stunning (Cambodia)

Member Name: Lord22

Product:	Cambodia
Date:	09/06/09 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap, affordable, well worth the effort

Disadvantages: rough travel if by bus, constant begging

I came into Cambodia with my 2 friends while Backpacking via Thailand and i have no regrets going there at all, im sure there were a lots of other places that we could have gone to while we were in this country but opted to go to Angkor Wat as it is a must see place on anyones travel plans in Asia.
Travel companies in Thailand can organised buses to take you to towns near the temple and drop you off at hotels which are often reasonably priced. Be aware that this country has a two tiered payment system where you can pay for food in the local currency but for expensive items and hostels they often insist on dollars, on experience try to spend all the local currency before you leave or give it to a good cause as you can exchange it afterwards.
The hotel i stayed in was pretty good and having made a couple of good good buddies on the bus ride we hired a tuk tuk to explore the ruins for the day, good haggling can mean that for a cheap price you get your personal driver all day. At the end though we would always make sure we gave a good tip.
Angkor what may be the most visited but its well worth going to the outlying temples that arent often visited, we managed to find one that was the miniature version of Angkor and had the place pretty much t ourselves almost. seeing the sunset and sunrise at Angkor is well worth the effort as well and i must have filled up the entire memory card on my camera! we did not notice that sunrise seemed to be the most populor and was really busy but at sunsets the crowd are pretty ok and you wont struggle to find the best spots
Another must visit place it the landmine Museum or centre, whose owner still makes regular visits to clear them when found , he also takes in some landmine survivors who discuss their experience and i found them to be very brave individuals, it really did affect me and i not could help but donate whatever i could afford to help them, the place was a little hidden so you might have difficulty finding it, my advice it to take a tuk tuk as they would be able to get you there quicker.
be wary though when you are handing out money to child beggars as you can get quickly swarmed and get the words '1 dollare' repeated to you, one couple we saw made the mistake of trying to buy baby milk for this mother and child and where quickly overwhelmed with demands.
Giving them money may not even help them anyway as when we were having a meal we saw someone give money to a child only later see the same child give it to an adult who seemed to be the local 'fagin', so my best advice is that if you want to help donate to a reputable charity as they are these kids best chance.
So there you have it my short Cambodian travel experience, im sure ive only touched a small part of the country, but from what i saw i bet its amazing and beutiful!go visit Angkor if anything else

Summary: the Majesty of Angkor Wat and Cruelty of Landmines