17 days itinerary in Cambodia alone, here are the travel and travel tips for low cost travelers to spend $ 40 per day, nights, meals and excursions included.
One of my favorite travel quotes is from Mohammed.
"Don't tell me how old you are, or how educated and cultured you are, tell me where you traveled and what you know."
I try to tell you what I know about Cambodia.
A trip postponed years ago, prepared, studied, dreamed of.
In December, with a cup of tea in one hand and the old Cambodian guidebook in the other, I grabbed my credit card (after putting down the cup) and launched the attack: I grabbed a flight with Ethiad Airways from Madrid to Bangkok for only 479 Euros.
This time I left alone, with very human fears, a lot of excitement, a lot of expectations and a challenge: a budget of thirty dollars a day. I tell you right away that I lost it but I could have absolutely made it if I hadn't always slept (except for the last night) in a single room.
My ride lasted 17 days and I went beyond $ 10 per day my budget for which, this trip, had a final total cost of € 1500 (international flight, two internal flights, visa, entrance fees to monuments, meals, hotels, extras).
Little? Much? You decide. On February 8 I got on the Turin-Malpensa shuttle and the adventure began.
February is a perfect time, the season is dry, the heat is bearable but not debilitating like a trip to Asia in April. I had in mind a rough itinerary and all the intention of visiting the eastern part of the country, Mondulkiri, according to the guide the wildest area.
I would have left out the sea, the beaches and the very popular Sihanoukville, a top destination for western tourism along with Siem Reap. On the net I couldn't find much about Mondulkiri, so I said to myself "Ok, I'll find out there!"
My itinerary has touched these cities: Bangkok-Phnom Penh- Mondulkiri-Battambang- Siem Reap. No reservations, except for the first night of arrival in Bangkok, about every three days I booked the next hotel from the duty location. Many begin to see Cambodia by visiting Angkor Wat first, I reversed the route, leaving the visit to the temples for last.
from Thailand I flew to Phnom Penh on the way and left from Siem Reap on the way back. I spent the first night in Bangkok at a hotel near Don Mueang Airport to avoid early morning rising as my flight to Phnom Penh was due to depart very early. I will dwell a little to give you this tip from low cost traveler: use the free shuttles they offer at the airport! You will not spend a euro. Let me explain: to save money on the taxi I had booked from Italy, the hotel near Don Mueang also because it provided free transfer for its customers to and from the airport. I should have used a taxi just to go from Suvarnabhumi International Airport to my hotel: they asked me about 40 euros!
At that point I remembered how I had done two years earlier, which from Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi al Don Mueang you get there with the free shuttle provided by the airport. Once you have recovered your luggage, go outside between gates 2 and 3, there is a banquet with a nice little man to whom you must prove that you have a boarding pass for the Don Mueang in close proximity and it is done: 20 every minute there is a shuttle that takes you to your destination in an hour, because this is the travel time between one airport and another that can vary according to traffic.
Arriving at Don Mueng instead of taking a taxi to cover the ten kilometers that separated me from the hotel, I headed to the info point inside the airport. Showing them my reservation, they phoned the hotel and passed me the reception directly. They picked me up (for free with their shuttle) after ten minutes. So a backpacker almost saves 50 €. All my colleagues will understand me.
The service clearly also exists in reverse, from Don Mueng to Suvarnabhumi. I didn't do much else when I arrived, knowing that busy days awaited me, I gave myself a massage and a lot of rest. The next morning I arrived at Phnom Penh after an hour of flight, with a magnificent sun and the tuc tuc that was sent to me by the hotel according to our agreements. In the capital I spent three days dedicated mostly to visiting the symbolic monuments of the city, the Royal Palace Golden Pagoda and National Museum of which I appreciated the delightful internal garden. My impact with Phnom Penh was not as bad as I had read in many travel stories. I can say in its favor that I found it more authentic than Siem Reap, albeit with a strong concentration of places for Westerners depending on the area.
As a woman traveling alone I tried to book hotels that were in central areas, this somehow reassured me because I am not a super hero.
