Cambodia – Koh Rong – Hidden Beaches and Luminous Waters

05 April 2019

After travelling to Manila, Hong Kong, Siem Reap and Phnom Pen we felt that it was time for some well-deserved beach time away from cities, so we travelled from Phnom Penh down to the Cambodian coast in the south to catch a ferry to Koh Rong.

The 10 US $ minivan was a similar experience to the bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Pen – timing was bad (and we again arrived much later than expected, taking 10 hours instead of the promised 7 hours) and the ride wasn’t super comfortable – but again it was very cheap so we can’t complain. The ferry goes from Sihanoukville, a very up and coming town with its own beach, albeit not even close to being as beautiful as Koh Rong – do yourself a favour and don’t settle for Sihanoukville’s tourist factories and catch the ferry to the island, you won’t regret it.

Scooter time! Exploring the island’s hidden treasures

Koh Rong is an island with many faces, probably best known for its crazy party scene in backpacker central Police Beach on the Koh Touch part, but there are many other less well known locations on the island where you can really get away from it all. We decided to stay in a sleepy fishing village called Sok San Village, with a handful of restaurants and bars and affordable accommodation we felt right at home (try the Pizza and the Falafel place if you need a break from curries and rice). The village is on Long Beach and makes for a chilled atmosphere with a hand full of tourists and lovely locals. Long Beach itself is (you guessed it) pretty long, a stretch of 7km wonderful white sand where you can walk to your heart’s desire to take in the natural beauty of it all.

Besides relaxing, topping up your tan and swimming, there is not a hell of a lot to do in the village, which suited us fine but if you want to explore a little further you can rent a scooter for a day or go for a 10 US $ per person day trip.

With its many peers and jetties Sok San Village makes for a great fishing spot and after some trial and error and some helpful tips from the locals Sam caught some decent size fish that we BBQ’ed right on the beach – dinner is served! Yummy!

We were glad we went to explore the island on a scooter as it really has some hidden gems. The drive itself through the islands beautiful scenery was a great experience. Just be careful with some of the bumpy roads, these scooters are not made for some of the tracks and we had to get off and push from time to time. A short (bumpy) ride from Sok San Village leads you to Palm Beach which is really stunning, crystal clear blue water and stretches of sand banks makes you feel like you’re in paradise. There are only a handful of (fairly expensive) accommodations at Palm Beach and it’s not easy to get there by boat from the mainland which is why many tourists don’t go there but it really is worth a visit! Whenever we have a little more in our travel budget we’d definitely stay here and soak in the natural beauty.

Another great discovery was Coconut Beach (a slightly longer drive from Sok San Village through the island) which also impresses with beautiful white sand and wonderful water. It is a little busier than Palm Beach offering a few choices for restaurants and bars, we went to the Thai restaurant on the beach and it was great food at a good price.

Catch of the day! But this little fella went back into the ocean, just too small for dinner

The 10 US $ day trip offers you an array of activities from snorkelling, fishing, beach BBQ, sunset cruise and luminous plankton at night it sure is a busy day. We enjoyed it and can’t complain for the price however note that the snorkelling is nice but not amazing (compared to other destinations in South East Asia), the beach BBQ only happens if you catch enough fish (which we didn’t) and you might be a little peckish come sun down. We really did enjoy swimming in the luminous plankton though, it was very pretty and so much fun making the water around you light up, like making your own special effects! Unfortunately it is impossible to pick it up on any camera, so you’ll just have to go experience it yourself to see what it looks like. It was a little creepy at first jumping into the dark water in the middle of the ocean, but once you see the glow underwater you’ll quickly forget the creepiness.

At this point I need to mention that unfortunately Cambodia is still a little behind its neighbours when it comes to recycling and waste management. Due to the currents and tides the waters right at Sok San Village are full of plastic and all other sorts of rubbish. We cleaned up the beach for hours pulling an incredible amount of plastic out of the ocean and were happy to see other western tourists starting to do the same. Unfortunately it seems the locals don’t care much and don’t have the same sense of urgency when it comes to preserving the oceans and trying to lower the use of plastic. While Vietnam has posters all over its cities explaining how to recycle, in Laos you see water refill stations all over the place (sponsored by a great movement called Trash Hero) and in the Philippines you’ll struggle to find a plastic straw – Cambodia is still a little careless about what gets thrown into their oceans, we hope they will catch up soon with positive influence from their neighbours!

But Koh Rong really has something to offer for everyone’s tastes and budgets and is a great place to get to know the relaxed Cambodian island culture, we suggest you’ll find out for yourself next time you’re in this neck of the woods!

For us it’s back to cities for now, watch out Ho Chi Minh City, here we come!

Cambodia – Phnom Penh – The Horrors of History

25 Mar 2019

Take a stroll through Phnom Penh’s many parks

You can get to Phnom Penh from Siem Reap in a quick one hour flight, but if (like us) you’re on a budget it is much cheaper to jump in the bus at a bargain US $ 6 per person. Just set your expectations low, the bus is not super comfortable, the scheduled travel time of 6 hours ended up being nearly 9 hours, there is no communications on breaks (and no toilet on board) and the bus is partially used as goods transportation (expect to share your luggage space with boxes of goods and worst case scenario some chickens, sounds funny but they do smell a bit after a while). But hey, who can complain for 6 US $!

