Cambodia - Precautions

Beautiful, incredible Pnom Penh! Be prepared...and you will enjoy it.What you should do: sleep in the hostels on the riverside. Don't go out alone at night. Don't be tempted by "Happy Pizza" if you don't want to experience at Cambodian hospital or shorten your trip.Take a bike during daytime and cycle!!!!!!!! Worth a trip (and within cycling distance): the Killing Fields of Pnom Penh. And the primary school where Brother Number One started "his career" - it is a shocking place. Worth reading while you there and to find out more about Cambodian history: "First they killed my father"Best way to go to PP if you come from Battambang: take the train! An unforgettable experience and definitively no tourist travelling so please be careful...(Oh, and moneywise: there are no ATMs in Cambodia)

Choose your guesthouse wisely if you are not keen on an army of ants running up your wall and under your bed and/or take 50+ proof deet bug spray and spray along their trail - they will drop dead in minutes and never return. Guesthouse employees are pushy to sell you all your essentials and more. My fiancée and I felt like we had to sneak by them to go out and eat elsewhere or to find our own tuk tuk. One time they caught us and nearly forced us to sit and eat a pizza that they went and got take out for us because they assumed that we would want western food??. They wanted 15 US dollars for a small 10 inch pizza - be prepared to be ripped off and don't be afraid to say no. We told them to give us back our money for that particular pizza and they did! When you go out to the killing fields bring some pastries or something for the kids that hang out there, but watch your bags and/or wear your money belt regardless of the heat and humidity. Tuol Seng prison and the killing fields are eye openers and a half and worth your time and attention. At Tuol Seng I would recommend hiring a guide between you and some other random tourists that you meet at the gates.

Meet up with other travellers at your guesthouse and go in together on a taxi with a guide. Bring american cash, you might even not buy Cambodian riel. I believe that it costs $40 USD for a three day pass into Angkor Wat.. and you'll need at least that much time there. There are many beggars with severe physical injuries do not be shocked and keep in mind that if you give money to one you will probably have the entire street asking for more within minutes, but it is hard not to want to be generous even if you're a poor backpacker like me.

A month-long tourist visa to Cambodia costs $20 US and you’ll need to have an extra passport photo handy. The easiest method of payment is to have US cash handy at the border crossing. When entering Cambodia via AIR the entry process is relatively easy. At the airport head directly to the visa desk and be aware that people don’t queue up so it’s first come first serve, you may have to fight your way up to the desk. At the first desk you will have to hand over your passport and the $20US to a customs agent, then wait with the crowd surrounding the adjacent desk. Here it’s a waiting game until they process your visa. When they are finished they will hold passports to the crowd and if the picture matches claim your passport and head to baggage claim! IF YOU ARE CROSSING THE BORDER OVERLAND: I heard several horror stories from fellow travelers about the visa process at land crossings. The customs officials will demand more than the $20US fee and you will have to pay in either Thai Baht or US Dollars. I’ve heard stories of extorted fees from an extra $20US on up. If crossing into Cambodia overland I recommend procuring your visa beforehand to avoid the corruption at the border or be prepared to shell out some extra cash.

If you take the high speed boat al the way down to Pnom Penh and you're the last one on, wear earplugs! Sitting next to the engine is really deafening! No joke!

Phnom Penh is a city with a huge sense of recent tragedy... almost everyone in Cambodia, but especially in Phnom Penh, seems to have a distant relative or so who was a victim of the Khmer Rouge ... go to the mind-numbing S-21 Prison or the Killing Fields nearby to understand what levels human barbarism can descend to ... where Nazi camps were primers in systematic machine-perfect killing, Khmer Rouge banged its victims against a tree, bludgeoned their skulls or slashed their throats... the methods were chillingly simple ... take a motorcycle cab to the Killing Fields ... it navigates the dusty bumpy roads faster ...of course, there is a bright, though sleazy, side to Phnom Penh too ... happening night clubs, expat bars and restaurants ... the sea-side walk is nice and you can stop in the make-shift eateries for a drink or bite ... but be careful ... Phnom Penh is also a relatively dangerous city with enough gun-wielding thieves, hookers and con-artists...

Angkor Wat is beyond true description (and is way more than the one huge central temple)... it is immense, centuries old, beautiful, peaceful and moving. I recommend riding an elephant up above Angkor at dawn to get the best view, or you can also take a hot air balloon ride to look down at the spectacular expanse of temple. Phra Thom and Bantaey Srey are not to be missed. Be forewarned though that children will try to sell you all kinds of things and they are so cute that you will want to buy everything.

Drink only bottled water!

be careful here at border for pickpockets and try not to be taken to guesthouse by the cambodian mafia people, they wont let you leave

ANGKOR WAT!!Yes, it's great but expensive (~30$/day) and be there in the early morning coz after 10 o'clock many groups of flashing wanna-be fotographers run through the amazing temples.To see the most famouse temples it's easy and cheap to go by bycicle (the small circle might be around 30km) but wear a hat because it can get really hot in Cambodia. ;)