Cambodia is a culturally rich country that is most famous for its beautiful ancient temples of Angkor and also a sad history of the genocide commited by Khmer rouge rule.
Millions of people have been killed or died just 40 years ago and almost every family in Cambodia is still affected today by those times.
Despite the horrifying history, the people of Cambodia smile a lot and are extremely nice and friendly which makes your visit an unforgettable experience. Not that many people know that Cambodia has a beautiful coastline with awesome white sand beaches far from crowded Thailand. It is not a secret that the best beach we have ever been to is in Cambodia.
Do you want to know the prices in Cambodia? Check out our Cambodia budget guide
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To visit the base Siem Reap with the ancient temples nearby is a must in Cambodia. Most of the people go there by tuk-tuk. You can rent a bicycle if it is not too hot. You can choose a ticket for 1 day, 3 days or a week if you want to get lost in ancient time.
The main and the most famous Angkor Wat temple is amazing, but could be a crowded place. Most people go there for the sunrise before 6 am. If you think you will be alone there that early, you can be terribly wrong. This is a picture of people waiting for the sunrise 5:30AM. If you want to avoid the crowds, start exploring the temples from the other side.
This temple with famous stone faces is one of the biggest and most interesting temples in the complex. If you go there while everyone is waiting for the sunrise at Angkor Wat, you could be almost alone there.
Take your time in the temple and explore every corner and detail. The stone carvings are incredible.
The Ta Prohm temple is famous for Lara Croft and Tomb Raider, but it is one of our favourite big temples. It was abandonded in 15the century, left in the jungle. Today you can admire huge trees being part of the temple. You will realize how old it is when you see the power of nature.
Banteay Srei is located outside of Siem Reap. It is a small and special temple, not so crowded because of its location. We went there by a motorbike a day before we visited the main temples. It was a nice half day trip. If you go there for the sunset, you can observe the changing colors of the temple. If you are lucky, you can be there alone.
Sihanoukville is a coastal city in Cambodia. It is famous for its nightlife, seafood and beaches. If you want to have fun and drink, stay in Sihanoukville. If you prefer more quiet place, go to nearby Otres beach.
From Sihanoukville you can take a boat to a beautiful island Koh Rong. It is the second largest island of Cambodia, about 25 km from Sihanoukville.
There are four villages on the island, chilled places with lots of free and hippie people. The rest of the island are awesome white sand beaches and a jungle.
We took a boat to Coconut beach which is basically just a beautiful beach with few bungalows and tents.
Coconut beach bungalows are run by a friendly family and because of their great service and the beautiful location they have a better Booking.com rating for sleeping in a tent than 5 stars hotels.
Imagine the warm and clean sea, white and smooth sand and nobody on the beach. We have never seen a better beach with no people around. It was a paradise for 3 days. After spending the whole day either on the beach or in the water, we were sunburned like hell even though we had been using the sunscreams SPF 50.
Kampot is a riverside town, famous for French colonial architecture, pepper and durian. It is not typical asian town and you can feel that everywhere. In the city you can go on a fun boat tour to see the fireflies in the trees. Kampot is a good base for trips around.
Rent a motorbike and visit the Bokor Hill Station at Kampot National Park. On the picture there is abandonded catholic church.
The hotel&casino was built in the early 20th century by French colonists as a luxury mountain resort. It was abandoned twice in 1940s and during the Khmer Rouge. The place has great views and it is quite scary to explore the building. We are not sure if it is true, but they say the guests who lost their money in the casino were jumping from the cliff.
Kampot is famous for the best pepper in the world. Visit the pepper factories and plantations, it is very educational and interesting.
Did you know that black, white and red pepper are coming from the same plant?
And when you know how they harvest pepper, you can go to visit the salt fields. We have never seen so much salt in one place.
Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, busy and crowded as all asian cities. Visit the Russian market, full of fruits, vegetables, people and all kinds of food.
When you are in Phnom Penh you must go to Toul Sleng Genocide Museum or S-21. It is a former school used by the Khmer Rouge regime. It was one of the biggest execution centers where 20,000 people were killed.
We can compare the visit experience to visiting the Auschwitz concentration camp from the World War II. Very sad, terrifying, but extremely important to know about. We spent there a night mare afternoon walking from one prison cell to another, listening to the audio guide full of scary and emotional stories of the people who survived.
The Killing Fields is a place where more than a million people were killed and buried in the mass graves by the Khmer Rouge regime. The parts of clothes, bones and teeth are still visible in the ground. You can't put words on how you feel there, but everyone who goes to Phnom Penh should go there. You will have a different view on people of Cambodia after seeing it.
Places from the photo journey on the map
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