The good, the bad, and the heat - Two weeks in Cambodia
- Ilene
- Mar 18
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 20
When including Cambodia on our itinerary we really weren’t sure what to expect. Of all the “safe to visit” countries in Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were the countries we had not yet visited, so on the list they went. We had just over 2 weeks to see the country, and knew the last handful of days had to be on the beach in Koh Rong. Check out the two other blogs that cover other aspects of Cambodia and Southeast Asia: Alcohols (David's series) and Eating Gluten Free as well.
As we started doing research we got pretty excited about Vietnam, and Laos seemed to have potential, but all we really knew about Cambodia was that the Angkor Temple complex was not to be missed. We had of course heard about The Killing Fields and knew a tiny bit about the Khmer Rouge, but that was about the extent of our knowledge about this country.
So, here we are, finishing up our final days in Cambodia, sitting on a beach in Koh Rong and trying to figure out what to tell you about our visit. As we’ve talked it through we’ve come to a few things that sum up our experience.
Historical beauty of Angkor, Angkor Wat being the most famous, but is only a small portion of this area near Siem Reap
Horrific and very recent history of the Khmer Rouge
A culture that seems to be muted in comparison to it’s neighbors, and a country that is still in development
Some, kinda interesting areas to visit outside of Siem Reap, but nothing that hits the “must see” list
For all of Southeast Asia, try to visit between October and January, otherwise the heat is just too oppressive
Our itinerary took us from north to south, starting in Siem Reap > Phnom Penh > Kampot > island of Koh Rong
Let’s start with the easy one… Angkor. We’ve all seen the photos, stunning Buddhist/Hindu temple architecture surrounded by and invaded by nature. What we didn’t understand was how vast the full Angkor complex actually is. Yes, there’s Angkor Wat but that’s just one temple, then there’s the enormous Angkor Thom, the great city of the Khmer Empire and even more if you have time. A few facts on the two for comparison:
Angkor Thom
2,222 acres
Fortress city state
Built in the 13th century
Multiple temples including the famous Bayon (the one with many faces)
Angkor Wat
402 acres
A temple city
Built in the 12th century
Best preserved and most complete temple complex in the area
These amazing temples and buildings are truly stunning in design and architecture. Many represent both Buddhist and Hindu religions together. You could spend days wandering through them, and we did spend days, two to be exact. Unfortunately the 95+ degree heat was truly exhausting, and we found ourselves starting early and ending shortly after lunch, retreating to the hotel pool and air conditioning.
On our third day we went out to the floating village on Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Southeast Asia. On the lake we saw how many people live here, in floating make-shift houses, sometimes boats made into homes and many probably best described as huts. They’ve built villages across the lake this way, with floating churches, schools, shops and even vegetable gardens. The village we visited had about 6,000 inhabitants. Kids play in inner tubes, buckets, boats and hammocks…and while kids will be kids, the level of poverty was visible.
Siem Reap was a nice, smaller city. The main city center was tourist focused with plenty of restaurants and even more bars.
As we made our way to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, we expected a more modern city, something closer to Saigon. Some people we had met along the way felt like Cambodia was more developed than Laos, while suggesting that Vietnam was probably the most developed of the three. From our perspective Phnom Penh was more aligned to Vientiane the capital of Laos. Tuk-tuks were the main means of travel, and though we found most places took credit cards, and even Apple Pay (unlike Laos) the city still felt very much like a developing country. The most interesting site we visited was the Genocide Museum, which documented and shared the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime. Here our guide shared some very personal stories as he lived through this time. His father was taken from his family and murdered in the killing fields. They still aren’t sure where exactly his father was killed or buried as there were thousands of mass graves. His mother took him and his sister into the jungle to hide and survive; he was six years old. Our guide was born in 1971, so it really struck home how safe our childhoods were in comparison, during the same years, and how fortunate we have been to live in a true democracy where checks and balances are respected.
The torture and genocide, was a playbook straight from the Nazi regime with Chinese communist support; it was unreal to learn about. The regime went about systematically wiping out anyone who could potentially be a threat to the leadership. Recruiting the uneducated, brain washing the young, and exploiting the economic gap between the have and the have nots. They exterminated 2 million people, almost 25% of their citizens at the time. The Khmer Rouge ruled for less than 4 years under Pol Pot, but it was enough to destroy a country, culture, and a civilization. So, while we sit here on a beach having cocktails 45 years later it makes you wonder… is history repeating itself closer to home?
For a country that has such a deep background of both Buddhism and Hinduism, as apparent at Angkor, religion seemed muted. Unlike its neighboring countries, we saw very few monks, and temples seemed less frequent as well. We can only assume this is related to the Khmer Rouge history and the attempt to wipe out religion as a source of intellectual thought. Also, with a focus on economic development through tourism there is a westernization of the culture that mutes the local flavors. Literally, there are only so many times you can see burgers and pizza on menus before you start to wonder. We did enjoy some classically Cambodian dishes along the way; fish amok, coconut milk soups that were across between tom yum and curry, and I continued to enjoy fresh coconuts every day!
Heading south from the capital we made a brief stop in Kampot. Most famous for its pepper plantations, it’s a sleepy riverside town with an only few sites to see and yet a growing ex-pat community. The old French colonial styled buildings are ready for a revival with some investment starting to come as coffee shops and western food restaurants arrive. We took a tour of the country side, visiting and eating the famous pepper, having crab in Kep as one is supposed to do and seeing the secret lake, an imposing reminder of the Khmer Rouge regime who had the local people manually dig this lake.
Last but not least, Koh Rong. Once an off-the-grid backpackers haven, now a tad more developed with a couple of small-ish resorts, it's beaches are world famous for a reason.
All that said, if you are traveling on a budget and/or love beautiful beaches without the over development and conveniences of big hotel chains Cambodia might be for you. The “backpacker community” is definitely strong throughout the area and taking advantage of the cheap cost of travel in the region makes it clear why. We cannot tell you how many 20-something’s we’ve come across from all over the world just taking time to travel, meet people, and looking to find themselves while filling their Instagram feeds.
This might be controversial but if you ask us, our take on Cambodia would be… come to the region when it isn’t as hot, spend 3 or 4 days in Siem Reap to experience the temples and surrounding areas move on to one of the other countries in the region.
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