Oddly enough, through the course of all of our travels, we’ve never been through a border crossing by car. As it turns out, the crossing was more challenging for our Vietnam guide, Sunny as the boarder guards wouldn’t allow him to leave the country to hand our group off to our new guide, despite being, you know…Vietnamese and crossing the boarder at least ten times a year. Our experience wasn’t anything outside of the usual except being required to provide finger prints upon entry into Cambodia. So I suppose we’re now part of Interpol’s database or something else we should e concerned about. I guess I can kiss my international criminal career out the window which is a shame considering I was just learning how to grease boarder guards entering Cambodia (true story).

Phnom Penh

After two hours and providing everything, sans a blood test and my mother’s maiden name, we were in Cambodia where we said our farewells to Sunny and welcomed our local Cambodia guide, James who gave us the low down on his country including their Hindu and (now) Buddhist heritage via a stop at the Kraeng Svay Pagoda and their deep roots in rice farming through a demo of a local farmer’s growing and harvesting process of the grain. All of which wasn’t terribly surprising given the geography but what was surprising what what lied ahead of us upon our arrival to Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh.

The Vietnam War didn’t just affect the political and societal environment of Vietnam but took a very dark toll to the Cambodian people and their monarchy. Once the US left the area, the local economy suffered and crumbled a semblance of order within Cambodia. Propelled by anti American/capital sentiment and desperation a communist sect of Cambodia’s people party referred to as the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975 and began a genocide that would last for the next four years and kill millions of locals. Cambodians of opposing political parties and/or ideologies were herded to one of hundreds of encampments under the guise of being CIA spies. One of these ‘’security centers’ was located in the center of Phnom Penh and is known as Tuol Slang, i.e. Security Center 21. We toured the remains of the facility which has known been turned into a museum to educate on the horrors of what occurred within its walls, which I don’t want to go into for the sake of my readers. Suffice to say, elaborate tortures were conducted to get info on other opposing members with the intention of killing them once the information was extracted. These were often conducted offsite at a killing/burial field like Choueng Ek, which we also toured. I only include this here because of the fact that I had no idea this even occurred, let alone so recently and I think it’s beneficial to provide light on something so terrible that isn’t well known.

Exploring the capital city wasn’t consumed by horrifying and depressing things. We spent the evening visiting the sights via a cyclo tour – rickshaws powered by older men with legs the size of tree trunks and the strength of an ox. I thought to ask if they were married to the women in Ninh Bihn but I figured that the combination of both of their strength in the same household would cause massive earthquakes so I found it unlikely.

Siem Reap

We’ve been spending our travel time in a 15 person bus and everybody was beginning to loathe using it, especially since we set off to Siem Reap which was a short and exhilarating six hour drive from Phnom Penh. Luckily by the time we arrived we were all ready for some sort of absolution so our schedule of various Buddhist temple and pagoda tours seemed like great timing for everyone. Traveling by tuk tuk: a motorbike rickshaw, we started our tour at the Banteay Seri, a 10th century Hindu temple known as the ‘City of Women’ because of the impeccable and intricate carvings that are presumed to be done by women due to their notorious levels of patience. We also visited Preah Ang Jek, a shrine to help couples conceive and the adjacent Preah Ang Jom, a more traditional temple.

Interestingly enough, Cambodia doesn’t have retirement homes and nursing homes are very few and far between with hospitals filling in most of that service. If a retiree doesn’t have a daughter to care for them (again, daughters primarily take care of their parents in old age due to that whole ‘patience’ thing) then the Buddhist temples take them in. They provide thousands of elderly with free room and board in exchange for work done at the temples and for a select few, become ‘priest like’ members of the temple. At Wat Phnom, I was fortunate to received a formal blessing from one who wished me a long and happy life and a fulfilling marriage as he pelted me with pieces of lotus and hard candy. After all, there are a few things you can rely on in life and one of them is old people giving you hard candies.

