Cambodia: Phnom Penh

My time in Phnom Pehn was short and it was cut even shorter by a transport snafu leaving Kampot (a broken van, a new van filled with boxes of seafood as well as people and finally a van stuffed full of people that did eventually get us to the capital). Unfortunately, I had to cancel my Girl Moto Tour, which is on the top of my list for my next trip. My hotel was adorable and excellent value and I rested up for my one big full day of sightseeing there.

In this first, short trip to Cambodia, I only gave myself one full day in Phnom Penh. This is an ambitious amount of time to explore any major city and Phnom Penh is no exception. I woke up early, enjoyed the tea at my hotel’s breakfast and negotiated a tuk-tuk driver to take me to the three sites I had selected: The Royal Palace, The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeng Ek Genocidal Center. As the soft morning breeze moved over my skin on the ride to my first stop, I smiled at the city world around me. The Royal Palace was breathtaking and appropriately regal, as any palace should be. There are abundant gardens, stupas, statues, rooms and tourists taking pictures. 

Roof detail

The main draw for visitors is the Silver Pagoda within the compound, which houses many precious relics, including an Emerald Buddha. Giant sterling silver blocks make up the floor of this small pagoda. As I wiggled my toes on one of the cool silver tiles and gazed up at the luminescent green Buddha, I could feel the peace and reverence of the place. I wandered through the rest of the grounds and gathered courage for my next two stops, which would have a very different feel.

Royal Palace complex

Tuol Svay Prey High School was converted into a prison known as S-21 under the command of Pol Pot during the Khmer Rouge’s brutal regime lasting from 1975 to 1978. In this short time approximately one quarter of Cambodia’s population was murdered. More than 17,000 men, women and children were held and tortured at this one site (one of 200) before being taken to extermination camps. I have never visited the Nazi concentration camps, but the Khmer Rouge’s bloody years in power parallel much of what happened in Nazi Germany. As I walked through the prison cells, viewing the photos of victims and actual torture devices and listening to the stories, I got constant chills. Many visitors stepped out to “take a break” from the audio tour guide, tears rolling down their cheeks. The stairwells radiated a visceral sensation of pure evil.

S-21 Prison

Courtyard at S-21

Map of S-21

Monument of remembrance to S-21's victims

The last stop was the the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, more commonly known as the Killing Fields. It is essentially a mass grave about 15 kilometers outside of town. It is estimated that about 20,000 men, women, children and babies were killed here during the Khmer Rouge Regime. Like the previous stop, it is an extremely well-organized and both sides are educational opportunities with audio guides and stops explaining what happened. 

Map of the Killing Fields

Seeing the mounds of earth with bones sticking out and the Killing Tree is a heavy experience, but what calls the most attention is the glass pagoda filled with skulls and bones that have surfaced, and where visitors now pay respects to the victims with flowers, incense and prayers.

Memorial Pagoda for the victims

It was a heavy day, but after reading about this time period in Loung Ung’s memoir and traveling the country for almost two weeks, it is an imperative time in history to learn about. I recommend that you include these stops in your tour of Cambodia. 

Instead of checking out Phnom Penh's pub street and night life, I opted for a quiet evening in my hotel, working on my yoga homework.

Where I stayed: The Teahouse Hotel is absolutely adorable and it would be an awesome spot to hang out if you wanted to take a rest day.

My darling room

Of course tea is their theme!

Restaurant leading out to the pool

What I ate: There are also many great options in this city, but I wasn't here long enough to sample all of them! One favorite was Dosa Corner, extremely affordable and delicious South Indian food.

Dosa and condiments

Cambodia, this is your last post (from 2017), but you blew me away and I can't wait to come back!

Cambodia: Kampot

After a few days at the beach, it was time to continue my Cambodian adventure. I took a tuk-tuk to a "bus" stop and then caught a van to Kampot. A couple of travelers in Siem Reap had recommended this town to me. The best recommendations always come from fellow travellers.  

Kampot as a town has some great spots to just hang out and enjoy a relaxed pace. However, the real charm to this place is that it is a great jumping off point for other activities. Once again, I felt crunched for time and I could easy wile away more days here.

Wandering along the river.

