We spent a week in Cambodia with family in April 2018. We visited the UNESCO world heritage sites near Siem Reap and the modern city of Phnom Penh.
We toured Angkor Wat temple which was built in the 1100s and the Bayon Temple and finally Wat Prohm. We learned a lot from our tour guide Di about the ancient Khmer Empire and sampled some traditional Khmer food- a delicious coconut curry. We cooked our skip the line tour via Viator. When we toured the temple, I couldn’t help imagine what it must have been like to rediscover these temples after 400 years of abandonment in the 1860s. Wat Prohm (Lara Croft Tomb Raider set location) was my favourite because the restoration crew left the banyan trees (Kapok) growing to preserve the temple’s structure. My favourite photo of the day was my photo of the monks taking photos of the temple;) We found the weather very hot but we had beautiful and peaceful accommodations both in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. We stayed at the Borei Angkor Resort and Spa and the iRoHa Garden Hotel
We traveled by remorque (tuk tuk) almost every day which I really enjoyed. (They don’t have these in HCMC). We also travelled by bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (6 hours one way) on a modern bus which was cheap, safe and it allowed us to see a lot of the countryside. Everywhere we looked there were kids happily playing. Luckily for us the rainy season. which is about to begin, didn’t interfere with our sightseeing. We got caught twice in some rain but our tuk tuk drivers quickly arrived and saved us from being drenched! Fresh mangos hung from the trees all around us and were available at every meal. We had fresh mango for breakfast, mango chicken at dinner, mango margaritas, and mango ice cream for dessert.
In Phnom Penh we visited the Killing Fields where the mass graves were discovered in the 1980s It is now a memorial for those who were killed by the horrific regime of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. I can’t believe that he was considered by the UN, as the rightful government after the Vietnamese ousted him in 1979. I also visited S21 the genocide museum to learn more about this dark time in history. Both sites had excellent audio tours and are set in peaceful areas so there is time to reflect on what you are hearing. I also had no idea that Cambodia and Vietnam were at war with each other until 1992 so Cambodia feels like a very new country. The people are very optimistic and really valued our tourist dollars. The customer service and ability to speak English was excellent! I love learning the history of a place when I’m there. I also have a whole new appreciation for the daily struggles Cambodians face and I admire their optimistic outlook.