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 Cambodia travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Cambodia.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Angkor / Siem Reap city guide,
and Phnom Penh city guide.
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| T Thedy |
07 May 2005 |
Stayed at Ta Prohm - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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There are many small pubs within one block of the hotel. They are located on what is known as the "Bar Street." Additionally, there is a nice disco just over the bridge from the hotel, named Martini.
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| W Osborne |
05 May 2005 |
Stayed at Mysteres d' Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Plenty of restaurants, bars around town but obviously the main reason for visiting are the temples. The main problem is the heat, try to start early and maybe think of taking a break midday to avoid the worst temperatures.
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| R Paik |
04 May 2005 |
Stayed at Passaggio Boutique Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Siem Reap's grown dramatically since I was there 5 years ago. As a result there are a number of good restaurants to choose from
Red Piano restaurant is popular and was the home-based for film crews filming 'Tomb Raider' with Angelina Jolie. Soup Dragon offers home-made ice crean including to its regular dining options. Blue Pumpkin serves crisp baquette sandwiches and good shakes.
My guide recommended the US$12 evening show/buffet at the huge 'Koulen' restaurant. Costumes and performances of traditional dances was top notch.
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| B Arabian |
03 May 2005 |
Stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Visits to the Royal Palace and of the Silver Pagoda are of course indispensable. If you look for decor items and beautiful silk, Russian market is the place to go. Shopping at NGO-supported shops also helps these organizations in their much-needed actions; they are mentioned in every good guidebook.
One thing to mention for travellers going to Cambodia with young children is that it is still a very poor country deeply scarred by the civil wars and the genocide of millions. Disabled people are ubiquitous and this may be shocking for sensitive souls, although the kindness of Cambodian people highly smoothens this feeling.
Also, the contrast is very strong between the ambience of the streets and the one of the Raffles, something that one has to handle.
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| L Barratt |
26 April 2005 |
Stayed at Bopha Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Went to the floating villages. Worth going to. We hired a taxi for the day. Actually the taxi that brought us from the airport. It cost approx Ģ15 for the day. You have to pay a fee at a checkpoint before getting there but this includes the boat that takes you around. The boat trip was approx 1-2 hours. The road is pretty bad getting there but you see a lot of life on the way.
On the way back we went into Raffles hotel for lunch.It was worth it just to see it and it wasn't very expensive. The taxi also took us to see the Landmines museum run by an ex Khmer Soldier. They have volunteers from this country helping there as they run a sort of orphanage for children that are amputees. It really makes you think. Very interesting place.
Of course we went to see Angkor Wat. We only spent one day here and found that it was enough for us. We hired a taxi again for the day with a guide. It was 20 dollars each to get in plus 45 dollars for the taxi and guide. It was really beautiful. One other thing that we saw was a cultural dance at a hotel just two streets away from our hotel. Can't remember the name of the hotel but it was in a 4-5 star small hotel which had a theatre next to it which I think was the National Dance Theatre. Dinner was included and it was very, very good. More expensive than most of the other shows (like double) but worth it.
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| R Kircher |
22 April 2005 |
Stayed at Bopha Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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We arranged a car and driver through the hotel to take us to the temples at Angkor which was $50 for two days. Our journey from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is worth noting. We had bought high-speed boat tickets to make the four-hour journey from Phnom Penh. When we arrived at the boat dock, we were told that there weren't enough people to make the trip worthwhile for them, so they took the eight of us who had bought tickets on a bus to the southeast end of Tonle Sap Lake -- about a 2-hour ride. There, at a floating village, we met the boat that was bringing people from Siem Reap. After an exchange of passengers in a sort of marshy area, we were off in the boat heading toward Siem Reap. At full speed -- probably 35 mph -- it took another 2-1/2 hours until we reached the floating village near Siem Reap. We then switched to another boat, which took us to this narrow, rickety, precarious dock made of single teak planks atop bamboo poles. There, we were swarmed by taxi drivers who wanted to take us the 15km into Siem Reap. They were very forceful and really surrounded us, making us really feel uncomfortable. All of them offered the same deal: $1 for two people. The driver I chose happened to have a flat tire when we arrived at his car. That fixed, we were soon on our way down a very bumpy and muddy dirt road that seemed very remote. At that time, he asked us whether we had anyone to take us around Angkor Wat. We said we had already arranged a driver. At that point, the one-dollar fare suddenly went up to $7 -- but we were welcome to get out in this remote area and get the next taxi that came by. Since a $6 difference really isn't worth getting into a losing argument about the principle of the matter, I acquiesced to the sudden price hike and in a good-natured way tried to argue the Buddhist philosophy of lying about the price to lure customers in. He explained that all the drivers do the same, and that was the only way to get people's business. Pretty sad, but he did get us to our hotel. What he did not realize, however, is that when he gave me his number to call if we needed him, I immediately threw it away; I certainly would never deal with a person like that again.