Activities that I didn’t do, but will get to next time: visiting the nearby mountain and beach, biking through farms and seeing the salt and pepper cultivation process and floating on the river!

So what did I do? I took yoga classes (Banteay Srey and Simple Things), got a traditional Cambodian massage, wandered the town, spent a day rock-climbing, hiking and rappelling with Climbodia (highly recommend them).

Here I go!

View from the top

Hiking

Inside the caves

Reclining Buddha in the caves

Pretending like I know what I am doing...

Yoga space above Simple Things.

Riverside lounging at Banteay Srey.

Where I stayed: The first room I booked was much different than advertised and had a broken lock and shower. I stayed the first night, but ended up changing to the very lovely La Java Bleue for the rest of my stay. Traveling in off-season lets you get good value and I loved my room, its view and the hotel's location.

A comfy home for a few days.

What I ate: There were a lot of vegetarian, healthy and gluten free options in Kampot. 

Veggie Curry

My favorite restaurant, hands-down, was Simple Things and the following pictures are from there. 

cute, cute, cute

Barbecue tempeh salad

GF vegan raw cheesecake

Stay tuned! There is one more stop before I leave Cambodia!!!

Testing!

Testing, testing...

Okay, here goes! Today I dropped off my big backpack  at my fairy godfather's house and swapped it out for the svelte turquoise deuter 24 liter that I carried last time (she is named Raquel for new readers, or those who don't remember). ;)

It feels great to be light on luggage and I have most of what I need to start. There will be a few purchases in St Jean tomorrow. 

I'm just trying to talk myself into going to bed early and I'm trying out this blogger app, which will allow me to give updates from the road (without a laptop). 

Anyway, better not write too much in case this all flops, but so far I think it is working well. Enjoy the photo from Reaga winery that I took last week while volunteering with VaughanTown and I'll update you from the Camino soon. 

Cambodia: Ream National Park (aka: The Beach)

After too few days in Siem Reap it was already time to pack up my bags and make my way to my next spot... So, what about my luggage? My bags were bulkier than I prefer. But, with hiking boots, a raincoat and fleece for cooler spots and laptop for yoga homework I had a lot to be prepared for! And it still all fit in a tuk-tuk. 

On the way to the airport.

Window seat for my one hour flight.

I flew from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville and it was an easy trip. It’s a small airport and a little beach town; you absolutely have the feeling that you are going somewhere special. I actually didn’t spend any time in Sihanoukville, though I hear it has some good nightlife, especially for the backpacking adventurer type. It’s also a jumping off point for Cambodia’s islands, which I only heard amazing things about, but I did not get to experience on this trip. I'll save those for next time!

Not an island, but I was very happy here.

Where I stayed:
A tip from a friend in Yangon pushed me on to Ream National Park. This is a gorgeous, and as of now, undeveloped area. I stayed at Monkey Maya, the only option around. Accommodation is quite basic (dorms and a few private rooms, no wifi, electricity only a few hours in the evenings), but the charm of this place is it’s chilled-out vibe and proximity to nature. The jungle is nearby for hikes, the terrace is wide for taking in the view and the beach is long and sandy. My favorite part was the bioluminescent algae. The beach was downright magical at night and swimming with these glowing beings was a trip highlight.

My basic bungalow

Million dollar view.

Looking up at my spot.

My new friend. :) Hey, I said it was in the jungle!

What I ate:

Where I stayed and where I ate was the same! There is only one option here! Monkey Maya - there was no reason to leave this paradise at all. The restaurant offers many options, both Western and Asian, caters to gluten-free and gluten-loving eaters and vegans or carnivores. Lots of drinks and a daily happy hour as well.

My favorite meal - gluten free pancakes with peanut butter and maple syrup and an iced coffee.

What I read:

As I mentioned, the lure to this place lies in its remote location. I walked on the beach, swam, worked on my yoga sequence and essays, stared at the sea and read. I decided to read a book about Cambodia and settled on the memoir: First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung. This is a well-written story and an incredible firsthand account of a young girl’s life under the Khmer Rouge takeover and regime. I highly recommend it.

Netflix is going to release the film version of this story in September. The author wrote the screenplay and it's directed by Angelina Jolie. Here's the trailer. 

