Cambodia

Judy and I began our trip in Cambodia. She was visiting London, so we could fly from Heathrow to Bangkok with Thai Airways (the most efficient boarding process ever) together, which was nice! Overall, the flight was quite pleasant, I slept a lot more than I thought I would, and the spicy chicken and rice they served us for dinner was delicious; it was very spicy, which I enjoyed, but it was hilarious watching a plane full of British people eat the very spicy chicken, I was very entertained. 

Once we landed in Bangkok, we headed straight from one airport to the other and got on another flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia. On the flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap, there was this weird smoke-looking stuff that looked like it was coming out of the overhead compartments. It freaked me out, but apparently, it was just condensed water droplets that had something to do with the high humidity outside the plane. The airport in Siem Reap is adorable, and the process of getting a visa there was easy. We took a tuk-tuk to our hostel, which was so fun! We stayed at Lub D Siem Reap, and it was excellent! The pool/bar area was a lot of fun, and there were a lot of cool hangout areas, along with a pool table. The rooms themselves were fantastic. They were big and clean and had great storage. As someone who typically sleeps on the top bunk, I appreciated the nice proper steps, rather than a ladder, and the beds were larger than a typical single and very comfy.

After checking into our hostel, we went for a little wander through the night markets and ended up eating ice cream on Pub Street while fish ate the dead skin off of our feet haha, not how I expected our first night to go. We stopped at a bar called The Red Piano for some margaritas, and I could not get over the price of them... $2.50, and they were strong! We met a couple of lovely older British guys on their honeymoon, and one was a teacher, so we chatted with them. It was fascinating to discuss/learn more about Cambodia's history, as I didn't know very much before this trip. Cambodia has a very young population (almost 2/3 of Cambodia's population is under 30 years old) due to war/genocide. While we were drinking our drinks, a small girl came up to me, climbed up into my lap, stole the maraschino cherry off the rim of my drink and went on her way as happy as can be. It was so unexpected and sweet and funny. 

We ended up having about 4 hours of sleep before getting up at 3:30 am for our sunrise temple tour of Angkor Wat. We were picked up at our hostel and taken to buy tickets, where I was not given the correct amount of change and was ripped off. They use a mix of Cambodian riels and USD in Cambodia, and it is tricky to ensure you are getting the right amount of change back. I learned my lesson always to count and triple-check the amount of change before walking away. Angkor Wat was so cool to see, and the sunrise was beautiful. It felt like there was some magic in the air that morning; the air smelled and felt different and so peaceful. I couldn't believe the number of tourists, and our guide told us that that was nothing compared to what it would've been like pre-covid. The temple tour was very informative and cool to see, but I will say the heat was absolutely brutal! April is one of the hottest months in Cambodia. 

After Angkor Wat, we headed to another temple called Ta Prohm Temple - also known as the Tomb Raider movie temple. It had really cool trees grown into the temple, and we stood in a special spot and banged on our chests until they made crazy loud echoing sounds; so cool! Finally, when we finished, we got to go get some food. It was only 9:30 am, but I had a delicious traditional dish of Beef Lok and spring rolls for breakfast. At this point, it felt as if it were about 2:00 in the afternoon. 

After we ate, we headed to the next temple Ta Nei Temple which was super quiet and much more peaceful than the others; I liked the nature surrounding it. Finally, we visited the last one, Bayon Temple, which I liked a lot; it was stunning. We were all quite hot and exhausted at this point in the day, and I have never sweat so much in my life. I enjoyed seeing the various temples, and our tour guide was hilarious and very friendly, but 8 hours may have been a bit too long, especially on top of the jetlag. After getting back to the hostel, Judy and I had a nap. When I woke up, I went and hung out at the pool and swam and read while she slept a bit longer. We went to The Christa Restaurant and Bar for an early dinner, and the food was so delicious and cheap. We shared spring rolls, the best papaya salad, chicken satay, and pineapple fried rice - yum! We wandered the street markets and ended up having a beer ($1.25) at our hostel and then going to bed reasonably early. 

The next day, we packed up and headed out after a much-needed good night's rest. We stopped at 7-11 for my very first toastie. In SE Asia (specifically Thailand, but also Cambodia), there is a 7-11 on every corner, and they are known for their snacks, the most famous being their toasties. I ate many on this trip, my favourite being the ham, cheese, and spinach. We headed to the airport and flew to Sihanoukville on the smallest plane I have ever been on in my life. We checked our bags because they wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment. The plane had propellers and two seats per row, we sat at the very front, and I'll admit, I was quite nervous! On arrival at the smallest airport I have ever been to, we shared a taxi with a random German man to the port. We found a spot, had a couple of beers ($4 for 4 beers), and then got on our ferry to the island Koh Rong Sanloem. We stayed at the Mad Monkey Sanloem hostel. It has its own place on the island, so it has private access and private beaches and has a camping/resort feel to it. It was a really cool place! People just eat, drink, lay in hammocks, swim, dance, participate in nightly events and hang out. We slept in hut things that don't really have proper walls or doors. My bed had a mosquito net that I had to tuck myself into each night, and your bed pretty much always has sand in it, no matter what you do. You wake up early every morning because of the heat. I loved it; it was the closest I've been to camping in a couple of years.