Phnom Penh is a capital like many others in South East Asia, temples and markets and a beautiful Royal Palace. Restaurants and bars will keep you well fed and watered and accommodation is not badly priced.

But what Phnom Penh may be the most memorable for is its fairly recent history. Having been completely “evacuated” by the Khmer Rouge regime in 1975 under the false pretence of expected American bombings. In reality the day marked the end of the civil war and the rise of Marxist dictator Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge. He ordered the clearing of Phnom Penh as part of his plan to empower the working class and to re-build Cambodians as a “master race”. He relocated citizens from the cities into work camps which were disguised as farming communes, all private property was banned and the Cambodian currency was abolished. In Pol Pot’s distorted vision of Cambodia, everybody should be equal and there was no need for money and property. His brutal regime reigned through terror from 1975 to 1979, according to UNICEF’s estimation, around 3 million people were killed through executions and starvation, that’s 25% of the population – 1 in 4 Cambodians died in just four short years.

Memorial shrine at Choeng Ek killing fields

Cambodians killing Cambodians – Pol Pot mistrusted everyone, in particular educated citizens but he also targeted religious groups such as monks and nuns. With slogans like “better to make a mistake and kill an innocent than letting an enemy live” nobody stood a fair chance.

His re-education centres were disguised torture and execution camps and hardly anyone made it out alive. In the infamous S21 Prison many people were tortured until they confessed to crimes and treason against the regime that they didn’t commit. Many prisoners didn’t make it to the execution camp but died during torture. From the estimated 15,000 to 30,000 prisoners only 7 survived.

Lake at the killing fields – it’s been decided that the victims in the graves below the water should be left to rest undisturbed

The Choeng Ek killing fields located 15 km outside Phnom Penh was one of the biggest execution centres with around 129 mass graves holding an estimated 20,000 victims remains, but many have not yet been excavated.

In 1979 the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia, they were able to beat the Khmer Rouge and removed Pol Pot from power. Pol Pot escaped to the rural northeast of the country where he was supposed to be tried for his crimes against the state but died during his house arrest in 1998 at the age of 72, an age that so many of his victims weren’t even close to reach before he cut their lives short.

One of many mass graves that has not yet been excavated

We felt that we needed to see the Choeng Ek killing fields and the S21 Prison, now known as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, for ourselves. It felt disrespectful to spend a month in Cambodia and not give this part of their history the attention and time it deserves.

When entering the killing fields you can feel the mood changing, this is not a “fun touristy selfie” place, it is a place to learn about history, acknowledge the horrors the country had to endure and show respect for the victims. On entry you receive an audio tour which has been put together very well, mixing the historical facts with survivor stories which really gives you great insight and even the toughest of us will find it hard not to get emotional. When following the audio guided tour make sure you stay on the designated path, a lot of the mass graves have not yet been fully excavated and it is common to see old clothes, bone fragments or even teeth of the victims just off the path – do not pick any of it up but alert one of the officials on the site.

To save ammunition most executions were carried out with tools that happened to be available, such as farming tools, blunt clubs or machetes.

The most gruesome part in our opinion was the Killing Tree. Pol Pot was of the opinion that if you kill a parent you should also kill the children as to not leave anybody behind that could seek vengeance. The Killing Tree was used to smash infants skulls against it for a quick death that didn’t cost any resources such as ammunition. The bodies were then thrown in the mass graves with their mothers.

The tour ends at the big memorial shrine in the centre where a lot of victims’ skulls have been put to rest.

The S21 Prison/ Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum also provides an audio tour at a little extra charge. We got a little squeezy looking at the too well archived pictures of the victims, many of which had to be censored as they were too gruesome. It is an eerie place and you can only imagine the horrors the victims had to go through by looking at the torture apparatuses.

The killing tree now covered in prayer bracelets

The visit to the Killing fields and S21 is not something we will ever forget. It’s really a day that will stay with you and takes a while to digest, but we feel that if you visit Cambodia you should not skip such an important part of what makes the country today. Think that this was only 40 years ago, every Cambodian over 40 will have some sort of memory of the events, a story to tell and most likely a lost loved one to remember. The least we can do about it as tourists is learn about the country we visit and to show our respect.

Cambodia – Siem Reap – Say Wat? Angkor Wat!

20 Mar 2019

In just under three hours you can fly from Hong Kong to Cambodia, Siem Reap. Hong Kong Express offers quick, efficient, comfortable and budget friendly options.

Why did we go to Siem Reap? Yes, you guessed it, Angkor Wat has been on our bucket list for a very long time and we couldn’t wait to finally see it in person!