Ah.

Cambodia: Siem Reap

Cambodia. I already want to return! While I say this about most places that I visit, Cambodia surprised me. Cambodia had been on my Southeast Asia bucket list ever since I moved to Myanmar and I knew that I needed to make a visit happen before my journey took me off the continent.

I spent 12 days in Cambodia and visited four towns/cities. Cambodia is a small country, but even so, this is a fast trip! It was the time I had and I’m so glad I did it. I was amazed everyday by this beautiful country and met with smiles and help from its friendly people. The downsides of this pace are: I wanted to stay longer everywhere I went, I didn’t have flexibility to explore other spots and I had to spend a little more money to make transit happen faster.

Night Market

Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

Some folks visit Cambodia and only see Siem Reap. It’s a happening little town, but the real draw here is Angkor Wat, the ancient remains of the Khmer civilization with numerous temples of Hindu and Buddhist origin. One traveler told me that in her book of one hundred places to see before you die that Angkor was number one. I’ve visited a lot of ruins and temples in the Americas and Asia and Angkor absolutely blew me away. I’ll share a few pictures here, but the cliché phrase “they don’t do it justice” has never been truer.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat.

The stone engravings' details are incredible.

Faces in the stone at Angkor Thom

One thing to keep in mind is that the entry to this historical zone is expensive and you will probably want to arrange transit as well. It’s hot and you will be walking and climbing at all the sites, so I recommend a tuk-tuk to whisk you around. A big decision that I wasn’t prepared for at five in the morning was whether to buy a one-day, three-day or seven-day pass. I settled on the three-day and was happy that I did as my second day revealed even more marvels than the first. As I said above, I definitely could have spent more time here!

I love the way the lichen and stone colors blend together.

Mother nature takes over.

Trying to capture the expanse of it all in a photo...

My days visiting Angkor involved a four in the morning alarm clock with a departure a half hour later in order to see the sunrise. Then I explored, wandered and wondered at the marvel of it all! I would arrive back to my hotel about eleven, just as the heat was really picking up, swim, nap and eat before heading back out to take in more. Check out the videos of my transport below!

Where I ate:

Great gluten free and vegan options are available in Cambodia! I was delighted to discover that this was a pretty easy country to find food that worked for me. I did stick to more foreigner-friendly eating establishments, but there are lots of healthy options, some local dishes do work and there was a lot of great international cuisines as well.

There are a plethora of options for all tastes and budgets. One highlight was gluten free Italian at La Pasta. This restaurant is READY for customers with dietary limitations, they offer gluten free pasta and vegan cheeses and the servers are knowledgeable of ingredients and cross-contamination.

It's not often that I get to eat Italian food at a real Italian restaurant.

I tasted a Khmer Coconut Curry at Navutu Dreams. Navutu is a swanky resort, but a friend who used to live in Siem Reap gave me the tip that if you go for yoga class, then you can stay and enjoy the THREE pools and gardens all day. After a few days of exploring temples and hiking around, this was a relaxing and revitalizing pause. 

Yoga space at Navutu

Khmer coconut curry... served in a coconut!

Perfect for a dip after yoga.

Not pictured (proabably because I gobbled up my food so quickly): Tasty dosas and South Indian cuisine at The Indian and coffee with homemade nut milks at ARTillery Cafe.

Phare, the Cambodian Circus:

In my opinion, it would be an absolute shame to visit Siem Reap and miss Phare. This circus provides opportunities for Cambodian Youth and the performers put on a sensational show with circus arts, live visual art, dance, music and a look at Cambodian history. A must do.

Where I stayed: 

One of the benefits of visiting Cambodia is that it is less touristy than some other SE Asia destinations. It's not exactly off the beaten track, but I did find great value. Remember, June is "green season" (monsoon), so visiting at an off time also helps the budget.

I had a lovely room at Frangipani Villa Hotel. It's about a 10 minute walk from the busy center so it's a quiet spot. The pool and patios are gorgeous and the buffet breakfast has lots of options! 

Relaxing between Angkor visits.

Feeling like a princess in my room.

I know it's been a minute between blog posts... Stay tuned for more Cambodia stories and then follow me into Europe...