Cambodia, a small but special country in Southeast Asia. As soon as you are in Cambodia, you feel like you have stepped back in time. Life is wonderfully simple and everything moves a little slower. The Cambodians are incredibly hospitable and always have a big smile on their face. The country is characterized by its intense history, many temples, rice fields and white bounty beaches. The absolute highlight of a trip through Cambodia is Angkor Wat, the temple complex that is one of the most important archaeological finds in the world. Enjoy the ultimate experience on one of the islands in the south of the country!
Cambodia
januari 25, 2022The end of our trip was near but we did go out with a bang! Our last week was one of the most tumultuous of all. Let’s start at the beginning! We were still having the time of our lives in Koh Rong Samloem but we were headed to Battambang soon. Due to the fact that we were staying on the quiet part of the island, we had to travel quite a bit to get to the mainland. It all started the evening before when we went to bed. It was raining cats and dogs and we even witnessed a thunderstorm. So we were kinda stressed about the big day we had ahead of us.
We got up at 5 am in the morning as we had to leave our little hut at 5:30. We had quite the hike ahead of us. We had to hike all the way from our side of the island to the other side, which was not an easy path to take. Especially when you are carrying all your stuff on your back. What made it even more challenging was that it was pitch dark so we couldn’t see a thing. My boyfriend had to use his flashlight so that we could see the path in front of us. Everything was all wet and slippery due to the storm. The hike took about an hour and it was a horrendous hike. So when we finally got to the beach, I took of my jacket and backpack and I had to lie down for a bit. We were continuing our trip by speedboat. It took about 45 minutes by speedboat to get to shore. So around 8 am we reached the mainland. Then it took us about 15 minutes to walk to the bus stop where we would take a Giant Ibis bus to Phnom Penh. This bus ride lasted for approximately 6 hours. When we arrived in Phnom Penh, we had already arranged for a taxi to pick us up. He was already waiting for us, so that was great as we were super tired already. The final obstacle between us and our beds was a taxi ride of 7 hours. We stopped along the way to grab some dinner with our taxi driver, he was a really nice dude! We finally arrived at our hotel in Battambang around 11 pm. What a day! We slept like babies.
We actually didn’t find Battambang to be that exciting. There wasn’t that much to do. We went on a private guided tour to see all the hightlights. We went on the bamboo train, which was a awful tourist scam. Would not recommend it at all. The ride on the bamboo train is quite fun but afterwards they supposedly have to change something? I don’t even remember what it was and they drop you off in this tiny little village it seems. Where they just keep asking you to buy stuff and get offended when you don’t want to buy anything. What I did like was the bat cave. In the afternoon all the bats fly out of the cave to find themselves some dinner. It was quite fascinating to see millions of bats flying out of this cave.
After our stay in Battambang my boyfriend arranged a boat tour to Siem Reap, which is another thing I do not recommend at all! Please stay clear of this boat trip. The boat trip took up the whole day and all you see is poverty. It’s not some sort of idyllic boat tour, not at all. You sit on a boat with other western tourists and you look at poverty. We kinda felt ashamed to be on this boat. It was a really weird experience. After the boat tour, you arrive in some remote part far away from the city. So you have to take a tuktuk to get to your hotel. Another perfect tourist scam as they charge you a lot of money because they know you have to pay it anyway.
Our tuktuk driver was the worst. He started out nice and friendly but his mood totally changed when we didn’t want to book him for a guided tour around Angkor Wat. We already booked a nice guide through Facebook who had a lot of great reviews. So we tried to explain that to him but he got annoyed with us. He was constantly looking back at us and trying to convince us to let him guide us instead. I really didn’t like the fact that he didn’t look at the road anymore.. I thought we would end up in a ditch or something. He kept pressing us that if we didn’t let him guide us, that he would not get paid for this tuktuk ride. Mind you, we paid like 10 dollars for this ride to his so-called boss. We kept telling him that we did not want to book him. He then decided that it would be a good idea to take us to his home, to show us his naked children who were being bathed. His excuse was that he wanted to get an umbrella as it was going to rain. The sky had never been bluer. So he introduced us to his family and told us that they would not be able to eat if we did not book him. The guy got scarier by the minute. We just wanted to go to our fucking hotel. When we finally arrived at our hotel, we got our bags and left. He said something in Cambodian, probably cursing us or something like that. But we were just so relieved to be rid of him.
