5 Reasons To Visit Cambodia on Your Southeast Asia Trip

Where is Cambodia? If you’re most people, you probably have no idea. That’s okay. We’re going to talk about it. Why should you want to visit Cambodia? We’ll talk about that too.

I was first alerted to the existence of Cambodia on the last day of my sophomore year of college. My Spanish professor, Heidi — who helped grow my love for Spain and international travel — was telling us how much she’d enjoyed teaching us that semester, and the conversation turned to the importance of traveling. She became emotional as she shared some of her most memorable experiences, including her visit to Pol Pot’s Killing Fields in Cambodia.

And in that moment, I could not have told you where Cambodia was. But when I got back to my apartment that afternoon, you already know what Wikipedia page I ended up on.

Nearly five years later, I found myself in a coffee shop in my hometown of Kansas City. As I was planning my upcoming trip to Thailand, I noticed neighboring Cambodia while looking at a map. After some Googling, in which I came across some stunning images of Angkor Archaeological Park, I performed some mental gymnastics to figure out whether I could squeeze in this side trip to visit Cambodia. In the end, I decided that since I was going alone, I could do whatever I want. (That’s always true.) So, despite not knowing a lot about Cambodia, I booked a flight from Bangkok and a hostel in Siem Reap.

This ended up being a good decision, and it’s something I will continuously recommend to people planning trips to Thailand and Vietnam. So, here are five reasons why you should visit Cambodia on your trip to Southeast Asia.

1. Angkor Archaeological Park and Angkor Wat

If you’re planning to visit Cambodia, this one is probably obvious, but with good reason: Angkor Wat Archaeological Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the “New 7 Wonders of the World.” You could spend days riding through the park on a tuk-tuk, maybe with a certified guide or maybe with a few strangers you met in your hostel that morning. Stopping at each of the temple ruins, you could get lost wandering through the expansive maze of hallways and climbing up narrow ladders to rooftop terraces.

Angkor Wat is the one of the most famous temples in the park. And every morning when it’s still dark, tourists flock to watch the sun rise from behind it. You might think it won’t be very busy and you’re beating the crowd by arriving at 5 a.m., but instead you’ll wonder if you’ve ever seen so many people in one place at one time. Good luck getting a picture unobstructed by the crowd in front of you.

(Suggestion — bring a selfie stick to raise your phone above everyone else and get that perfect pic. The people behind you will hate you, but every person there kind of hates everyone else for existing in the same place at the same time.)

2. The people are friendly

Yes, when you’re in the market areas, you won’t be able to take two steps without someone aggressively soliciting you: “Tuk-tuk, lady?” or “You want to buy something, lady?” or “Three dollars, lady?” Be understanding of the fact that this is how they make a living. But the truth is that Cambodians are really, really nice people. A lot of them have suffered a difficult national history, and they’re excited to connect with and share their culture with visitors. There was an overall different level of friendliness I experienced in Cambodia vs. what I experienced in Thailand.

My tour guide at Angkor Park, Nemo, was a Cambodia native who really made my visit to the park special. Nemo and I, along with the two Australian girls I was touring with, spent the whole day together, and we had a great time. We talked a lot about language — American English and Australian English, and Cambodia’s Khmer. When I told Nemo I also knew Spanish, he was delighted to have someone to practice his Spanish with, as he had just begun learning.

He told me I was a great teacher, and I told him I thought it was amazing that he already spoke Khmer and English and was trying to teach himself yet another language.

3. They use U.S. dollars (this one mostly pertains to Americans)

I had absolutely no idea of this before I arrived, and I didn’t even think twice about the fact that I paid for my Cambodian visa with USD, but it’s true. In Cambodia, although they do use the Cambodian Riel, you can also use your U.S. dollars. If you bring them with you, you don’t even have to take them out of the ATM, thus potentially avoiding the dreaded ATM transaction fee.

If you’ve been in Thailand using Thai Baht, or especially if you’ve been in Vietnam using Vietnamese Dong, (which comes in multiples of what, 100,000?) you don’t have to do any currency conversions in your head. Yep, when you see fruit smoothies or rolled ice cream or fish foot massage tanks for $1, they really mean $1. Another great reason to visit Cambodia!

*It is imperative that any USD used in Cambodia are in pristine condition. Learn more in this blog post.

4. It’s very affordable for most tourists

See previous point — fruit smoothies and rolled ice cream and fish foot massages cost $1. I’m serious. Beers are 50 cents, and strong cocktails are $2.50. A large meal will probably never be more than $6. Long story short, your money is going to stretch very far while you’re there.

Keep this in mind while planning other excursions. Some people may sigh over the cost of admission to the Angkor National Museum, which I recommend especially if you aren’t planning to use a guide during your visit to the park. Other people may complain about the $37 entrance fee for a one-day visit to the park itself. But put it all in perspective, and remember that you likely spent less than $15 to eat yesterday.

5. It’s chaotic in the best way

Siem Reap is the third-largest city in Cambodia. (Phnom Penh takes the top spot by a long shot: 1.5 million to Battambang’s 250,000 and Siem Reap’s 230,000.) It doesn’t have a metropolitan, big-city feel at all, but that’s not to say that it’s quiet.

Quite the opposite: there’s Pub Street, and the bazaars, and street vendors, and tuk-tuks and shouting tuk-tuk drivers and motorbikes and hole-in-the-wall cafes and fruit carts on wheels and mothers hosing their naked children down with bottled water in the middle of the sidewalk. It feels like you’re really experiencing authentic Cambodian life. And it is chaotic.

At one point, as I walked to my hostel alone at night (feeling very safe, by the way) I remember thinking it felt like the way I experience the 4th of July in the States. Though it was nighttime, there was still lots of activity and it seemed no one was asleep. There were families and friends hanging out in front of their homes and shops; many of them were cooking, and delicious smells wafted through the air. Children were playing loudly. It was sticky hot, even though the sun had long gone down.

And though the feeling was somewhat familiar, I knew I was immersed in Cambodia.

 

Would you ever visit Cambodia on your trip to Southeast Asia? What questions do you have? Let me know in the comments below!

-Cathy

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Originally Published on February 25, 2018.