One of the main reasons most people go to Cambodia (and the main reason we booked this trip) is to go see the largest temple in the world: Angkor Wat and it was on the very last day of the trip that we were able to do just that. With an alarm close set for 4:30am, we arrived to see the complex just as the sun was beginning to rise which provided an incredible start to the day.

Angkor Wat isn’t just the biggest Hindu temple in the world but the largest religious complex in the world. Built in the 12th century, the then king of Cambodia commissioned it built as a show of strength and overwhelming presence to honor their god, Vishnu. It took over 35 years and over 100 million tons to stone to create such a striking and imposing display. Kings have the power to dictate the practiced religion in Cambodia so when a new king took power in the 16th century, he pivoted the country to Buddhism which meant removing all aspects of the previous religion from all the sacred places, including Angkor Wat. As of today, Angkor Wat is a functional Buddhist temple with four unique Buddhas housing the center spire where a statue of Vishnu once stood. Even though power and religion has changed over the centuries (not to mention the civil war caused by the Khmer Rouge that sought to destroy the temple) it remains in good condition with the original statue of Vishnu now displayed in the south boarder corridor.

Rereading this post, I realize I may come off as disliking Cambodia but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Much like Vietnam, the country is filled with lovely people with aspects of their history that resonate to present day and is difficult to move on from. Knowing that the darkest days of the country have been recent provides necessary context in understanding their culture and how they operate as a society. For anyone thinking of going, you absolutely should as they offer experiences that can’t be found anywhere else.

One final thought: Traveling as part of a group of strangers the individuals that make up the group and really make or break a holiday, especially with itineraries as aggressive as this one. We were extraordinarily fortunate that our group were full of fun, exciting, courteous and overall lovely people that enhanced this experience in a very special way. Lauren and I both agreed that we would not hesitate to join any single one of them on another adventure!

Travel/Post Details:

Post includes travel from December 5 – December 10, 2024

Accommodations:

• Phnom Penh: Sun and Moon
• Siem Reap: Shinta Mani

Other Notes:

• As part of the tuk tuk ride on Dec 8, we also stopped at the house and gallery of Muy-Theam a local artist
• Lauren and I spent the evening of Dec 8 at the hotel spa having an incredible full body massage using local techniques. By far the best massage I have ever had.
• In addition to Angkor Wat, we visited Ta Prohm and Bayon Temple the same day. Ta Prohm was actually a filming spot for the original Tomb Raider movie but both were incredible because of how they’ve integrated with the surrounding jungle
• The timetables for our return flights were all terrible. Most itineraries required us to stay 8-10 hours either in Saigon or LAX so I ended up booking separate flights from Siem Reap to Saigon to catch our flight to LAX. Unfortunately the hour layover in Saigon wasn’t enough time to catch our connecting flight, according to the gate agent at SAI. He informed us that if we missed our flight, The Vietnam border control would send us back to Cambodia since we didn’t have a valid visa on top of a financial penalty for us and the airline, not to mention the possibility of jail time. We were very fortunate to be working with a fantastic agent at SAI would called his colleagues in Saigon and informed them of our situation, along with passport info and photos that upon deplaning in Saigon, they promptly took us on a crew shuttle to the terminal, literally ran us through the connections area, security and were able to make our flight, five minutes prior to the scheduled departure. The staff of Cambodia Angkor Air and Asiana Air along with SGN officials went way above and beyond what was reasonable and what we were both expecting and am eternally grateful that they did so we could get home on time. I know for a fact that this wouldn’t happen in the states which made this effort so much more meaningful. It’s just a reminder that there are genuinely sweet, helpful and wonderful people working behind the scenes and this was a lovely last reminder of the Asian hospitality we’ve experienced during the entire trip.

