Cambodia (Country Guide)

If you plan to go, read the guide very carefully. It gives you enough background to do it on your own. However, I would still recommend to go for local assistance ( with the exception of Siem Rap when visiting Ankor Wat)

The country is beautiful and the people are very nice. If you have time and sense of adventure it is definitely worth a trip.

Pnom Penh should be the centre of the visit and the guide is at it's most helpful here with good background on the Tol Sluen Prison or the Killing Fields as well as on the nicer things like the Palace and the Silver Pagoda. A tip: try to take a good hotel. PP can be a bit depressing, particularly after a visit to the fields, and also is not a very safe place to go out at night without guide or transport. If you have transport you should eat of course in the Foreign Correspondent Club.

Angkor Wat is a must, although the guide maybe overdoes it a little. I find that you must be a real "culture buff" to use more than one day for a visit. In Siem Rap there is nothing, so don't fall for the trap of a four day visit.

In general, I find the guide giving good information and,as in all the countries here in SE-Asia, if you want to travel alone, you HAVE to take it with you.

I have been in Cambodia now a couple of times and each time I find it a good adventure, not in the least because of the help of this good guide.


Still the essential guide for traveling in Cambodia...   January 14, 2007
Pen
27 out of 28 found this review helpful

I've been to Cambodia several times now and this is the guide I will continue to buy. It's important to have an up to date guide to Cambodia as the country has and is changing so rapidly (5 years ago you couldn't walk 20 metres without coming across someone with a gun in Phnom Penh and most of the roads weren't sealed). I would still buy each new edition that came out simply for the knowledge of the important basic things that change like transport routes and times etc. that are constantly changing.

Cambodia is now well and truly open for tourists. I know from speaking with locals that the author, Nick, spends a lot of time in Cambodia and has great local knowledge (I'm kind of cheesed a little since he's included many of my previously unknown haunts and now they get filled up well in advance).

I do have some criticism of the guide, and I guess how people use it. First, people mostly tend to go to restaurants and guesthouses recommended in the book. I've found many places that I've enjoyed staying that are not in the book and in many cases are better than places in the guidebook (and cheaper, many places, particularly in SEA put their prices up after getting an LP inclusion). The towns are generally small enough that you can look around and also ask people who live there for their recommendations. (Most times you can `feel' when someone has no agenda in recommending a places versus someone who'd take you someone who gains to get a commission out of you going there - and the commission system is well and truly alive in Cambodia - they're not huge in $ terms but you don't want to stay in a dump when better alternatives are available and also there's the consideration that price you pay in Cambodia is not always related to the quality you get).

The other thing is often Lonely Planet uses text from previous editions (which is particularly worrying for guesthouse inclusions) and so some descriptions are a little (or a lot) out of date. While there are definitely some good places recommended there, you will often find them full of other backpackers and tourists so either you can't get a booking or there will indeed just be tones of people there which will likely detract from your experience. Restaurant and guest house recommendations, particularly in the two major cities need to be used with discretion. It's also good to spread your money around.

Some of the benefits of the book - it does clue you in to things that are very important that you otherwise would have a hard time finding out - e.g. if you take the bus from Thailand, they do slow that bus down and make the trip long and tiring as you're pre-sold for a commission to the (rotating) guesthouse they drop you off at (so you're deliberately) exhausted late at night; another useful tip was the dangerous Malaysian boats that do the Siem Reap - Phnom Penh route. You need impartial and insider advice for these kind of things because you wont necessarily get it from an average local (unless you really have their confidence and then they might tell you about stuff that sometimes doesn't get into the guidebooks - e.g. how many travelers have been killed or injured using certain types of transport like their outdated planes and some boats and other local knowledge you simply cant get from this guidebook).

For the tourist just doing the major sites, the book has extensive maps and guides to the Angkor temples and their history and layout and also Phnom Penh (which is unfortunately where most people may end their trip). The brief guide to the local language in the back will most definately help you connect with the already friendly locals. Even if you only learn please, hello and thank you, people will greatly appreciate your efforts.

The guide to some of the lesser known places is less comprehensive (eg. North, and east and some parts of the south like Campot and Kep). My friends and I were in fits of laughter at the description of Sen Monorom being like something like Switzerland! It's a LONG trip and the end result is very baron, and, unfortunately, losing lots of trees due to extensive and damaging logging. Nonetheless, I found the trips to the outlying places to be extremely rewarding. There's practically no tourists (you can have amazing trips and have entire beach to yourself for a day for less than $20) and some of the food, sights, sunsets and other experiences are simply stunning. You may however want to pass on those black delicacies they seem to enjoy tucking into on the bus... they're fried bush spiders! Cambodia does though have some of the nicest sugar cane juice I've tasted anywhere in South East Asia.

