Cambodia, a country whose name evokes sentiments of terrible war and mysterious temples in all of us curious travelers. A country that underwent one of the most terrible genocides in history just shy of 45 years ago. A country that has seen a death toll of 3 million people in just 4 years, and that is home to Angkor Wat, what was once the largest city in the world in the 12th century.
Index:
For a lot of us expats living in Southeast Asia, time is not always as dispensable as we would like. Much like money, time presents itself to us on a strict, small budget that we must make the most out of. When you’re a young 20-something (or 40-something, age doesn’t matter) and you are lucky enough to grasp the beauty and wonder of seeing new cultures and countries, the constraints don’t matter as much as just getting to the destination. So let me take you there. Here is the 4 day plan I made and followed last week to explore Cambodia, condensed into the two cities of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
Day 1: What to Do in Phnom Penh:
How to get there: Fly to Phnom Penh via Cambodia Ankor Air ($64-$76 from HCMC)
Expectation: Visit the Palace, Toul Sleng Museum & Killing Fields
Reality: We ended up having to take a later flight around 12 noon and didn’t arrive to PP until 2:00 pm. I would highly recommend taking the 8:30 morning flight if possible so you have time to see everything you want. The airport is also quite far from the city center (~30 minutes) and there is a lot of traffic in the capital, especially on a Saturday. Once we realized that we weren’t going to make it to both Toul Sleng and the Killing Fields since they both close around 5 PM, we asked our Grab taxi driver to help us out. Graciously, he stopped at a bakery for us to pick up some lunch and eat it in the car as he drove us to the Killing Fields. We chose to see these because Toul Sleng is an old school they used to torture prisoners in while the fields were where the actual executions took place, which was more important for us to see. The Killing Fields are strikingly close to the city, just 15 minutes or less by car and you can see the skyline from them, which is quite eerie. The whole experience is horrifying and heartbreaking, but it really happened and you can’t ignore that fact, no matter how much it bothers you.
Excerpt from my journal:
The first day we arrived in Phnom Penh, I really wanted to see the Killing Fields which I had learned about from this one Southeast Asian Studies class at university. Aside from being the site of a horrific tragedy, the memorial also evoked a deep sense of calm & peace with the singing birds and plants and trees all around. Before they were killing fields, they were a Chinese graveyard, and before that an orchid. If only humans could’ve left it as an orchid.. While you’re inside they ask you to be quiet and gave us a harrowing audio tour. It was like I could feel the sorrow from the reality of what happened there-but the logical side of my mind just can’t wrap my head around the fact that 3 million Khmer people died in vain. The hardest part is that not even children were spared, I realized as I saw little baby shorts in a glass box with remnants that had been excavated. And it’s not even like the clothes looked that old; this tragedy happened April 1975-1979, merely 44 years ago. And my mind struggles to wrap itself around the question of how this could happen. The executioners/soldiers really had no choice, but Pol Pot did have followers and people that helped him orchestrate his genocide. I just can’t understand why anyone would support such a deranged, demonic and delusional man. It’s scary-how can we prevent genocide? Can we? I pray for all the lost souls that died such gruesome and painful and unnecessary deaths there. For the families that still mourn their lost ones. I hope that somehow they can find peace, and that genocide can be prevented. That’s all about the Killing Fields.
I don’t really have much else note-worthy to say about Phnom Penh, but I’m so glad we didn’t miss it. The sleeper bus was really nice to Siem Reap-we took Giant Ibis & had actual beds! But I was scared of cockroaches still because it’s Southeast Asia.
Day 2: Arrive in Siem Reap, What to Do in SR:
How to get there: Take a night bus at 11 PM and arrive in Siem Reap around 5 AM. The bus company we used is Giant Ibis ($15). Apparently they are the best, and the seats were more like hospital beds (bad analogy, they were actually really comfortable with pillow and blanket provided) so you could rest..maybe with the help of some sleep-aids.
Expectation: Head to Angkor Wat and visit the Pyramid-shaped temple Pre-Rup
Reality: Seeing as you will arrive very early around 5 or 6 A.M, you might just want to use this first day to chill out at the hostel. Anyway, you have to leave for Angkor Wat around 4:30 AM to see the sunrise so we were too late in theory. We decided to stay at Onederz Hostel with a rooftop pool in the center of SR. I highly recommend this place for its cleanliness, food, and snazzy interior. But beware that it’s not a super social hostel if you’re traveling solo. Also, after some pleading, they allowed us to check into our room at 5 A.M and rest before spending the day chilling in the pool, drinking $1 Angkor beer and relaxing.
Day 3: Head to Angkor Wat, Sunrise Tour
When it comes to the temples, there are two tours: the Sunrise circuit and the Grand circuit. The hostel, Onederz, will organize transportation and/or a tour for you at a reasonable price. The shorter route, the Sunrise tour, will take you to Angkor Wat, Bayon, the ‘Angelina Jolie’ temple, and the lost temple of Ta Prohm.
