45 travel things to know before you visit Cambodia

Cambodia is a country of extremes, you can find the most amazing things and but also be confronted with a few very bad ones. It has great history and a horrible one! As a traveler one faces big challenges that really pay off a big prize. After being amazed and frustrated with Cambodia we decided to compile this list to help you understand Cambodia better.

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1. Cambodia is a very poor country!

2. Tourism and the tourists are a major source of income for the Cambodians.

3. Unlike the Lao, Cambodians try their best (and sometimes their worst) to earn money with tourists. They take initiative and try to provide services or sell stuff to the Tourists, although they aren’t too pushy.

4. Like Laos and Vietnam, Cambodia was a french colony. Despite this, we didn’t find anyone speaking French.

5. However, Cambodians speak a much better English than Thais and Laos, therefore it was easy to communicate in Cambodia.

6. Cambodia had one of the worst dictatorship ever, the Khmer Rouge. In 3 three years the Khmer Rouge killed 2M people, 1/4 of the population!

7. The Khmer Rouge was not only barbaric but also idiotic.  They decided to empty the cities, sending everyone to the fields and planting rice. Every single industry was forbidden and everyone with any kind of higher education killed…

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8. Population is growing very quickly. It grew almost 3 times, from 6.7 M in 1980 to 16 M in 2016. This makes it also a very young population.

9. Don’t forget that Cambodians are mainly Buddhists! They are usually very patient with tourists but please respect their culture, religion and habits.

10. Cambodia is dirty and has a major garbage disposal problem! There’s trash everywhere in Cambodia, it’s something very difficult to oversee! Even after living in Angola, and kind of being used to seeing garbage everywhere Cambodia impressed us.

11. But it’s not only an “organizational thing”, it’s a mentality/cultural thing. Cambodians really need to learn to take care of the environment. Tourists won’t return if the attractions are all dirty buy most importantly it’s a matter of public health!

12. Angkor Wat is the main tourist attraction of Cambodia and deservedly so. It’s one of the 7 new world wonders and truly one of the greatest achievements of the ancient world!

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13. Angkor complex is formed by dozens of temples and other archaeological sites spread over 400 km2. Don’t visit only the Angkor Wat, go to Angkor Thom, Bayon temple, and many others! This should take you at least 2 days activity, though the best would be spending 3 days in Angkor.

14. Though we loved Angkor, we really disliked Siem Reap. Keep your expectations as low as possible about the town. It’s the messy, dirty, overcrowded and touristy in the worst kind of way. It’s also very very hot, which make the whole experience worse.

For more information, please visit https://cambodiatours.com/tips/news/119-best-adventure-tours-in-siem-reap.html