Once part of the mighty Khmer Empire, Cambodia or known as Kampuchea is one of major tourist destination is South East Asia thanks to the presence of majestic monuments such as Angkor Wat. Statistics from Ministry of Tourism Cambodia showed there are 4.2 million international tourists visited Cambodia in 2013, with the average length of 6.75 days.
Cambodia, a land which is still fresh from the decades of torture and blood spilling under the rules of Khmer Rouge, is a true reflection on the condition of a third world country. People here still making probably less about 1 USD per day, thus your presence generally means a money tree for them.
The people here are generally nice and friendly but a quarter of them may be the damagers to Cambodia tourism potential. It is still considerable safe to travel at Cambodia though extra precautions should be exercised, as scams, fraud, theft and robbery may happen if you are unlucky or incautious. We have experienced some hiccups in this trips, which we will share in details in the related posts.
United States Dollars (USD) are widely accepted here, though Cambodia has their own currency - Cambodian Riel. The exchange rate is 1 USD equivalent to 4000 - 4100 Cambodian Riel, depending on the shop exchange rate. Fret not if you are not able to get Cambodian Riel, as USD is accepted by all merchants and smaller changes lesser than 1 USD will be returned in Cambodian Riel.
A group consists of 8 people of us ventured into this fallen great empire on a 5 days adventure. Priority was to visit Angkor Wat, finalists of the entry to the 7 new wonders of the world by UNESCO. Of course, there are other places to visit in Cambodia such as the capital - Phnom Penh, Sihaknoukville, Battambang, and a lot more left to the adventurous you.
If you come here with a high expectations on the great difference of cultures and vast number of places of attraction, then 5 days definitely is just good enough. However, if you come equipped with a pair of admiring eyes of Cambodian history or a leisure trip for free and easy, probably you will need longer than 5 days.
Our trip itinerary as follows:
Day 2: Walk around Royal Palace of Cambodia & Riverfront, shopping at Russian Market, Central Market and Phnom Penh Night Market, night bus to Siam Reap
Day 4: Angkor Wat (small circuit)
Follow us for latest update at Facebook.
~End~
No comments