What you need to know when traveling to Cambodia

What you need to know when traveling to Cambodia

Being the neighboring country of Vietnam, Cambodia is considered as an extremely popular and ideal tourist destination in Southeast Asia. Take a look at this article so that your Cambodia tours will be wonderful and have lots of fun.

General information about Cambodia

Cambodia is now one of the Southeast Asian nations that thrive on tourism. Currently, more and more foreign and Vietnamese tourists visit Cambodia, enjoy food, learn the culture and especially admire the famous Khmer temples.

What you need to know when traveling to Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia is an independent country of about 7 million inhabitants living in the southwestern Indochinese Peninsula, which is connected to the Gulf of Thailand in the south. Cambodia borders Thailand in the west and northwest, Vietnam in the east, Laos in the northeast and the sea in the south. Cambodia has 443 km of coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

Topographic features are a large lake in the plains. It is the Tonle Sap Lake, which covers an area of about 2,590 km² in the dry season, and about 24,605 km² in the rainy season. Much of the country area is located at altitudes less than 100 meters above sea level, with the exception of the Cardamon Mountains. The north-south extension to the east is the Elephant Range and the rocky slopes of the Dangrek Mountains along Northern border with Thailand.

Transfer

To travel between tourist destinations in Cambodia, you can choose a bus that is both economical and safe. From Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is priced at 140,000 - 200,000 VND/ ticket.

To travel in Phnom Penh, you can choose one of the following types: walking, biking, riding motorbikes for about 120,000 VND and catching taxi or tuk-tuk. However, it is safer to hire a taxi and tuk-tuk because the streets of Phnom Penh are quite crowded. Traveling by motorbikes and bicycles is not safe because you are unfamiliar with the roads and the traffic here.

Hotels and motels in Cambodia

In Cambodia, there are many hotels and motels with the reasonable prices that you can choose. Among them, the Guest House system is chosen by a lot of tourists. You should make reservations in advance through well-known reservation websites to avoid the room rates higher than normal.

What you need to know when traveling to Cambodia

Some popular Phnom Penh hotels:

  •  Lotus Luxury Villa
  • Imperial Garden Villa & Hotel
  • Sunway Hotel Phnom Penh
  • FCC Phnom Penh Boutique Hotel

Some popular Siem Riep hotels:

  • Gloria Angkor Hotel
  • Cheathata Angkor Hotel
  • Angkor Home Hotel
  • Central Boutique Angkor Hotel
  • Angkor Paradise Hotel

Popular tourist sites in Cambodia

Koh Rong Samloem Island

Koh Rong Samloem island is about 2km away from Sihanouk Ville Town. The beach here still retains its original wild beauty. There are almost no people living on the island. The resorts scattered on the island are built and managed by Europeans. In particular, the sea water here is extremely clear that you can see the bottom with the colorful fish. Here you will enjoy a real holiday, admire the natural, peaceful and pristine scenery.

Preah Vihear Temple

Located on a 525-meter long cliff, Preah Vihear is a Khmer temple in the Dangrek Mountains, between Cambodia and Thailand. This temple has the most majestic landscape in the Khmer temples. Most temples were built during the reign of the Khmer kings Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II. Preah Vihear has seen protracted territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia with many soldiers killed in the clash war in 2009.

Silver Temple

Situated in the Royal Palace Complex in Phnom Penh, Silver Temple features many national treasures such as the Golden Buddha statue and the Diamond Buddha statue. The most notable thing is the baccarat crystal Buddha statue in the 17 century and the golden Maitreya Buddha statue decorated with 9584 diamonds. The wall inside the Silver Temple's courtyard is decorated with colorful murals depicting the myth Ramayana painted by Khmer artists in 1903-04.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the largest temple of all Angkor temples and is the top tourist attraction in Cambodia tours. Built in the first half of the 12th century by King Suryavarman II, the balance, structure, and beauty of the temple make it become one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

Kratie town

Kratie is a small town located on the banks of the Mekong River and surrounded by French buildings. This is a place to attract tourists and backpackers. This is also the place in Cambodia you can see the rare Irrawaddy dolphins living in the Mekong River. It is estimated that there are 66 to 86 dolphins in the upper Mekong in Cambodia.

What you need to know when traveling to Cambodia

The specialty food in Cambodia

Khmer curry

Unlike Indian curry or Thai curry, Khmer curry does not use chili powder, but the main ingredient is coconut milk. Khmer dishes are usually cooked with beef, fish, chicken, eggplant, cowpea, fresh coconut milk, potatoes, lemongrass, and kroeung. Khmer curry is served with bread.

Nom banh chok

Nom banh chok can be simply called Khmer noodles. The dishes include rice noodles, green curry with fish, lemongrass, turmeric, and lemon.

Amok Chicken

Amok is a famous specialty that is a quintessence in Cambodian culinary culture. This dish is made from chicken breast meat, coconut fruit combined with Cambodian own spice called "khuong". Amok chicken has a sweet taste of the jargon, the fat of coconut milk and the aroma of forest banana's leaves.

Ang dtray meuk - grilled squid

Grilled squid is a specialty of Sihanoukville and Kep where there are many islands. Squid before baking is marinated with lime juice, fish sauce, and then skewered roasted on a charcoal fire. This dish is accompanied by Kampot green pepper, garlic, lemon, sugar, and chili.

We hope that you will have a memorable trip to beautiful Cambodia. To know more information about the best Cambodia tours, via our website. Share this article if it is useful for you. Thank you for reading!!