377. Travel diary. Cambodia.

Siem reap We arrived bright and early in the morning, still relatively cool outside the sun was just rising. We grabbed a tuk tuk driver to take us from the airport to our hostel. Haggling down from $10 down to $5 looking back now we could of probably got it cheaper. They will try and mug you off. Get to the dusty roads you felt the need to cover your mouth and eyes as the roads weren't exactly all Tarmac. It was a nice start to our trip though. Having had the crappiest flight (8 hour stop over) we got to our hostel, One Stop hostel which was amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. We slept in the lobby until midday so we could finally check in. Wasn't too happy about that as they were rather slow. However I would recommend to stay there as it is cheap, modern and clean. In the dorms each bed has its own plug socket, mirror and light. Practically luxury. We decided in the evening so explore the town, with lots of restaurants hey all averaged out at about $4 a meal. If you keep walking around you'll find pub street ( lit up in giant LEDs) which to state the obvious is full of bars, clubs and pubs. It's a bit more pricier this end if your looking for a beer as you can get pints practically free if you go further out of the main areas. Carry on and you'll find market street which is also lit up, if your lost it even as lit up arrows pointing you in the right direction. You can get a few bargains round here, little hippy shorts and sarongs. Shorts we bartered to $2 but normally they are $3, sarongs are a lot more expensive compared to bali to my surprise and they were no way near as nice. They were all about $5.

Angkor Wat We spent a good few hours here. We decided to go just after sunrise as its crazy busy so left to cycle up there at about 7am. To cycle from the main town was about 8ks, it's not too bad in the morning as its nice and cool. However we had the faux pas of thinking you could buy tickets at the checkpoints. Checkpoints are dotted all around Angkor Wat, you cannot buy your tickets there! You have to buy them at the main ticket office which were 6ks back, ended up getting a little moped to take us there. Tickets are $20 each and they take your photo to print onto your ticket, so very official. When we got to the Angkor Wat, the main temple, the sun was still rising in the sky and it was so pretty. Surrounded by lakes it was stunning. I would highly recommend going at the time we did as it wasn't too busy. The ruins are gorgeous and the grounds are beautiful, you could take hours around them. We only ended up going to three out of many many temples. We cycled around which was so much fun, admiring the insane scenery. I didn't take too many pictures as I was too busy taking it all in and concentrating on not falling off my bike.

Phnom Penh Having completed a 5 hour journey on a bus, it wasn't the most pleasant of journeys due to it being very bumpy, very noisy and slightly too hot. I would recommend to always pay a couple dollars extra for a better bus because we later found it definitely pays off but hey do sell out faster. I wasn't a massive fan of Phnom Penh, it's a lot more built up than siem reap. We spent a couple of nights there and did the standard tourist thing which were the killing fields and the museum. Hostels will try and flog you tuk tuk tours which take you in between the sights for a set price between $12 - $25 depending on how many sights you choose to visit. I would recommend just getting different tuk tuks each time as it works out cheaper. First stop was the museum, all entry is reasonable being about $3. Located at the actual prison is was crazy how recent it all was and an interesting insight to it all. The trauma all the Khmers went through by their own people. I would highly recommend going before the killing fields so you get a better understanding of what happened. At the killing fields you get given a audio tape to guide you round. It's surprisingly beautiful and peaceful however it tells the saddest stories but brings a lot of respect to those who died.

Koh Rong We stayed one night in Sinaukville before Koh Rong as we were told its a nice quaint town. Wasn't a massive fan as the beaches weren't that nice. We booked a ferry for $25 which was the fast boat. Everywhere is the same company and the same price unless you get the slow boat which I wouldn't recommend. The fast boat is pretty good and takes about 2 hours max. We stayed at green Ocean where a few other backpackers had recommended, this was to the left of the pier. It was $16 for a double bedroom ensuite. Or a dorm is $7. Let me tell you there is no air con in any of these places, electricity gets turned off for a few hours during the day and at night. So even the fans don't work. It is a minimal life style. If you stay where all the main bars are its bloody noisy. There was one place which was away from it all called monkey island, but I couldn't tell you what the accommodation was like. Food was alright I would highly recommend eating the amok curry. It's so yummy! The beaches on Koh rong are incredible. The most clear I have ever experienced and so warm. It honestly is like paradise. You'll notice though that you will feel little stings in the sea, they don't hurt that much just little pricks now and then. That's baby jellyfish which you can't see! We took a boat trip one of the days for $7. I would only recommend doing it if you an see the plankton at night. As the snorkelling is average and I wasn't a fan of fishing. The trip to long beach was a bit weird as the boat didn't dock close enough to the beach so you couldn't get off... However we did watch the sunset which was nice. Don't expect the drivers to speak ant English either. We were there at full moon so it was too bright for plankton which was sad. It was a nice day but without the plankton it was a bit average. You can rent kayaks for real cheap, we got good ones for $8 for both of us(3 hours). Definitely recommend as its real fun and cheap. Super pretty during sunset too.

Kampot We stayed at Arcadia, this was 15 minutes from the centre. A tuk tuk should only cost $4 for both of you. Don't let them con you! I would recommend to stay here but if your not a minimal living person don't book the dorm. You don't even get a cover...only a pillow and a mossie net. Gets pretty chilly at night too. However the place is pretty and has such a cool friendly vibe about it. The amok curry there is also amazing, massive portions too. It's easy to just hang there for the whole day which is exactly what we did as it was located right on the river where you could go for a swim and it had a swing and some bouncy giant pillow thing. We took one of the tours around Kampot which was $12 each. It was honestly the most bizarre thing I've ever experienced. The tour guide didn't speak very good english so didn't really understand the relevance of any of the weird places we visited. Don't pay to go on it. At night you do a boat tour to see fire flies, there will be one small bush with about 10 fire flies. The sunset is stunning though. So all depends on what you want. We did eat the best deserts we had had in a while, highly recommend to eat there. Kampot ice cream and pie. Very original name. Do it. The brownie was so good and I'm very fussy as I don't like brownies when they are cakes rather than a crunchier outside and gooey middle. This was the good shit.