Traveling in Cambodia

A few words about traveling around Cambodia: It is a hellish experience. Of course, you read countless tales on the internet that say that, but you also read that "Now that the highway from Sihaunukville to Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is finished, travel is fast, safe, and efficient." It is fast, but as for safe and efficient, don't believe it.

I took the bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, and it was one of the worst travel experiences of my life. The buses are Chinese made, uncomfortable, and noisy. They also have underpowered air conditioning. The AC they have might be adequate in Northern China, but it doesn't cut it Cambodia, one of the hottest countries in Asia. The bus is just a big glass and metal box that traps heat, so it actuallly gets hotter inside than the outside temperature. Traveling to SR I almost suffered heat stroke, I did suffer heat exhaustion. I got dehydrated after about four hours, and the last two hours were horrible. They only stop the bus once on the trip. I bought some water but it did not turn out to be enough. The khmer woman sitting next to got worried about me, she turned her air conditioning vent on me and even started fanning my. I must have looked a mess, all red and miserable looking. Well, we finally reached Siem Reap, I promptly bought a liter and a half bottle of water, which I consumed in about 15 minutes. After that I started to feel human again. I got a tuk tuk to take me to my guesthouse, and collapsed in the cool, cool air conditioning for a couple of hours before heading out to see the town.

Cambodian version of the tuk tuk, the easiest way to get around throughout Cambodia, a small carriage hitched to a motorcycle.