However, the nightmare didn’t end there. When we arrived at our hotel we discovered that it didn’t quite look the same as in the pictures. We booked a nice room but there weren’t any available which was weird? So we got this weird little annex room next to the janitor’s closet. So we were already pretty annoyed. They promised us a better room for tomorrow. The next morning we had the most horrendous breakfast we had ever had. It was disgusting and we even got cold fries to go with our breakfast. We decided that we did not want to stay at this hotel. So we complained at the desk but they didn’t want to help us nor did they take our complaints seriously. That’s why we decided to cancel the rest of the booking and contact booking.com. So booking.com made sure that we didn’t have to pay for the rest of the booking and we chose another hotel. The other hotel was just lovely! Gorgeous room and a nice pool. They were even so friendly to make us a breakfast picknick when we were visiting the temples of Angkor Wat with a sunrise tour.
However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. The rest of our stay in Siem Reap was wonderful. We visited the temples with a sunrise tour and a normal tour. Twice with the same guide as we liked him so much after the first day. We asked him if he were free the next day for another tour. Fortunately for us, he was! Such a nice man, had a lot of knowledge about the temples, took some cute photos of us and handed you cold towels and water during the day. I even got in a fight with two Chinese girls who were trying to pose with me for a picture but they were so rude about it. I was just sitting by myself looking at some photos that I took when a girl sits close to me, which I already thought was weird. She came closer and closer until she was touching me. At first I thought she was trying to rob me but then I realized that she was smiling at her friend and making a peace sign. The friend in question was taking photos. Oh boy, I got so angry! I jumped up, shoved her and started yelling at her. Then I walked off, apparently with my arms above my head. My boyfriend saw this little spectacle from a distance and immediately came to ask me if I was alright. I really don’t mind going on photos with people, we have done that before. I get it, I’m blonde. But this time it felt like I was some sort of monkey in the zoo. They didn’t even ask me for my permission.
The rest of the tour was amazing and seeing the sunrise behind Angkor Wat was such a special moment, which we shared with roughly a few thousand other tourists… But still, amazing. The rest of our time was mainly spent by the pool or wandering around the streets of Siem Reap, looking for restaurants for dinner. You do need to look out for pickpockets in Siem Reap! A lot of children will try to pickpocket you by first scratching your leg, so you’ll be distracted and then steal your wallet. My boyfriend got scratched but fortunately, he didn’t carry his wallet in his back pocket.
After some amazing last days in Siem Reap our adventure came to an end. We had to fly back to the Netherlands.. Many tears were shed as we were not ready to go home yet. We had an amazing time together and our wish is to travel for another 3 months in 2023 when my boyfriend finishes his PhD! In the meantime, we’ll just plan other awesome trips. [...]
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januari 11, 2022After an amazing birthday in Kampot, we decided it was time for some beach days! So we continued our trip to Otres 2, Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem. We took a taxi from Kampot to Otres 2, where our driver took our fake money out of my boyfriend’s wallet. We were pretty surprised that he took it on his own initiative but we were quite happy to be rid of the fake money! So we didn’t complain.
At Otres 2, we had a really cute little bungalow near the beach where our hostess was a Canadian woman who grew her own bananas, which we could eat for free. We enjoyed our time at the beach and my boyfriend got a butt slap from this weird old lady who tried to sell us something. Furthermore, we rented some SUP boards which was super fun! However, it was really windy so it was quite hard to stand up on the board. I even paddled into the wrong direction as the wind was too strong to go the other way, oops! We also went to some great restaurants in Otres 2. We had some great pizza, where due to the long waiting time we got free drinks! We also went to a restaurant run by a Russian guy who made amazing pastas.
After some days at the beach, we took a boat to the first island: Koh Rong. When we got to the island we received a free baileys, which was a really nice and warm welcome! The accommodation was run by a Dutch couple, so communicating with them was pretty easy. We had a little hut on the beach, where one morning we got up at 5 am to see an amazing sunrise! They even had this enormous pig running around the beach?! I was kinda scared of the animal as I saw him biting someone else. The owners hosted a party for their anniversary and offered free food and drinks all evening to their guests. What a night! We danced and drank with their Cambodian friends. We also visited lonely beach, which was the loneliest beach I had ever seen! It was quite the hike to get there, it took us a bit more than an hour but it was totally worth it. There was no-one! My boyfriend found a coconut to drink from and we just snorkeled and relaxed.
