SIEM REAP
Our first destination in Cambodia was Siem Reap. After being up since 3am for our flight from Phuket and having to get our visas on arrival for $30, which we we unaware of we were relieved when we finally reached our hostel!
We stayed in a super fun hostel in Siem Reap after plenty of recommendation. It was called Funky Flashpackers, so perfect for anyone backpacking around Cambodia. It has a pool and a 24 hour rooftop bar and my bed was so comfortable, definitely in the top 3 so far! Staying here only cost us about $5 per night and it was pretty close to everywhere we needed to be!
Cycling Around The Country Side
On our first full day in Siem Reap we decided to go on a bike tour around the countryside. We cycled for about 40km, whilst all three of us were absolutely exhausted by the end of it, it was 100% worth it. The tour provided such an insight to the lives of the people who lived there as we saw their rice fields and temples and even got to try some of the sugar cane drink they make!
The tour ends at a sunset spot which I can only imagine must be incredibly beautiful in the dry season but for us it was pretty grey. We expected this though as we are here in the midst of the wet season. The tour cost $30 which isnt the cheapest day tour of them all, however I'd still highly recommend it as it's quite different to many of the other day trips we've done so far!
Angor Wat
Angor Wat is a world heritage site so of course is a must when visiting Siem Reap. Personally I am not majorly into history but I still found it quite interesting. There were so many carvings on the walls that all tell a story.
We also got a monks blessing whilst here and saw monkeys! This day was quite expensive, we paid $13 for a bus to bring us around all of the different temples and the Angor Wat day pass was $37 so overall before even eating that day we had spent $50. Despite the cost it's still a must whilst in Siem Reap!
PHNOM PENH
Our time in Siam Reap was short and sweet and we then made our way to Phnom Penh to organise our Vietnam visas. A lot of people do their's online however after flying into Cambodia we decided to save ourselves some money and make the journey to Vietnam by land. Online visas cannot be used when travelling by land. Thankfully getting our visas in the embassy was a walk in the park and cost about $50 which is actually cheaper than some online sites and meant we could enjoy the little time we had in Phnom Penh.
The Killing Fields
The Killing fields is one of the largest tourist attractions in Phnom Penh. The tour tells the story of the 3 Million Cambodians who were killed between 1975-1978 by the Khmer Rouge (Communist Party of Cambodia). The tour provides an audio which not only tells the story but also includes witnesses and survivors stories too.
This killing fields was one of many all over Cambodia but holds the offical memorial Stupa containing thousands of the victims bones who were brutally killed. It was quite tough to listen too and look at but still an absolute must! Before visiting here I had very little knowledge on the genocides in Cambodia! The tour costs $6 and we paid $6 each for the return journey with a tuk tuk driver and it is a 45 minute drive so we got a very fair rate!
The Hostel
Similarly to Siem Reap we landed in a great hostel! It was called Panorama. It was fairly central, the beds were comfortable and we met plenty of other backpackers there too! It cost us $7 to stay there for 2 nights!
7 Hours on a bus to Vietnam... LETS GO!!
Grainne
xo
