On my last day in Cambodia, I decided to take a walk to the Imperial Palace in Phnom Penh and try some aesthetic food at the cafes nearby. What an amazing trip this was! I had the opportunity to visit the killing fields and learn about the brutal history of Cambodia, rave in a jungle on Koh Rong, volunteer with bears, and also see the historic temples of Angkor Wat. I ended my trip by coming to the capital city to see how it has reshaped itself since the rule of the Khmer Rouge. Phnom Penh reminded me of a smaller Ho Chi Minh City because there were a lot of motorcycle commuters and international travelers with tiny shops that lined the streets. It was a bit harder to traverse on foot compared to Siem Reap with all of the traffic, but it is definitely worth checking out.
Since I had done a lot of traveling in this country, I spent a lot of time relaxing in my room at Lovely Jubbly Villa, which I highly recommend staying at. They have an excellent bar by the pool with a happy hour every night and the staff are extremely friendly. Plus the panda mascot is so adorable! The perks of coming during the off season is that it is very easy to make friends and go out with the Cambodian locals here. My hotel was able to help me book cheap tuk tuk rides and a ride to the airport, and they had cheap tours you could book the day of. It was such a pleasant stay and I was sad to leave, but 10 days here was enough for me to see everything that I wanted.
Overall I was extremely impressed by the warmth and friendliness that everyone showed me here. Most people that come to Cambodia have already been to Thailand and are looking for a different experience. I was able to meet a lot of cool people that inspired me to travel to other Asian countries as well. It’s amazing how much this country has built itself back up since its destructive civil war in the 1970s.
If you have any questions about traveling to Cambodia, please see my original itinerary, or feel free to ask me in the comments.