It is so warm, the sea feels like bath water. We met some really lovely friends on our first day. We spent the day laying on the beach and in hammocks and swimming and reading. We went out to the pier, which is such a vibe. We had some drinks, played some games, swam and chilled. Judy went to bed early, and I participated in a speed dating event with our friends Katie and Leo. I was initially skeptical about it, but it was a lot of fun! Every night, throughout the night, they would do "free shots at the bar" and would sing a catchy song, and everyone would get these shots that tasted like juice. There were some working dogs at the hostel to scare away snakes, and then one night, a super cute puppy showed up, and no one knew where it came from, so it just hung out there for a few days. Such a vibe. 

We did a boat tour one day which started at 10:30 am. We got handed a beer and went on a lovely boat ride. We stopped for some snorkelling, and I think it was the best snorkelling I have ever done; we saw stunning coral, sea snakes, sea urchins, a huge variety of fish and even some mini jellyfish. After that, we all went fishing off the boat's side. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to catch anything or not. Ultimately, it didn't matter; only one person caught a fish on our boat (you get to eat what you catch). After fishing, we anchored the boat in the most stunning clear blue water I have ever seen near a quiet island. We all jumped in the water and swam/drank beer until the bbq lunch was literally - they literally just lit the bbq on the long wooden boat. I'm pretty sure we were all being stung by mini jellyfish the whole time, but other than that, it was absolutely AMAZING! We had the most delicious chicken and rice for lunch and then returned. I read in a hammock for a bit, and then we had dinner and drinks with our friends. We played some games and then went to the beach for a fire show. After the fire show, they did a little full moon party, so we danced on the beach and went to bed. 

I spent a whole day reading a book/swimming. It was the most relaxing place I have ever been. Everyone is so chilled out, and there isn't much to do. It was nice for a couple of days. I had to spend some time hiding from the sun because it was the most intense thing I have ever felt. I was burning to a crisp even after reapplying my spf 50 and hiding in the shade. The people were so much fun. Some nights were more partyish, people were doing these crazy shots called Joss shots. It is essentially a caffeine powder that is poured into a shot of vodka - they are illegal in some countries. I enjoyed that the the group I was with typically had some drinks, played some cards, and went to bed at a reasonable time. 

Judy and I got up at 4:30 am one morning to watch the sunrise; however, it was pouring rain. We ended up sitting/swimming in the water in the pouring rain, trying to watch the sunrise in between the clouds. It was an experience for sure; I kind of loved it. Such an incredible feeling to know most people are still sleeping. We read, had coffee and breakfast, chatted with our friends, then packed up and took a long boat to another part of the island. We spent the day swimming in more of the most incredible water I have ever seen and hanging out on the most beautiful white sand beaches. We ate good food, had a beer, and I drank coconut water out of a coconut for the first time ever! We took a boat back to Sihanoukville, a sketchy place with an interesting history. We got some fantastic Chinese food, I peed in a hole in the ground, and then we went to the 'bus station' to catch our bus, which unexpectedly turned out to be a sleeper bus.

Judy and I were squished into a single bottom bunk, which felt weird when you couldn't see out of the windows. Thank god for Judy. You get squished in beside random strangers if you are a solo traveller. They pack the bus full, even the aisles. The 3-hour drive became 6 hours because we stopped so many times. To be fair, it was quite comfy... I read most of the time and slept for a little while (which is tricky to do with the amount of honking that was going on). At some points, I was a little skeptical that we were going to end up where we wanted to, but around 12:30 am, we made it to Phnom Penh. We got a tuk-tuk to the Mad Monkey Hostel, where we had a private room for the night, thank goodness!

In the morning, we packed up and headed out to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21). We didn't have time to do the killing fields, but the museum was great. It was heartbreaking and made me feel sick at times, but the self-guided tour was very well done, and I learned a lot of history. Afterward, we checked out some street markets and returned to the hotel for lunch. We met up with our friend Katie from the island and hung out until we had to go to the airport. At the airport, Judy headed off to Singapore, Katie began her journey to Australia, and I headed to Bangkok on my first proper solo part of the trip. 

Overall, Cambodia was a dream! The people were extremely friendly, the history was interesting, things were cheap, and I saw the most incredible beaches and swam in the clearest water!