BTW if they're still using the 4 people for 3 seats in the car, just pay for the extra seat if you're doing more than 3 hours or you will find yourself in excruciating pain. Also, because it changes so often the guidebook will not be useful if you're taking an internal flight (other than the standard Phnom Penh-Siem Reap route which uses brand new planes), as some of the planes are VERY old, tires are sometimes bald, flights full (which can be a problem if you want to get back), and there have been accidents which they wont tell you about. Do your own research.

For people traveling on their own or as a backpacker I'd strongly recommend befriending a local or two as a guide. I always take some time to 'feel' the authenticity of the person approaching me and as they talk to me and that pay's huge rewards in a country where there is a hidden commission system. I've met two that I'd just take with me over the entire country next time as guides because they have extensive insider knowledge and can be invaluable if you get into trouble, especially if they relate well to other people.

Cambodia offers trips that you simply cannot do in the same way in other countries in the region because there are so many tourists, laws and other limiting factors. If you've found a great concierge (who is connected to what's happening at the ground level) or a good guide you're going to get access to trips and really deep and rich experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime. And, these are not in the guidebook, which, IMHO, is a great thing because you'll enjoy a totally unique experience and you'll get out of it in proportion to what you put in and not some off the shelf, generic and standardized `you can take your photos now' tourist experience. Sadly, in a few years time you may not be able to do this in much of South East Asia.

So grab this guide, go beyond the majors of Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville and enjoy one of the most beautiful countries in South East Asia, Cambodia. Treat your Lonely Planet as a guide and not a bible and you'll have the time of your life.

I hope you enjoy your time in Cambodia as much as I have.



Must Have For Cambodia Trip   July 2, 2002
Shogun Len (old bethpage, new york USA)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful

I decided to be a little different when I went to Southeast Asia. Instead of taking the Lonely Planet Books which I had done to past trips to China, and England I went with the Rough Guide. What a mistake. Such a mistake that about 1/2 through the trip, somewhere in Thailand I think, I threw the book out and picked up LP guides to Vietnam and Cambodia.

The Cambodia book is great. Great information, easy to follow guides to Angkor what else could you need. LP really tells it as it is. Cambodia is a place changing everyday. Fortunately for the last year or two its been relatively calm and tourist friendly. How long this will last is anyone's guess. I hope stablity have finally come to this country with such a tragic history.

Angkor is a unbelievable place and the LP book will get you through it and teach you a lot.

Get this book before you go!


You must have if travelling to Cambodia!!! Essential book!!!   June 4, 2001
Kean Chhay Chang (Vic, Australia)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

Very practical and quite a useful book to have when travelling to Cambodia. I found it useful myself too with information regarding Cambodian history, past, present and maybe the future of the country's outcome having came out of the shadows of the Killing Fields. The book covers everything you need to know about travelling to Cambodia. The best place to eat and what are the popular sites to visit... in Phnom Penh and the famous jungle ruins of Angkor. This 3rd edition contains wonderful photos of the Khmer people in many aspects... Even though the country had been ravaged by war yet their souls are still proud like before much like their ancestors who built a wonderful civilization that ruled mainland Indo-China. Also there is a page for those who want to learn basic Khmer which is easy and enjoyable...

Now that Cambodia is opening up the outside world the book gets a little bit thicker which I find is interesting since now there are many areas to visit in Cambodia like the hill tribes living in east of Cambodia and also the temple of Preah Vihear in the north of Cambodia which sits on the Dangrek mountain range overlooking Thailand. Great book to have and I hope soon in the next edition more information will be added. Don't travel to Cambodia without one!!!


A practical, invaluable guide   January 17, 2001
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

Nick Ray's Cambodia is a practical, invaluable guide for commercial or recreational travelers wanting to explore the sights and wonders of this exotic land. From the majesty of Angkor, to Phnom Penh nightlife, to the wild and remote Cambodian countryside, this reliable, detailed, and authoritative travel guide offers 30 "user friendly" maps; up-to-date health and security information; vital transport details (including river trips and overland travel); special features on the temples of Angkor; a useful chapter on the Khmer language; and much, much more. If you are planning a trip to Cambodia, begin with a thorough reading of Nick Ray's Cambodia!