When entering Cambodia make sure you have US $ ready for the visa on arrival (you can also pre-arrange it online, but it’s pretty hassle free on entry as well). Bear in mind that visas can only be paid in cash, so if you don’t have any US $ on you, use the ATM in the immigration hall (before you start queuing!). Visa (for UK and German citizens) is 30 US $ per person for 30 days, if you pre-arrange it in advance online with an agency they will charge you more due to their own fee, we would suggest you save your pennies and get a visa on arrival. Note that they will give you not exactly 30 days but stamp your passport the same date you enter for the next month, i.e. entering on the 10th of February our exit date was 10th of March (so they short changed us by two days).

The Cambodian currency is called Riel, however you’ll get much further with US $. Sadly the Riel these days is only used for small transactions. The prices in all shops, restaurants and accommodation will be displayed in US $ – all transactions are made in US $, the only tricky part is that they only have notes and no coins, meaning the lowest amount you can carry in US $ is the 1 Dollar note. This hiccup is solved with the Cambodia Riel where 1000 Riel equal 0.25 US $ – are you confused yet? We certainly were when we first arrived, but it’s fairly simple once you get used to it. Say your bill is 5.50 US $, you’ll pay with a 5 Dollar note and a 2000 Riel note.

Not having done any research on Siem Reap before turning up we somehow expected a very different vibe from a town that is the entry point to everything Angkor Wat related. We remembered our time in Kandy, Sri Lanka, which holds the sacred Buddha tooth artefact in the logically named Tooth temple, the vibe in Kandy was deeply religious and peaceful – bars close at 11pm latest, locals and tourists alike have an air of respect for the religious and historical sites around them.

So considering Angkor Wat is the biggest historical and religious site in all of Cambodia (if not all of Asia), an ancient and mysterious place, even featured on their flag – stands to reason that Siem Reap has a similar vibe to Kandy, right? Not.In.The.Slightest!

Siem Reap is such a party town that you will have trouble getting a good night’s sleep if you’re staying near the centre – 24h bars blasting music, drug dealers on every corner and the cheapest beer in the country – we certainly didn’t expect that! To us it seemed such a stark contrast to the attraction of Angkor Wat that we were a little thrown by it.

Our hostel Garden Village Guesthouse which we chose because it is centrally located and has a pool, was so overcrowded with young backpackers constantly drunk and/or high that it didn’t make for a great atmosphere. I overheard a young western girl telling her friend that she wanted to go see Angkor Wat but spent all her money on a night out, her mum was nice enough to transfer more money so she could go see it and she again spend it on booze and drugs and was busy photoshopping herself into google pictures of Angkor Wat to send to her mum, she thought it was hilarious… we thought it was disgraceful – to be so close to this monumental attraction just to spend all your (and your mums) money on partying rather than go see something many people would give their right arm to experience.

Well, what can I say, she missed out one of the most stunning places I’ve ever experienced and I’m sure will regret it in future! Angkor Wat is a vast temple complex spanning on more than 162 hectares, that’s nearly an unbelievable 230 football fields – the sheer size of the whole Angkor Archaeological Park is immense, but the temples is what will make you feel in awe. It is hard to fathom how people had the tools to achieve such greatness as early as the 12th century when the constructions began.

We opted in to go for the sunrise at Angkor Wat and found a tuk tuk driver who was willing to pick us up, take us from temple to temple and then bring us back home, for a bargain US $ 15 for the day. The ticket office is actually not directly at the temple gate, so if you’re trying to make your own way there by scooter or bicycle, make sure you stop at the ticket office first. The one day ticket is priced at a staggering US$ 37 per person, but the money is used for maintenance and upkeep of all the temples and it’s really not something where you want to prioritise budget over experience. There are also different price categories for more than one day, if you really want to take your time (depending on how much of a history buff you are).

Ta Prohm ancient tree and even more ancient rock

Considering it’s a 4.30am start to catch the sunrise it was already very busy in the morning, but who can blame everyone for trying to get the best view of the changing lights and magical glow during sunrise. Don’t let the masses of tourists impact you, just enjoy the views – and they were amazing! (Note though, take a flash light and insect repellent and keep in mind this is a religious site so wear appropriate clothing covering your knees and shoulders)

When visiting the different temples throughout the day you can only marvel at what kind of effort and craftsmanship has gone into the constructions so many years ago. Originally built as a Hindu temple during the rule of the Khmer Empire, Angkor Wat was slowly transformed into a Buddhist temple by the end of the 12th century. With its iconic shape featured on the Cambodian flag, everybody can recognise it straight away. But don’t underestimate the beauty and impressive features of the other temples in the complex!

Angkor Thom’s Bayon temple for example, even though smaller than Angkor Wat, has beautiful detailing in its repeated rock statue faces making it an impressive sight in its own right.

But Ta Prohm was our personal favourite, the ancient trees entangled into the temple structure give it a captivating and compelling atmosphere, it’s hard to believe that the temple itself is so much older than the giant trees growing through it – it really is something very special.

If you can only do one thing in Cambodia due to budget and/or time we recommend Angkor Wat, you really shouldn’t miss it!

Next we’re off to Phnom Pen – see you all (virtually) there!