First of all, if you’re planning to visit Cambodia, let me congratulate you. You’re going to get lots of puzzled looks and questions such as, “Where?” and “Why?” from family, friends, and co-workers. But you’ve made an excellent decision to experience a country and culture that many people overlook.
Whether you know a lot or a little about Cambodia, there are three things you absolutely must know before you visit Cambodia.
1. You need a visa to visit Cambodia
Cambodia was the 16th country I ever traveled to, and it was the first one where I needed a visa for a short visit. Luckily, I did find this out in my trip planning, but I found conflicting information on how the process worked and how to handle the issue of a passport-sized photo.
While it is possible to get an “eVisa” online in advance, everything I read stated that getting the “Visa on Arrival” at the airport was so easy that there was no reason not to do it. So that’s what I decided to do. However, that still required just a bit of preparation before I left the States.
The Cambodian tourist visa costs $30. Yes, that’s 30 U.S. dollars. As someone who rarely carries cash, I hastily remembered to get some cash back on my purchase at Walgreens the night before I left. (I was loading up on trans-Pacific flight snacks.) I recommend bringing the exact amount, although I would imagine they do have change available.
Okay, now let’s talk about the photo. Every “official” website and every travel blogger seems to say something different about exactly how big this photo should be. My verdict: it doesn’t *really* matter. Meaning, if you bring a photo roughly in the range of 2″x2″, it should work just fine. My photo was square, and the designated area on the visa paperwork was a smaller rectangle. But they stapled it to the paper and moved on.
I don’t recommend going to get an official passport photo taken. That could cost close to $20, and it’s really not worth it. I took mine as a passport-style selfie in front of a white wall, made it square, multiplied it by six, formatted it into a 4×6 photo, and got it printed at Walgreens for like 40 cents. I cut it into six square photos. It’s good to have extras!
Or, if you forget to bring a photo with you, I hear that you can pay an extra $3 at the airport and they will make a copy of your passport photo. Still cheaper than getting new passport photos taken.
2. Cambodia uses U.S. dollars… with one condition
Maybe it didn’t strike you as odd that you had to pay for your visa in USD. But at some point, you realize that Cambodia uses U.S. dollars the same way they use their own currency, Cambodian riel.
Here’s the caveat, though: any U.S. dollars used in Cambodia must be in pristine, impeccable, perfect condition. No rips, no matter how small. No bends or creases, even just in the corner.
You may have brought some cash with you, but if you didn’t know about this in advance you’ll probably have to hit up the ATM for some “perfect” dollar bills. The ATMs in Cambodia should always provide good bills, unless you get really unlucky.
Anywhere you purchase something, the vendor will thoroughly inspect the money you pay with. If it doesn’t meet their standards, they may hand it back to you and ask for a different one. Don’t be offended; you’re encouraged to do the same thing. Inspect the money you get back from the vendor as change. Or else you may end up like me — possessing a perfectly-good $20 that unfortunately had the tiniest tear in the corner.
(My hostel wouldn’t accept it when I tried to order breakfast, so I went somewhere else. Luckily, the cashier was distracted when I paid and I was able to get it off my hands.)
One more thing to know: they don’t use U.S. change. If you pay for something that costs $1.50 for example, you will not get 2 quarters back. Instead, you’ll get ៛2,000 as change — 2,000 Cambodian riel, which is equal to 50 cents.
3. Street vendors are going to harass you
There’s no escaping this. But almost everyone in Cambodia is trying to sell you something. They aren’t mean, and they aren’t malicious or ill-intentioned. But they are, by most of our standards, quite annoying.
You’ll walk by 10 tuk-tuk drivers in a row, and each and every one of them will say “Tuk-tuk, lady?” to you. You’ll want to scream: “Why would I say no to 9 tuk-tuk drivers in a row, and then say yes to the very last one? I obviously don’t need a tuk-tuk right now.”
Instead, you’ll just say “No, thank you,” politely and smile at each and every one. Until your second day in Cambodia, when you’ll be tired of wasting the extra breath and energy, and you’ll start sternly saying “No.”
They know they’re annoying, and they don’t care. I guarantee they think it’s funny. Many of the street vendors even sell shirts that say, “No tuk-tuk today and tomorrow.” The street vendors will do the exact same thing, by the way. They won’t ask if you need a tuk-tuk, but instead they’ll follow you around when you enter their shop and start negotiating prices when you show even the slightest interest in something.
“Three dollars, lady?”
“No, thank you.”
“Two dollars, lady?”
“No.”
“One dollar, lady?”
“Well, in that case…”
Even at Angkor Archaeological Park, children will follow you around and attempt to sell you things. That’s just how it is, so it’s good know in advance. If you’re someone who has a hard time saying no, like my Australian friend Lilly whom I met at my hostel, you’ll probably end up with lots of little knickknacks like bracelets and fans that you don’t really need. At least they probably didn’t cost very much. 🙂
Find things to do in Cambodia.
What other tips do you have for travelers visiting Cambodia, or what else would you like to know? Let me know in the comments!
-Cathy
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Originally Published on March 7, 2018.
Love your write ups. They make me wish I was about 60 years younger.☘️☘️☘️