Siem Reap, the closest town to the massive complex of ancient Hindu/Buddhist Temples, is actually a tourist bubble within an otherwise formidable, disordered country. Pockets of abundance exist, but it is not advisable for travelers to turn a blind eye to reality in Cambodia. An excellent tour guide together with perfect itinerary will show you everything about Cambodia. Indochina travel Cambodia
Pub Street and Siem Reap Night Market
Pub Street – source: gosiemreap.com
Being an area with the vibe of New Orleans at Mardi Gras, Pub Street and night markets in Siem Reap are interesting places to explore. Here, travelers can find a large number of restaurants and relaxing spas. Beginning with the lip-smacking cocktail before enjoying your dinner at The Red Piano and then set your pace at one of the many “fish pedicure” tanks out on the rhythmic streets. If you want to buy things at reasonable price, do not forget to come to the Night Market where you can buy knock-off Ray Bans at about $5, hastily produced oil paintings at $15 and drawstring pants du jour from 3 to $10.
Take a boat trip to the floating villages in Tonlé Sap Lake
Boat trip to the floating villages – source: cookiesound.com
This tour brings you a close look at the abject poverty and subsistence living in the primitive fishing villages of Cambodia. These shacks on stilts whose lake waters rise almost to front doors in the rainy seasons, children paddling with babies in canoes, and livestock in floating pens are amazing things to see. Do not forget to take lots of fresh fruit or school supplies. Once stopping at the temple (an oasis of flame-colored serenity in the midst of the squalor), barefoot kids will start to travel from and to all directions. You may be approached by these enterprising women selling 20-pk bags of chips at $2. Not only buy as many as you can but also give them out. There is no surprise that life expectancy in Cambodia is 58 just by witnessing how locals live here. Tours in Cambodia
Drive 6 hours on Route 6 from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh
Make a stop at 6-hour drive – source: huffingtonpost.com
This mostly stone covered highway cuts through authentic rustic Cambodian routes. On this trip, travelers will see shacks with grass-grown driveways just large enough for a single bicycle or small scooter, delish sticky-rice in bamboo “snack” stands by the dozen. Roadside stands also hawk urine-yellow petrol in glass bottles for the motorbike on its last fumes. These straw-hat topped farmers working in the green rice paddy fields, stubborn road-blocking cows, carts driven by ox laden with hay, kids riding bikes dressed in white shirts black skirts/pants heading to school or come back home, marts, homes and land strewn with garbage, French Colonial towns about to collapse, open trucks full of mongo rice bags, and of course, the well known fried spiders are also what you can see.
Travel lovers.
Read more:
