Traveling Around Cambodia

I was biking on a skinny unpaved path along the cliffs of the Sangker River north towards Battambang when I saw them a short distance in front me on the path and I instantly knew what was coming. It wouldn't be the first time. A group of kids was assembled looking down towards the river but in a matter of seconds they'd be looking right at me. Even if I turned around now it would be too late, they'd hear my bike anyway. The path only went in one direction and having no other choice I rode on. The sound of my steel frame rattling along the dirt trail alerted them to my presence. First one of them looked in my direction then they all turned towards me. Just as I was about to pass them, they hit me with, "hello." "Hello, hello, hello," I could hear their friends who were bathing in the river down below joining in the chorus from a distance, "hello, hello." "Hello," I responded with a wave and kept riding. Even if things weren't going my way the greetings of the children I passed in the Cambodian countryside was going to put a smile on my face.

The capital is by far the biggest city in the country. It had some of the most chaotic traffic I've seen but there's a charming side to it as well. It had some of the best restaurants and bars in all of Cambodia along with enormous day and night markets to explore local flavors and do some budget shopping. The city is at the confluence of two rivers and there are many opportunities to watch the sun set over the city from a boat. A little further from the town center, up the Mekong River, there are a couple of tranquil islands famous for silk production and a view into rural Cambodia. Back inside the city popular itineraries include a tour of the Royal Palace and a visit to the small hilltop temple at Wat Phnom. Our preferred mode of transportation was the ubiquitous tuk-tuks that handle the traffic better than any other vehicle. They can be found basically everywhere and they will try to hail you down instead of the other way around. Sehrish, having worked in Cambodia for a chunk of the past year, learned the secret of never being overcharged for a ride. There are at least two different ride-hail apps for the tuk-tuks in Cambodia and using them made getting around supremely easy and inexpensive. We spent a few nights in Phnom Penh at the beginning and end of our trip but could easily have spent more if for no other reason than to try more restaurants.

Kampot was out first destination outside the capital. The town has a laid back vibe and is known for being a popular stopping ground for Cambodia's expat community. Kampot is a short distance from the ocean and we made a quick bike ride to Kep Beach our first stop. The ocean water was probably the warmest I've ever felt in my life. As the sun was fading we figured Kep wouldn't be as much fun to spend the night in as Kampot so we hailed a tuk-tuk to take us back with both our bikes in tow. The driver didn't seem bothered at all. One of the other famous sights just outside of Kampot is Bokor Hill. It was built by the French during colonial days to escape the summer heat of the city but abandoned more than once in the intervening years. It has incredible views of the bay along with an abandoned French church and an early 20th century Buddhist temple to explore. The area was being rapidly developed when we went with brand new mega-hotels and casinos almost finished. I expect the area to look quite different in a few years time.

Battambang is one of the bigger cities in Cambodia but even so has the feeling of small town. There are some remnants of its colonial past including a dilapidated French bridge and some nicely restored yellow buildings in the town center. Apart from that the architecture wasn't much to look at. The main draw was the food. We ate at a few spectacular yet modestly priced restaurants. The coffee shops were also terrific, serving amazing cold brew coffee on a sweltering day. Outside the city there are abandoned train tracks that the locals re-purposed to ride tourists around the countryside. The track goes one way so when someone is coming the other way the rail cart must be disassembled and removed from the track. A few miles further away is a historic ruin of the Kher empire called Phnom Banan. This 11th century temple is very well preserved and doesn't get overrun as busy as some of the more popular ones elsewhere. We rode our bikes along a fairly busy, dusty road to get there. Sehrish didn't feel like riding it back and took a tuk-tuk while I tried to find the parallel way back on the other side of the Sangker river. I was in for a treat because this side was completely traffic free. It was mostly single-track for motorcycles and passed through some beautiful villages. I passed lots of farmland and saw people swimming, fishing and going about their rural chores. I even crossed a rope bridge which motorbikes were zipping across back and forth. After a few days in Battambang we set off towards Siem Reap. The options were a 4 or so hour bus ride or a 6 or so hour boat ride. We already endured a long, slow bus ride from Kampot to Battambang so for me this was a no brainer. We got up early and loaded our bikes on the roof of the boat. It was a wonderful experience and highly recommended. The trip took us past floating villages with houses built on the water. The boat slowly wound its way up the Sangker river then some small tributary without entering the Tonle Sap (the large lake in the center of the country). Finally we were dropped off on the side of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere a few miles from Siem Reap. We took a scenic late afternoon ride into town and settled in.

Siem Reap is the gateway to the Temples of Angkor. It's pretty much the only place visitors to this incredible complex stay. I thought it would be a bit of a tourist trap with trinket salespeople everywhere but it wasn't unpleasant at all. We avoided the busy pub street area and instead spent our nights at a super fun reggae bar (sadly since closed). There wasn't a lot to do inside the city besides food and accommodations which were both totally satisfactory. The temples were the real reason to visit anyway and boy were they spectacular. The temples of Angkor is a huge, sprawling complex of temples a few miles north of Siem Reap. This UNESCO world heritage site features hundreds of buildings spread out over many miles. They date back to the 9th - 14th century and showcase the accomplishments of the Khmer Empire. The most famous site, Angkor Wat, is the world's largest religious building and one of very few buildings to feature on a country's flag. Even though Cambodia is mostly Buddhist today the iconography on the buildings is largely Hindu which was the main religion of the empire. The different sites are spread out miles from each other and the tickets include 1, 3 and 7 day passes. We chose the 3 day pass to be able to enjoy several sites at our own pace instead of rushing through them. Even a 7 day pass isn't enough to see the whole thing. Going to the slightly lesser known temples was a treat because many of them were practically empty (especially Ta Som and East Baray). Empty of people that is, there were monkeys at many of the sites and they weren't always friendly. We cycled around the temples on two of the days and took a tuk-tuk on the third to visit some further away temples. On the way back from exploring we took a hot air balloon trip that goes up and down and has a bird's eye view of Angkor Wat. At the end we took one more bus ride back to Phnom Penh on our way back home.

The trip described here took place in late January to early February of 2020. The world changed dramatically the month after and I found it difficult to think and write about travel. After a long delay I finally got my thoughts and images organized. Cycling was a lesser part of this trip than some of my others but we still spent a few days riding around different parts of the country. Outside the cities the roads were mainly dirt and were very dusty. This was a challenge because every truck that passed us kicked up a huge cloud of dust. We even tried to wear masks at one point but it wasn't easy in the heat. We brought our own bikes but renting would have been very easy and inexpensive in all the major towns we stopped in. Riding in Phnom Penh was intense and chaotic but I found a sort of order to the chaos. Most of the traffic was scooter drivers and I noticed people were much more attentive than the drivers and other road users back home. I was surprised how developed the tourist infrastructure was in the places we were in, though outside the bigger towns it seemed like finding lodging might be more difficult. My post is focused on the positive parts of the trip but I did stop into one of the museums dedicated to the tragic events under the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. It was deeply unsettling to learn about the cruelty a group of people can inflict on their neighbors but it was important to better understand the place I was visiting. These events happened fairly recently and many Cambodians alive today experienced them first hand. Despite the recent trauma I found people extremely warm, polite and helpful. English was widely spoken even in smaller places outside the typical tourist draws. The food was consistently terrific and I eagerly sought some out back home when I returned. I recommend the national dish, Fish Amok, which is a white fish of some kind in a curry often served in a banana leaf. In general food wasn't extremely spicy but very aromatic with lots of coconut, kaffir lime leaves and other floral and tropical flavors. Get out to Cambodia and try some if you can.