Cambodia People

Close to the vietnamese border, under the hottest summer sun, one main red dusty street, used at the same time as national road to legal and less licit traffic with Vietnam. Old people in rags looking at me dangerously, kids screaming and runnings between the trucks and clouds of dust, chickens in the middle of all that. A very nice pagoda built in a mountain circus is one of the main atraction of the city, warm monsk and many small monkeys.

Battambang, Cambodia is a place not frequently visited by tourists coming from Thailand. Most of them go immediately from the Thai-Cambodian border (Aranya Parthet) to Siem Reap. However, Battambang is well worth visiting for a day and a night. You can get there from Aranya Parthet with a taxi to Sisiphon (about 300 bath) and then a second cab from Sisiphon to Battambang (about 200 bath). It's a very cosy little city, with nice French colonial buldings, and very very nice people. From Battambang on you can travel to Siem Reap either by boat or by bus. I strongly recommend the boat. It takes about six hours to get to Siem Reap by boat, but it's a very nice ride on the river. Certainly in the morning when you leave Battambang, the sun ascending the sky above the river is just amazing. And, arriving in Siem Reap you will pass by the floating city, a "tourist attration", but you will have seen it entirely from your boat.

A lot of people like to stay on the Lakeside in PP. However, I always stay at the Royal Guesthouse. Just a few dollars more gives you a massive room and some of the rooms even have tubs! The Royal Guesthouse is near Riverside any moto or tuk tuk driver wil know where it is.

This is the main base for people visiting Angkor Wat. The American dollar is valued more than the local currency.

If you get up early enough head to a local market. Some of the food is pretty disgusting but definately worth a look - the Khmer people fry up anything for breakfast including snakes and spiders. Best bet is to stick to the fresh fruit which is delicious. Oh and as you're walking around be careful not to stand on any skinned frogs which have escaped the chopping block!