Cambodia — The Hidden Gem of Southeast Asia?

This day was SO warm (all images owned by Author)

Unless you have been to Cambodia, you are unlikely to know much about it, which is a fair statement comparing it only has a population of 17 million people and is the opposite side of the world (if you’re a Westerner). It is one of the least travelled countries in Southeast Asia because it is considered a 3rd world country with poor quality roads and infrastructure, along with a lack of education and high-quality jobs.

But there is so much more to Cambodia from the point of view of a traveller looking to explore a new culture. It borders Thailand to the west, Laos to the north and Vietnam to the east, meaning it is often passed through to the neighbours. Cambodia is the only country to have a religious building on it’s flag, that being Angkor Wat, which is the largest religious building in the world.

Another interesting point is it’s keen on using US dollars, and often you can pay in either Cambodian Reil, the local currency, or US dollars. What makes things more confusing is when you get a mixture of the 2 as change. An annoying point is that they don’t take US notes over a certain year, meaning I got stuck with a $50 note for the entirety, which is a load of money when $1 meals exist.

A water park just down from the other water park

If you have heard of Cambodia, it is likely due to its dark past. In 1975, the Vietnamese war was over alongside a 5-year civil war and the Khmer Rouge had begun, which was down to the dictator Pol Pot. Around 2 million out of the TOTAL 6 million people were killed who were seen to be a threat to communism so people that were educated, people with glasses and teachers, alongside anyone else that opposed them. All of this started when Vietnam became communist, which gave Pol Pot his leverage to try to do the same thing in Cambodia. It’s a social injustice how little is known about this horrific genocide just because Cambodia is such a small country. The best place to find out more is in the capital, Phnom Penh, where there are lots of museums and killing fields. The genocide ended in 1979 when Vietnam invaded Cambodia and removed Pol Pot from leadership.

Unfortunately, this has delayed the growth of Cambodia significantly, and this is shown in cities, as when I visited, they were dirty, high unemployment rate and felt unsafe. It did feel like Cambodia was behind its west and east neighbours in the cities and wasn’t the best place I visited on my Southeast Asia trip.

Now that some background has been established, I have a few reasons why Cambodia could potentially be your hidden Southeast Asia gem. It is all there, but you need some guidance about places and things to do which I will share now…

• Islands — The biggest hidden gems In Cambodia are the islands. They have the white beaches and tropical climate of any Thai island but has it’s own wilderness and lack of tourists. In truth, I did not visit the islands myself but the people that went loved in. The 2 main islands are Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem, with Koh Rong being slightly bigger, but even then with only a handful of places to stay and things to do, it really is a break from normality. I have spoken to people who have stayed at other islands nearby that have only 1 or 2 places to stay on them with no wifi or signal, with the whole island being almost uninhabited. I love the idea of this and being completely off the grid and really immersing myself in the moment.
• Friendly people — As with most places you visit, the people were so friendly. This started at the land border between Thailand and Cambodia, where the security guard helped us translate and get a taxi to Battambang. Everyone was willing to lend a hand when often I looked lost or was struggling with something basic. I was only there for 10 days but in the short span, local people seemed so happy and wanted to talk to you.

More temples in Angkor

• Angkor Wat — The largest religious building in the world. That should be enough in itself. It has so much history that I’m not completely sure what happened when, but it certainly is something to behold. The region used to be called ‘Angkor’ and ‘Wat’ meaning temple, giving its name. Truth be told, the actual religion of the actual temple is a little confusing, but I think it was a Buddhist temple but is now a Hindu temple. The whole site has many many smaller temples, but due to the civil war, lots of them are now ruins and even Angkor Wat itself has many bullet holes which is another reminder of Cambodian history.

The main thing to do is to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat, giving a magnificent picture, although this did make us really tired for the rest of the day and with lots of information, I was not taking it all in. The size of the area is underlined when 7-day tickets can be bought to see the whole sight in great detail, but I was only really interested in seeing Angkor Wat and a couple of smaller but still significant temples.

Damn, Angkor Wat

• wilderness — Due to the lack of tourism compared to other SEA countries there is an abundance of places that seem pretty wild due to the lack of people. This can also mean the lack of rules, which is always a bonus. My example will always be a water park hostel, called Arcadia in Kampot, as it was on a river with multiple slides and water objects that were definitely a health hazard and because it was not near anything, it was fine. I have also heard stories of people being allowed to RPG cows, as long as they bought the cow before blowing it up, which not sure PETA would be very happy about.

Anyway, the northeast of Cambodia is not very travelled, where wild elephants can be found and other incredible animals like a certain type of river dolphins that only live in the Mekong River and a soft-shelled turtle, which is something I would love to see. The countryside was amazing compared to the cities and was much more impressive and the real gem of the country. The poor quality cities are pretty clear as they are not too populated with lots of rural villages with happy, smiley kids running around barefoot.

• Cheaper — Compared to the more westernised Thailand, it is far cheaper, but maybe not as cheap as other neighbouring Vietnam. meal and a pint for $2 was common with the previously mentioned Arcadia only costing $4 with all the entertainment you could want. An exception to this is Angkor Wat, which was $37 which is crazy as that can get you so much in this country, although this is a foreigner’s rate, but it is a sight to behold and worth it.
• not too touristy — I’m sure you’ve been somewhere and thought it was a tourist trap and is not authentic and has taken away from the experience, but not Cambodia. Everything that is done is authentic and really interesting. There is so much history to be learned but fun to be had at the same time. I have to caveat this with some parts of the city that do feel that way with a special mention to Sihanoukville. It is advertised as a nice beach town, but in reality, it has been taken over by Chinese property developers who ran out of money, so part-built hotels and casinos make the place unappealing, so I have heard. Again, the northern parts with a small number of tourists must be an amazing place to explore and would be very rural and authentic.

It is easy to do Cambodia wrong, as this is what we did, by only staying in big cities, as the real beauty is in the countryside or islands (basically anywhere but the cities). I started from Battambang to Siem Reap, to Phnom Penh, to Kampot, with the small town of Kampot being the best by far. Each city can be visited in a day, with Siem Reap the least worst and most enjoyable, and great history in the capital of Phnom Penh.

But that’s it again for another day! Any questions, go ahead.