Tourism in Cambodia is a testament to the resilience, warmth and pragmatism of the people of the Kingdom of Cambodia, formerly known as Kampuchea. A tragic civil war of Orwellian proportions and the severe disruption and damage caused by the Vietnam War left Cambodia as one of the last places anyone would visit in Southeast Asia. However, today, it is possible to visit more places in Cambodia than at any other time in its history. Many of the national highways have recently been improved with the help of other countries.
From Phnom Penh, the fully paved and sealed capital, roads take you to Siem Reap in northern Cambodia and the modern gateway city to the temple and city complex of Angkor Wat. Similarly, paved roads also take you to Sisophon and Sihanoukville, in the southeast, and home to the best beaches in Cambodia, and also to Sisophon, in the northwest, and a great place to start your Banteay Chhmar and Banteay journey. The best temples in Angkor.
Any visit to Cambodia as a tourist must include going to the Angor Wat temple complex. In addition to the Phnom Penh highway, the most important thing is that Siem Reap, KH airport city code, is well served by airlines arriving at its international airport, REP airport code. These airlines include arrivals from Singapore (SIN) with Silk Air, airline code MI, and Singapore Airlines (SQ), Bangkok (BKK) with Bangkok Airways (PG), Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) with Vietnam Airlines (VN) , and other international airlines, including those arriving from Phnom Penh, Taipei, Guangzhou, Hanoi and Seoul
The Angkor Wat temple complex is made up of several sites, including Angkor Wat itself, and the nearby ancient Khmer capital of Angkor Thom. Other important temple sites include the Little Circuit, borrowed from the French “Le Petit Circuit”, the Big Circuit, from the French Le Grand Circuit, the Roluos group of temples.
If you want to visit temple sites other than Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, it is important to know that the complex is situated over four hundred square kilometers and can be difficult to get to at times, especially in the rainy season. And just for reference, four hundred square kilometers are compared to small islands like Barbados, and even Andorra in Europe.
Interestingly, a recent radar survey, released in 2007, now suggests that the Khmer settlements and Angkor temple and city sites could have covered more than three thousand square kilometers, which is roughly the size of the Bangkok metro. The survey also found the sites of seventy-four more temples and a much more complex irrigation system that was not known before.
If you plan to visit some of the Angkor sites, you will need to spend a few days in nearby Siem Reap. The city has an excellent range of accommodation, including air-conditioned luxury hotels near the airport, and also, for me, the best places to stay, many interesting guesthouses, mainly near the Wat Bo road area in Siem . Collect. Most guesthouses will arrange for a car to take you to some cool, inexpensive restaurants in town. Or just take a tuk-tuk and enjoy!
What if you want to explore some hidden gems of Cambodia? Then return to Phnom Penh and go to see the natural beauty of Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces. Ratanakiri borders Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, and Mondulkiri province to the south.
You will need to go to a travel agent in Pnom Penh to organize a tour of these beautiful provinces located in the northeastern part of Cambodia. There are no national highways or airlines serving this relatively unknown part of the country.
Just as a heads up for those of you planning to go to this region, and for the owners of Cambodia tourism websites, there are no flights to Ratanakiri airport.
Once you are in Mondulkiri, your local guide will take you to some of the most remote and spectacular landscapes in Southeast Asia. The jungle, forests, hill tribes and waterfalls, including the beautiful Boura, await you here.
And then to Ratanakiri. This may well be the highlight of your visit to Cambodia, and the area is simply outstanding, from, again, waterfalls, to the spectacular volcanic lake of Yak Laom, and seeing the indigenous people of the hill tribes.
Try to stay at Terres Rouges Lodge, located on Lake Banlung. Banlung is the capital of Ratanakiri province, and it is a small ruined city of around seventeen thousand inhabitants, and where people from the hill tribes come to sell their wares.
The original hostel was the home of a former governor of Ratanakiri province and has a wealth of history. Today, you will find some of the best service and food in all of Cambodia at Terres Rouge. Just take a look at the scented croissants and baguettes you’ll only find in cafes in provincial France! Well maybe there are still some similar restaurants in Pnom Penh!
Unfortunately, you will have to say goodbye to Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri at some point. I wish you a safe journey home!
And finally, as usual, a big hello to all my friends at the Thailand Web Zone, which is a new Thai social network and community site from Thailand. Share information on Thailand articles and forums, meet people, share photos, music and videos, find and submit Thailand travel information. Make new friends from all over the world! For those readers who haven’t visited TWZ, take a look now!
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