Food Summary:

• 12/5:
  • Dinner: Since our drive got us in so late into Phnom Penh and because the location of the hotel didn’t allow for much local walking, we ended up getting room service at the hotel. Lauren got a croque masseur and I had beef satay and we split chocolate ice cream. It was exactly what I was expecting from hotel room service.
• 12/6:
  • Lunch: Snadai Cafe after the killing field tour. After such a cheery visit and an inevitable cold, I wasn’t hungry so abstained. Lauren had a burger and fries much to the amusement of the group and myself. The burger was actually descent given the location.
  • Dinner: Bopha Phnom Penh, colloquially known as the Titanic restaurant (I have no idea why). This was a prepaid meal so it was a set menu consisting of fish lemongrass skewers, chicken curry, stir fried veggies and fresh fruit for dessert. Nothing terribly memorable except for the ‘jug’ of beer that was a 3L draft. Sanjay and I were challenging each other to order it but mutually decided it wouldn’t work well with the 90 degree weather we had. Prior to dinner we had ice cream in the night market where Lauren and I both had coconut and a ‘mixed’ ice cream consisting of jackfruit, banana and sweet corn. An odd combination but rather tasty.
• 12/7:
  • Lunch: Prey Pros Restaurant en route to Siem Reap. Lauren ordered the BBQ pork which was incredibly fatty and I had an average beef satay. Another miss for Cambodian restaurants unfortunately.
  • Dinner: Spoons. Another set menu but everything was delicious and very well done. Lauren, Amy and I decided to walk the 1.2km to work up an appetite. We had a prawn avocado salad, amok fish (fish served with a mild curry steamed in a hollowed out bamboo stalk), Turk Kroeung (hyacinth flower, water lily stalks, green beans served with a peanut sauce) and if course, seasonal fruit. Amy spotted mango sticky rice on the menu so five of use ordered it al la carte which was incredible and I lovely shake up from our usual fruit.
• 12/8:
  • Lunch: We stopped at a local’s house to undergo a rice noddle cooking demo where we ate the results of the demo. It was a pho type dish lemongrass, lotus root, hyacinth flower, fish sauce and a handful of other ingredients. Overall, it was good but served cold which was disappointing. The noodles however were extraordinary likely due to the amount of care and work the family has put in to create a soft and supple noodle.
  • Dinner: No actual dinner as we took a gondola ride in the moat of Angkor Wat and had so much snacky food I’m surprised we didn’t sink. Included was banana and sweet potato chips, huge cashews, sushi, shrimp, tuna sandwiches, fried spring rolls all served with champagne. Lauren J joined us and between her and I, we finished three bottles which probably led to me being sick that night.
• 12/9:
  • We had coffee at The Little Red Fox Espresso prior to lunch, According to a guy wearing ridiculously short white shorts it was ‘the only palatable espresso in Siem Reap’. I can’t vouch for his perspective but Lauren’s latte and my cappuccino (my condolences to Italians everywhere), was the best coffee we’ve had during the entire trip so we were both happy.
  • Lunch: Our late breakfast after Angkor Wat led to a late dinner (like 4pm) at Mama’s Italian Shop where we regrettably order two pizzas, one prosciutto and mushrooms the other Quattro formaggio, We couldn’t eat it all so we had to forego about a whole pizza between the two of us. The pizza itself was ok but the crust was a bit blonde and the toppings could’ve been cooked better.
  • Dinner: Lum Orng Farm to Table for our farewell dinner. It was a lovely, local eatery that uses its own farms to supply the restaurant. It was a set menu consisting of a beef salad I was on the fence about, river lobster soup that was trying to be fancy by calling shrimp river lobster but otherwise delicious, a duck curry that was the second best dish of the trip with a (thankfully) light curry and a rather disappointing mango sticky rice with black rice for dessert.

Flights:

• SAI > SGN: Cambodia Angkor Air
• SGN > ICN > LAX: Asiana Air
• LAX > PHX: Southwest

Featured Image: The east side of Angkor Wat after sunrise