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| R Kircher |
19 April 2005 |
Stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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We spent two nights in Phnom Penh, arriving on the last day of the Cambodian New Year. The city seemed nearly deserted until we found that everyone was driving up and down the riverfront road, dousing each other with water, as is the new year's tradition. It was a madhouse! The next day was more normal, and we spent the day with a hired car and driver ($30 with our taxi driver from the airport instead of the $45-$65 the hotel quoted us to go through them) seeing the major sights of Phnom Penh.
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| C Bachmann |
17 April 2005 |
Stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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We had 2 weeks to spend which seems quite fitting to take in most of the highlights: 3nights PNP, car to Battambang, next morning boat trip to Angkor, 3 full days Angkor, flight to PNP and car via Kampot (overnight) and Bokor to Sihanoukville. It was a good experience to see smaller towns like Battambang and Kampot, which do not feature too many interesting things but give you some impression of "normal life" besides all the bars and internationalised restaurants in the more touristy places. The roads to both towns are sealed and in good condition. Be aware that during the dry season boats from Battambang take more than 7 hours (we even had to go by pickup for the first 1,5h - extremly dusty experience).
Take a taxi from the pier to SiemReap since the road is very bad. Angkor: If you know vaguely which temples you want to see, it is easy enough to hire a tuctuc (usually through your hotel) for the day (USD 12) and the driver will tell you which things to do first etc. Even during the hottest season I wouldnīt recommend taking a taxi since a) the difference in temperature can be quite dangerous and b) the tuktuks offers more direct contact to the environment. (Donīt be afraid: practically all roads around Angkor are sealed). Try "Khmer Kitchen" next to Old market for delicous and diversified Khmer food and donīt miss the Apsara Theatre. In Kampot the new "Long House" has a nice outward appearance (havenīt seen the rooms)- unfortunately the food is quite westernized. Bokor hill station is nice for the trip through the jungle and the spooky feeling at the remains of the hotel but donīt expect more than a fine half-day excursion.
We spent the last days at Sokha Beach which offers all you can expect from a new resort (=lacks a bit of atmosphere) and has a magnificent private beach and a good seafood restaurant. All other beaches we saw (though principally of the same quality) were rather dirty (plastic etc). Donīt miss Claudeīs crow-nest for dinner - excellent wines and wonderful seafood. In PNP, SiemReap and Sihanoukville free copies of restaurant/hotel guides are available: very useful and reliable!!
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| C Banton |
04 April 2005 |
Stayed at Preah Khan Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Siem Reap ia a must see destination - the size of the ruins is astounding as was the size of their Empire. Nothing compares to seeing Angkor Wat - and I have seen most there is to see at least in Asia. To understand the magnitude of the atrocity of the Pol Pot Khmer regime and to realise how far Cambodia has moved forward in a relatively short period of time is amazing. They will be fully back on their feet within 10 years for certain. The local cuisine is compartatively mediocre in comparison to Vietnamese and Thai cooking, but a brilliant French restaurant in a courtyard at the back of a library/art gallery was the culinary highlight for me. Definitely Angkor Wat is a must see - two full days of sight seeing is sufficient and if you are lucky enough to have a good driver and tour guide (ask for No. 0091) then all the better.
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| C Whiddon |
02 April 2005 |
Stayed at Sokha Beach Resort - Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
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Great beaches, very unspoilt. Ochuteal beach is unspoilt but has a bit more activity than Sokha beach, also some reasonable resturants. Town is not great but there is a great Sri Lankan place called Bamboo Light.
Trip to islands and ream park a must - use a company called Dive Cambodia they visit the hotel 3 times a week.
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