware of it being a third-world country but I don’t think we’ll ever understand just how poverty-stricken it is are until we physically visit the country. Even then, I don’t think we’ve given the experience a fair shake because while we chose to live to live in hostels that cost as little as 10 to 20 USD a night, we’re still living in luxury beyond the means of a vast majority of its people.

This post wasn’t written to preach because hell, who I am to give people lectures on thanksgiving when I kowtow to mass production and consumerism as much as the next kid but to highlight the beauty of Cambodia; third-world nation or not, it has managed to retain much of its culture, heritage and history. Much less can be said about our Little Red Dot.

Anyway, if you intend to give Siem Reap and Phnom Penh a visit, here are several tips I wish I knew before I headed down:

  • The Land Mind Museum: Give it a miss unless you’re really, really interested in the war history of Cambodia. I guess it’s for a pretty noble cause (ticket sales goes to help the founder of the museum clean up the leftover land minds from the World War II) but it’s reaaaally out of the way (approximately 12km out of Siem Reap; way further then Angkor Wat etc.) and the museum is kinda puny and sad.
  • Cambodian food: They’re not exclusively known for their cuisine but Dyan and I had a couple of pretty mind-blowing dishes while we were there. Give their Beef Luclac and Kampot Green Peppercorn Crab a go. So. Good. Also, their Happy Pizzas (prices vary from 4-6USD per dish at the touristy spots and >2USD when you know where to go).
  • Markets in Phnom Penh: If you only have a couple of hours to kill and have to decide between the Central Market and the Russian Market, we recommend heading for the latter unless you’re looking to purchase overpriced produce or photograph a local market scene. Otherwise the Russian Market makes for a good Chatuchak Market imitation with wares such as clothes, silverware, pottery and artworks for sale.
  • Data cards: If you are like me, unable to function without the Interwebz and technology, you can purchase a data card fairly cheaply from one of the telecom vendors right at the airport (I got mine for 6USD). You can get one even cheaper but I had to settle for one particular vendor as no one else had change for my 50USD note. Which reminds me, always make sure that you have small change.
  • Temple Tour Guide: I reckon it wouldn’t such a bad idea to invest in a tour guide when you visit the temples because Dyan and I were flying pretty damn blind when we visited Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Promp. If you don’t have a good grasp of the temples’ history and architecture, it’s just gonna be a bunch of carved rock after awhile… Some things are worth spending your dollars on and we reckon a tour guide is one of them.

And… That’s about all I can think of. I’ll be sure to add more tips to the list when I can think of them. ‘Til then, TTFN.