Even though it’s been years since I’ve traveled to Cambodia, the memories are just as vivid as they were the day I stepped off the plane. Sounds kinda cliché, but true nonetheless. Cambodia for me was one of those trips I never really thought I would do in my lifetime. Like ever. My friends might roll their eyes at this considering that I’m an avid traveler and always seem to be somewhere on the road…see what I just did there? Ha!
Despite living on the road for much of the last decade, anytime I travel someplace new, I can’t help feeling a little anxious. Particularly when it comes to visiting a region of the world I’ve never been. Before my travels to Southeast Asia, the majority of my traveling had been exclusive to North America, the Caribbean and Bermuda. I always dreamt of one day going to this part of the world but, in the back of my mind it seemed like such a far reach for someone like myself. Not to mention, even a little frightening.
How do you even begin putting a trip together that is going to take you 8,646 miles (14k + kilometers) across the planet? That’s just from Los Angeles to Cambodia. Add another 3,000 miles to that if you live on the east coast of the United States. Am I supposed to learn how to speak Cambodian before I go? What language do the locals even speak anyways? In case anyone is wondering btw, the national language in Cambodia is Khmer but, many of the locals do speak English considering that much of their income comes from English speaking tourists like myself.
Living way over in the United States, Cambodia seemed so far out of reach being on the other side of planet Earth. Not to mention, the task of planning flights, visas, accommodations, local currency, and transportation seemed like a daunting task all in itself. And then there was the most important thing of all to consider, communication. How in the world do I use my phone? What was the local cellular service like? Would I be able to get by on WiFi calling? What would I do if I got stranded someplace? With all of these concerns swirling around in my head, it was extremely overwhelming. So then, how did I do it? Well, I bought a one-way ticket and just did it.
At the time, I was already making plans to head to Bali, Indonesia to begin my Divemaster Internship with Blue Seasons Bali (I’ll be doing a blog post on them in the future If you’re interested) so, the initial part of my journey was rather easy. I just set up a date with the dive center, booked a one way ticket to Bali, Indonesia flying with the Japanese carrier ANA, and a return ticket from Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. I knew at the beginning of my journey that I wanted to fly home directly from Cambodia. As far as what I was going to do (aside from seeing the temple ruins), or how I was going to get there, I had no clue.
Part of the internship program with Blue Seasons Bali included accommodations and transportation from the airport, so that part was also pretty straight forward. Prior to my travel across Southeast Asia, I spent ten days on Oahu, Hawaii; also an incredible place filled with rich culture. My trip to Cambodia was part of a very short two month excursion across Southeast Asia that involved Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and finally, the place of my dreams. Cambodia.
Blue Seasons Bali; Divemaster Internship
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect heading into Cambodia; I didn’t know anyone who had ever actually seen the country in person. All I really had to go off of were incredible pictures from my Google search engine, Laura Croft in Tomb Raider (2001) slinking around ruins overrun with trees (Ta Prohm), and blog posts; The LonelyPlanet and TripAdvisor was a helpful source in figuring out what I wanted to do along the way. I used to be one of those travelers who planned out some kind of travel schedule with a few flex days or half days added in but, for this, I wanted most of my stops to be on the fly (I do most of my travel like this now it’s way more rewarding).
When deciding on my visa options, I opted to do a visa on arrival. This to my surprise was also relatively easy but, I almost goofed up by not having an extra passport photo on hand for the visa, I know. I should know better. The night before leaving Chang Mai, in Thailand for my connecting flight in Bangkok, a Thai woman was nice enough to rush me around at the last minute (it was literally like 11-o’clock at night) where we barely made it to a photo place in time. The next day, I made my flight from Chang Mai to Bangkok, did a plane swap and was on my way to Cambodia.
Prior to this, many of my concerns about communication had been swept away in Bali; WiFi was generally easy to find and connect to at the airport or restaurants. I’m not the type of person who is constantly attached to my phone, there’s a peace that comes with disconnecting from the grid and forgetting about it. The entire time I was in Bali I was with other interns doing the same thing I was doing so, they were able to help me out with some of my concerns.
I think by day two I was pretty comfortable with the lack of WiFi in some areas. I never even bought a SIM card the entire two months I was in this part of the world. Whenever I was able to catch the WiFi in my guest house or a restaurant, I was able to send a text home to my family. My primary concern initially was getting stranded someplace and having no idea where I was but, I did bring back up maps with me and had a pretty good idea where I was the entire time I was on the road. Plus, before going to each country I made sure I knew where the US embassies were just in case I should lose my passport or something more sinister happened.
Leaving Siem Reap international airport, I climbed into my tuk-tuk and headed for the guest house I would be spending the next seven days at. I wondered if Cambodia would live up to my expectations, or if I would go home sorely disappointed. Throughout most of my adult years I had put Cambodia at the very top of my bucket list so, needless to say, I had some pretty high expectations for this architecture mecca.
I was going to be very upset if all of Cambodia’s pride and joy was packed in a single square mile, and the photographs and video had been manipulated in such a way as to make it look larger than it actually was. You can do a lot with a photograph, we’ve all seen what Hollywood puts out, and CNN. Now would be the test if the pictures spread across the internet were really representations of the incredible architecture and craftsmanship Cambodia is known for. Well, aside from the killing fields, but that’s not what I was here for.
As my driver and I passed through the outskirts of Siem Reap, I wasn’t immediately impressed as we made the thirty minute drive to the hostel; it looked like another developing city to me where I was expecting to see architectural feats right out the gates. Traces of Cambodian culture were evident wherever I looked but it was nothing to the scale that Bali, or even Bangkok had shown me.
But, as I shifted my frame of mind, I realized something. Despite the thriving spender I had seen in other countries, Cambodia had a simplicity about it that left it unmatched to any place I had been before. Yes, Bali was a newlyweds paradise and northern Thailand represented its own version of low key but, Cambodia had something the others didn’t. Elegance. Get rid of the half dressed tourists, drunk Aussies and tour busses. There you will see it precisely framed with intricate masonry and Apsara dancers.
Before arriving in Cambodia, I booked my stay with a hostel in the heart of downtown Siem Reap; Happy Zone Hostel. There are few places online where you can go to find hostels but I personally like to use Agoda. I find that they have some of the best deals on hostels, hotels and guest houses. The owner was incredibly friendly and always wore a smile on his face no matter how bad his day was going; a gesture that I later learned is deeply embedded in Cambodian culture. Once at my guest house, I quickly dumped my things and made the very short walk to pub street which was practically at the hostel’s doorstep.
It didn’t take long for me learn that 1USD could get me almost anything I wanted as far as food was concerned; the currency used in Cambodia is the USD (if you really feel like it, you can use Cambodian currency but, it’s not necessary and will probably be more of a headache to deal with). Pub street was just as it sounds, a street lined with bars, drunk Australians, locals begging for money, and tons of local vendors selling anything a tourist could ever want.
Towards the end of my time in Siem Reap I found the best tasting coffee I have ever had in my life! I wish I brought more home; Siem Reap Coffee. Anyways, not being one much for the bar scene, I quickly bought a Gyro from a local stand (this thing was the best tasting Gyro I’ve ever had) and headed back to my hostel to sort through pictures and prepare myself for the ruins I had lined up for the following day. Whatever it was I had been expecting, nothing could have ever prepared me for the incredible beauty hidden in the Cambodian jungles and the majesty permeating the culture.
…To be continued…