It is hard to put into words the serenity, gradiosity, and unmatched presence that you’ll find at Angkor Wat. We arrived at 5:20 or so, with plenty of time to see the nonexistent sunrise around 6 am-thanks to the cloudy weather. But given the overcast we didn’t suffer from the notorious heat I’d been warned about. When we arrived it was still dark, and we crossed a bouncy bridge among hundreds of other eager tourists. We were at Angkor War-one of the greatest man made wonders of the world and the biggest city in the 12th century in the WORLD! Introductions aside, as soon as I arrived I felt a deep, intense presence stir from within me, a slow fire stewing with the distinct feeling that some force was welcoming me back home. It’s the same feeling I had at Chavin, and some other Incan ruins. It’s a really good feeling to come back to a place you feel you’ve been to in some ancient past life. Like a warm nostalgia and comforting familiarity in a place you’ve never seen before. As everyone got a nice spot for the non-sunset, I wandered around some big unused structures which apparently used to be libraries for the common people. And apparently even slaves had the opportunity to educate themselves and get out of their predicament. Around 6:15 am, our guide gave us a little speech then let us roam around for 1.5 hours. I could’ve spent longer wandering around the expansive, multi-level temples and admiring all the carvings and beheaded statues (from war times). Me and my friend took some nice pics (which I never do) and made it to the top of the 100 ft/37 m temple. Looking out of the “windows,” peering out over the treetops & feeling the breeze was such a soul-warming and peaceful experience-I even gave a little kiss to the ancient windowsill out of reverence & admiration for the place. I also got blessed by a Buddhist monk who splashed some flower-infused water on me while chanting a prayer. He also gave me a little red bracelet so now I can look & always remember this beautiful morning.
The other temples we saw in the small circuit sunrise tour were interesting but very overcrowded so it was kind of hard for me to enjoy Angkor Thom, Bayon & the Angelina Jolie temple. There were lots of literal cheeky monkeys at Bayon though which was really incredible & sweet to see so many of them out & about. I enjoyed the 4th and final temple (Lost Temple of Ta Prohm) which they haven’t had enough funds to fix up. I liked that barely anyone was there and I could wander off and be by myself for a bit. Part of me got a little thrill from the threat of land mines as I wandered a little off the path.
P.S. I thought 1 day of temple exploration was enough, especially because guided tours are not really my thing. Plus for me, nothing could really compare to the magic of Angkor, so maybe save the best for last if you do more than 1 day. I would recommend finding a friendly local guide (Khmer people are all so nice & most speak good English) to help you rent a moto and explore the temples more independently that way. That is, if you have the time for it.
Day 4: Visit the Tonle Sap Lake and Floating village of Kompang Phluk
The next day, we were going to do the Tonle Sap Lake & try to kayak around the floating villages, but I guess the universe had other plans for me. This is the story of how I met an Italian sweetheart that completely ruined my plans for the day ;).
I awoke in the morning still slightly drunk from a night of partying hard on Pub Street (like, hanging out on the DJ stage of a huge club for hours drunk). I still woke up early & went down to the hostel common area & ordered breakfast. I pulled up some cushions close to a very attractive friend group because I was tired of the antisocial nature of the Onederz hostel. I noticed they were speaking Italian, so somehow I got the nerve to say, Boungiorno and Yo sono di Houston or something which started out conversation & meeting. (Thanks, waking up still drunk self). Right before I said hello, *Marco handed me my breakfast tray which also helped to break the ice a bit. Well, turns out him and his two beautiful girl friends had nothing to do that day & were just waiting for their night bus to Sihanoukville (by the way avoid that place like the plague). So I told them about my lake/kayak idea and they were down. We agreed to meet to go around 12 noon, so in the mean time I dipped in the rooftop pool and showered after.
In the end, they didn’t have time to go to the lake and it turned out that you couldn’t do a self-guided tour through the mangroves anyways. Not only that, but it was about a 2 hour drive up there and then another hour on a boat to get to the actual village. Then you had to get on a little kayak with a guide. It wasn’t cheap and wasn’t what I had in mind, so in the end I just had another chill day at the hostel.
Nightlife: Best Bars in Siem Reap
1. YOLO Bar/Hostel (Egyptian Themed Rooftop Bar, Pub Street)
2. The Angkor What? (Beer, Buckets, Pub Street)
3. Temple Club (DJ, 3 Floors, Pub Street)
4. Karma Bar (4/20 Friendly)
5. Cambo Beach Club “The Only Beach in Siem Reap” (Pool, Cabanas, Happy Hours)
TOTAL COST:
- Return Flight: $140 (only 7kg personal item allowed on. Carry on would be extra)
- One Way Bus: $15
- Temple Pass: 1 Day= $37, 3 Day= $62
- Room: $30 for 3 nights
- Food and transport are budgeted around $50 for 4 days
- Grand Total: $300 + $45 “wiggle room,” coming out at $345
Disclaimer: We wound up spending about $500 because flight tickets were slightly higher than we had expected, along with some other costs we hadn’t anticipated. Cambodia isn’t as cheap as Vietnam since they use the U.S. Dollar in addition to Riels, and please note that unless you’re from certain Asian countries you’ll have to buy a tourist visa upon arrival for $30.
Thanks for reading! I hope this post helps you plan your trip to Cambodia, even if you only have a few days. Please reach out on Instagram (@cierraloflin) or in the comments below if you have any questions/need advice on anything!