The hotel in the capital, Mama Veary Guesthouse, I highly recommend it: it has both single and dorm rooms, wifi in common areas and in the room, it is also in a great location and has both an efficient reception and an attached restaurant. To visit the main monuments I always moved on foot, the reception will book you any service you need otherwise go to the agencies that you find numerous along the road and especially in the area along the river; equally full of clubs, massage centers and shops.
From Phnom Penh as from Siem Reap, you can plan your every move both in Cambodia and in neighboring countries, by plane, by bus, by ferry.
The main reason that brought me to Phnom Penh was my firm intention to visit i places of the genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge. I concentrated the visit to these sites in a single day, moving in this case with the tuc tuc from morning to sunset. The hardest day of this whole trip but also necessary in my opinion. Personally I would not have been able to ignore the history of this country: the first stop was the extermination camp of Choueng Ek, about fifteen kilometers from the city. There is no public transport to get there, the journey to reach it allows you to see the city away from the tourist area.
At a certain point the tuc tuc entered a dirt road and the scenery became even more interesting because it was much more rural: stilt houses, women at work, children running, families of four on mopeds, clothes hanging in the sun, food put to dry.
Once you arrive in front of the field, don't be afraid to simply tell the driver that you will meet again outside, do not set a time if you are allowed by your plans.
There cannot be a time for this place, take what you need based on what will happen to you. Take time to listen to the testimonies of the audio guide, to cry, to listen to the accompanying music, to be silent, to pray, to be speechless and breathless.
The tuc tuc awaits you. Guaranteed.
THEaudio guide it must be taken, it is one of the best I have heard in my life: it is included in the cost of the ticket (6 dollars), translated into 15 languages (there is also Italian) and will empathically lead you to the discovery of each stop with its voices, the result of different testimonies, together with the accompanying music pieces that you can listen to as you move from one location to another.
You will feel out of place and sad, angry and helpless. That day I did not speak much and I did not interact with anyone except for the minimum questionable. Every word seemed superfluous to me and so did my thoughts.
My time at the camp was about two and a half hours, soon after I went to the Tuol Sleng Museum, known as S-21. This high school was occupied by the Khmer Rouge in 1975 and became not only a security prison but also one of the places where the torture of prisoners was terrifying. The visit here takes much longer in my opinion, there are 4 4-storey buildings each, on each floor where previously there were normal classrooms, you will find different settings to testify to the madness of Pol Pot. Photographs of the inmates, the tiny cells where they were locked up, the torture rooms. Here there is no shortage of stalls selling mostly books of testimonies related to the imprisonment. Furthermore there are two survivors, two little old men who, if you want, you can ask questions and buy their book.
I don't know if it's because I had seen the field a few hours before but the S-21 didn't leave me with the same sense of bewilderment and dismay, although it is an equally strong experience. But one thing happened: since the schools in Cambodia have the same architectural structure as the Tuol Sleng High School, every time during my trip, from a running bus, I saw a high school, identical to that, with children and teenagers playing outside. , the murky images of the S-21 have returned to the surface. Always.
From the hotel in Phnom Penh, I booked directly the bus that in five hours (now seven) would take me east, to Mondulkiri, in the provincial capital: Sen Monorom. Here the scenario changes completely and among the various proposed activities I have chosen to make a trekking in the jungle two days sleeping in one of the local communities, the Bunong.
From Sen Monorom my plan was to reach Battambang from where I would take the boat that, sailing slowly, would take me to Siem Reap.
If you are in this area of ​​Cambodia, the only way to continue your journey is to always return to Phnom Penh: a fundamental hub for other destinations, any agency or hotel will organize the transfer for you. Plan one day of travel and one change. There are no direct buses and there are only two buses a day to the capital: one very early in the morning and the second in the early afternoon.
I therefore recommend that you inform yourself as soon as you arrive in order to plan the next movements and book the ticket: they use minivans for which there are not many seats, you would risk getting stuck and losing a day.
Treats her Sen Monorom-Battambang it lasts about ten to eleven hours with a one hour stop in Phnom Penh. The cost is negligible, $ 12, with at least two stops each way for a bathroom and a meal.