The owners ordered us a taxi boat to continue our trip to the next island! We headed off to Koh Rong Samloem. We were joking around that we would have to swim the last bit from the boat to shore. But, when we got close enough to the beach, the boat actually stopped and we did have to walk through the water. My boyfriend had to do it twice as he had to carry our backpacks above his head as I could barely stand in the water. Our accommodation was once again wonderful! Another cute little hut on the beach, with even a big ass tree in our shower, so cool! The accommodation was run by an Austrian couple and they were super open and friendly. The sunsets on this island were just sublime and the fact that there was no WiFi or internet whatsoever was quite relaxing. However, I forgot to tell my family that we wouldn’t have any internet for a few days so they weren’t so pleased with me, haha! The cook at our accommodation made some great food! We had some amazing gnocchi and tasty pizza’s. On our side of the island there were only 3 or 4 accommodations to stay at so it was really quiet and serene. We really took the time to relax and lay on the beach. We sometimes even felt a little bit guilty for not doing anything but we reminded ourselves that we deserved to relax for a little bit! [...]
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december 20, 2021Our adventure in Vietnam came to an end and it was time to hop on the plane to the beautiful Kingdom of Cambodia! Our first stop in Cambodia was Phnom Penh, where my boyfriend booked a way too fancy hotel for us. We arrived at the hotel with our backpacks and sweaty faces and when we walked inside it was insane. Such a beautiful hotel, the lobby was filled with magnificent statues and there was even a pool on the roof. It wasn’t cheap for backpackers but for European prices, this was still super cheap! Our room even had two queen size beds, it was crazy! We decided to enjoy our space and take one bed each.
What we didn’t know about our stay in Phnom Penh was that we were there during Bon Om Touk, also known as the Cambodian water festival. It marks the end of the moonsoon season. So there were many activities all through the city center and every night at 18:00 there was a firework show. From our rooftop we had one of the best views of the fireworks! So every night when the clock striked 6, we were at the rooftop to admire the beautiful fireworks.
Before we arrived in Cambodia, we didn’t really know anything about the country or its history. So we decided to delve into the history of Cambodia, which is why we decided to visit the killing fields and the S21 Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. We booked a guide for the day, who was a very upbeat and lovely man. He drove us around Phnom Penh and showed us very beautiful sights. Then, we went on to the S21 museum, which was horrifying. It is a horrendous reminder of the brutality of the Khmer Rouge regime. The building used to be a school and as we walked there, I got chills. Afterwards, our guide took us to the killing fields, where we took an audio tour. We walked around the site where so many people and even baby’s were murdered.. It was a very emotionally draining day. I think it was necessary to visit the sites and remember the horrific things that happened in Cambodia but a day like that takes an emotional toll on you. When I talked to my mum that evening, she asked me how my day was. I didn’t really know how to answer as I couldn’t really say that I had a nice day because I didn’t. So we rest a bit by the pool at the end of the day, went for dinner and called it a night. One thing we liked less about Phnom Penh was the fact that on every corner there is someone who will try to scam you. Even when you visit tourist sites, you must stay alert! We bought tickets for a tourist site in the city and the change we got back from the cashier was fake money..
After a few days in Phnon Penh, it was time to travel to Kampot! My boyfriend booked a wonderful boat lodge where we would celebrate my birthday. It was one of the most beautiful accommodations we’ve stayed at. We had an amazing view of the river, the lodge was gorgeous and you could dine at their cute little terrace at the waterside. We had a great weekend there! We kayaked the green cathedral, where we only encountered 3 other people so it felt very serene. It seemed like we were the only ones there, which was pretty cool! My boyfriend even went out of his way to get me a birthday cake, he cycled an hour into town to get it for me. It was a marvelous cake and it tasted amazing! In the evening we had a romantic dinner at the waterside and it was fantastic birthday. No better place to be turning 25! However, I was a little bit stressed because they predicted that a typhoon would come our way. Apparently the typhoon had been following us, hitting all the places we had just left. They predicted that the typhoon would hit Kampot on my birthday.. So, that was a little bit stressful. But in the end, we had nothing but blue skies on my birthday. So I felt very blessed. We had a wonderful time! Now it was time to head to our most idyllic locations of the trip. Stay tuned. [...]
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