4 Days in Cambodia

So, if you haven’t read about our experience getting to Siem Reap its right here. Bit of a long one with sporadic thoughts, but that’s how the day went. Our 3 nights spent in Siem Reap were really good, the food options are endless, and we had a really good hostel. We met some great people, and got to see Angkor Wat with them. I might’ve liked to spend more time there but we hopped on a morning bus after 3 nights and headed to Phnom Penh.

Angkor Wat. It’s the reason most people head to Siem Reap and it’s a good reason. The temple complex is amazing, seemingly endless, and incredibly beautiful. Our group hired a tuk-tuk for $20usd to pick us up from the hostel at 4:30am, because we wanted to catch the sunrise. It was a bit of an overcast day so turned out to not be quiet as epic as we imagined. Nonetheless, I was really happy that I dragged myself out of bed to see it. Very cool to walk into Angkor in the dark.

Once the sun was up we started to explore, seeing the intricate architecture, and incredible details carved into each rock. Small areas blocked off for praying monks filling the halls with the sound of prayers and the smell of incense. It’s a mesmerizing combination, and can draw in all of your senses if you let it. It’s just mind boggling to me, 900-year-old temples that are still in use today. I wonder what stories would be told if the rocks could talk.

We spent the day with our Tuk-Tuk driver taking us to the main sites. Wandering through each one, taking our time, and soaking in every detail we could. The temples are still mostly original but restoration is steadily taking place. I think in a few years it just won’t look the same, or have the same feel.

After our day at the temples, we just chilled out in the hostel and planned our move to Phnom Penh. We booked a bus with Giant Ibis after reading some terrible reviews of the cheaper bus companies, and just deciding that the couple dollars extra for a deluxe transport was worth it. It took us about 6 hours to get there and it was absolute chaos when we did. Phnom Penh is busy, crowded, and pushy.

We had one objective in Phnom Penh, see Choeung Ek Genocide Center. This was a terrible time in Cambodian, and world history. I don’t think a trip to southeast asia can be completed without seeing this, and paying some respect to the 3 million innocent people who died for the ideas of a few terrible men. It costs 10usd to get there and 6usd for entrance with a very well done audio guide. The center is heart wrenching, with bones, clothes, weapons, and skulls on display. The audio guide explains the scenes in detail and doesn’t hold back on explaining the brutality of the Khmer Rouge. I’ll leave it at that, and I encourage you to read, and learn about it. Genocide is a terrible part of history, and the more we can learn about it the less chance of it ever happening again.

We only spent 1 night in Phnom Penh, we originally planned on a couple more, we tend to not like large cities but we were going to give it a few days to really feel it out. Although we definitely didn’t like our hostel, and so I started looking at other options. At first I was just looking at different hostels, then an ad for cheap flights popped up and I got curious. I ended up on the skyscanner website looking at the cheapest flights from Phnom Penh to anywhere for the next morning. Turns out there was a really cheap flight to Bali.

Long story short we got up, headed to the airport, and this post comes to you from a budget hotel in Legian, Bali.

 

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Do your thing, and Happy travels.

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