Do not forget wipes or toilet paper and do not expect the bathroom of the restaurant.
The arrival in Battambang was much desired after a full day spent on the minivan: this one small colonial town it is mostly considered a transit area or suitable for a short stop before reaching Siem Reap to be overwhelmed byAngkor Wat. Personally I liked it very much and I'm sorry I didn't spend an extra day there. After a day and a half, reluctantly, I abandoned the fascinating simplicity of Battambang to finally take the boat that in six or seven hours of navigation would have taken me to Siem Reap, the last stop on my journey.
This part of adventure, by boat , it was for me the most beautiful of my river trips ever, for the landscape I was able to enjoy from my privileged position: the roof of the boat.
My tour ended in Siem Reap where I spent three busy days visiting Angkor Wat. The impact with Siem Reap after Battambang was, for me, negative. Noisy tourists everywhere; lights fired; Pub Street, the central street, full of pubs and clubs where you could be in any western city and you wouldn't notice the difference; markets full of items for tourists; visits at dawn to the Angkor Wat that no longer have anything spiritual and mystical and, if you want, they also bring you coffee while you wait for the sun to rise.
In short, I know that for many people in places like Battambang there is nothing and in Siem Reap there is everything: it is personal, very personal.
The night market for those who have never seen it always has its charm, you can taste local food and particular like crocodile meat, fried tarantulas and other insects. You can find spices of all kinds from lemon grass to Kampot black pepper, here very valuable; natural creams, fabrics, candles, t-shirts, fake shoes, different qualities of rice etc. You could spend hours among the stalls.
Only in Siem Reap, after spending the day hiking between temples, can you get foot and leg massages for a dollar! "One dollar ten minutes, three dollars thirty minutes”The masseurs who try to attract you to their beauty center recite like a litany. You have to try several, some are really bad and some are wonderful and really capable. The most incisive expense of this trip is certainly attributable to the visit to Angkor Wat, so put that into account.
The pass for a single day it will cost you dollars 20, for three days $ 40 and for one week $ 60. Bargain with the various tuc tuc you find around and, if you can, share the expense with other travelers!
Personally I chose the three-day pass and I divided the cost of the tuc tuc for three full days, with a sunrise and sunset supplement, with another Italian girl I met while traveling.
The driver for three days cost us 60 dollars. Look for one that really speaks English or the communication, even just for a logistical question, becomes complicated: they will offer you to choose between the small circuit or the large one, obviously it depends on how long you stay and what interests you. The small circuit includes the nearest and main temples, ideal for those who can't stay long. The great circuit will allow you to visit even the most distant temples, for this three days are necessary.
The complex in general is certainly gorgeous, theAngkor Wat in itself it is not one of my favorites. I reserve the right to see him all alone, in my next life, without stalls and noises! The Bayon instead it is breathtaking and I carry it in my heart. The heat certainly makes the visit more tiring, between one temple and another you can rest, stock up on water and go to the (clean) bathrooms that you find along the way, every driver knows where they are located. Some temples require more effort due to the steep stairways, I have seen middle-aged people who have given up climbing, even the stairway of a temple was off limits to pregnant women and children under the age of twelve.
I highly recommend a closed and comfortable shoe, even if not necessarily for trekking, that keeps your ankle in place. Remember that clothing is also important, they may or may not stop you, when in doubt: knee-length shorts and short sleeves, not skimpy tank tops and looks from Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. Getting to the top of the temples with shortness of breath and sweat that makes you anything but attractive is always a priceless feeling. Taking a breath and looking around, surrounded by pure beauty, repays any effort.
I left Siem Reap on the morning of the fourth day, a flight took me back to my Bangkok.
For this last night before returning home I slept in a hostel, very nice and clean, female shared room and shared bathroom. The hostel is the Restdot Hostel, in the Bang Rak area. I chose it deliberately because in the Lumphini Park area, it is in this park that I spent my last day of travel. As always, a final moment of meditation was needed to metabolize, think and prepare for my return after seventeen very intense days with myself.
