Travelling alone with only my backpack (Black Wolf Grand Teton 65L which turned out to be an absolute perfect friend for all adventures undertaken) with a very under-utilised Australian Passport. After scoring a fantastic flight deal with Air Asia I arrived at Siem Reap 7.30am 5^th April 2018 from a stopover at Kuala Lumpur. With little confidence in Australia I went the “8 day Best of Cambodia” private tour package provided by Indochinaodyssey  https://www.indochinaodysseytours.com/cambodia.html . They were extremely helpful and responded to all concerns promptly prior to the journey which left me only to concentrate on the flight. Bit of an expense but as you will see below .. money well spent.

Once I was through Siem Reap Customs (I obtained a Business Visa $35US upon entry which enabled me to later obtain an extension with multiple entries) my tour guide Sun (pronounced Soun) quickly identified me after I walked though the double doors with up to 60 Cambodians waving name plaques at me. I thought I was a celebrity and there was no way I would ever see my name in that melee. Sun was very friendly & spoke excellent English. Before I knew it he had loaded my backpack into the car, driven by another Cambodian, Peter who didn’t speak English). The tour rule is the driver does all the driving & Sun handles everything else. They dropped me off at Lotus Blanc Resort, a luxurious hotel (4 stars minimum) provided by the tour package & I was left to my own devices until 8am the next day for the tour to start.

Right on time 8am Sun & Peter were waiting with huge smiles. From there we started on the temple tours. Sun has been doing these tours for some 11 years so he really knows his stuff. Not much he doesn’t know. He knew how to avoid most of the tourists, temple history knowledge, all entry points, fees & even where to stand to take the best viewing and photographs. Sun & I became instant friends with his temperament & manners & now on facebook. He plays soccer still, married & with 2 small children. He even used his name to certify my local SIM card on my phone as I left my passport in the hotel safe for security. A local SIM in Cambodia is unbelievable (40Gig of data, cheap call rates, fantastic coverage & speed & all for $8USD per month).

The temple tour included Ankor Thom, Ankor Wat, Hill Temple, Banteay Srei, Ta Keo & Ta Prohm. The weather was very hot & dry (39C at least). Every time I came back to the car Peter had a cold wet hand towel & face wash ready for me. Even beat me to open the door.  You cannot imagine how that felt after a few hours or so at each temple. Utter relief & soon the air con was working … Yay!!!! A felt sorry for the tourists using tut tut carts, cycles, etc with no relief except the water they carried. Being April & a few months from the wet season the mirror ponds at Ankor Wat for the sunrise, etc was a little disappointing due to the low water level. Still managed a great photo even though this particular day it RAINED!!!! Go figure!!! I could talk for days, just on the temples & photos so I’ll leave it to you to experience what I managed.

My free tour time included hanging out in the amazing pool at the rear of Lotus Blanc Resort … serenity & reflection was gratifying & amazing. When not at Lotus Blanc I ventured into Pub Street (closed to transport each afternoon at 5.30pm so you can walk the streets & do the Aussie “Pub Crawl” & people watch) plus the large local market. What a great experience and many tourists to meet & greet. The food & drinks were insanely cheap and very good.

With a few days at Siem Reap done, Sun & Peter transported me down to the central city of Battambang, some hours away. Stayed at a quirky, yet relaxing well-appointed resort but I think the lettuce of a meal may have given me diarrhea with major dehydration. Lucky I had my medication with me however, it took some 3 days before I got my strength back. One temple near Battambang, Phnom Banan, almost stopped me dead in my tracks. The steps were insane, almost 350-400mm high & 250mm step tread & some 450 of them. I managed to get to Level one I called it (300+ steps high). I had enough energy just to get back to the car. Some tourists made it to the top but they weren’t looking that good after. I walked up with Sun & 2 small boys, 10 & 9. They were carrying a very large block of ice up to Mum’s esky by hand where she sold drinks, etc on Level 1. They do this everyday. Can’t believe they could do this. The other temple was Wat Ek Phnom however before this we stayed until dusk to watch the millions or so of tiny bats that came out of the cave beneath the temple. It takes a good 30mins for all the adult bats to venture out. Such a sight of blackness.

With Battambang dusted we ventured onto the capital Phnom Pehn. It was time to say good bye to Sun & Peter as they dropped me off later in the day to a recently opened Lumiere Hotel – 4 Star ready for my local guides to take me around Phnom Pehn for the next day. Sun & Peter immediately returned to Siem Reap which worried me until around midnight when Sun text me stating he arrived safely. There are no penalty or overtime rates in Cambodia. I gave them a large tip to make up for their wages. I was so glad to have them for the 7 days. Phnom Pehn tour mainly included the S21 Prison & The Killing Fields where it took me another 3 days to come out of the horrific details of this atrocity. A very hard thing to comprehend on what humans can do to other humans (of their own race).  Saw a pagoda and a museum so that concluded the 8 day tour. I highly recommend the Indochinaoddessey “Best of Cambodia” tour and if you can get Sun it would be a great bonus.

I spent several days roaming around Phnom Pehn & staying at the Billabong Hostel which was a great location, a pool and very cheap, yet great accommodation.  For this blog, I’ll end here but this novice traveller managed to gain confidence from this tour and spend a full 2 months in various locations of Cambodia in all sorts of accommodations (-1 stars to 3 stars) so keep tuned if you want to learn more or message me if not. Appreciate all feedback. Many thanks.