Battambong

I adore Battambong. It's the second largest city in Cambodia, but it has a Cambodian feel that Phnom Penh nor Siem Reap have. If you want to have a glimpse of what living in Cambodia is like, and don't have time to visit a smaller village, visit Battambong. Battambong has some good Cambodian restaurants, and some lovely western restaurants, along with great tailors if you want to get some clothing made, for cheaper than Phnom Penh prices.

How to get here:
-From Phnom Penh: Battambong is located 6 hours by bus from Phnom Penh straight up National Road 5. It costs about $5 to get there by Capitol or Sorya bus companies.
-From Thailand Battambong is about two hours away from the border town of Poipet and costs about $2.50
-From Siem Reap Battambong is also about two hours away and costs about $3.75

Things to do:

1. Bamboo Train: Please go do this quick, because soon you won't be able to do it anymore. A Train hasn't existed in Cambodia for quite some time, so they have set up these bamboo trains which is just a bamboo slat with a motor and wheels to get around. Now tourists can ride one. Hopefully you run into someone on the tracks, because whoever has the lighter load has to take their little train off the tracks and let the others pass before putting it back together. When we rode it we had to get off once, and once people had to get off for us. Do not pay more than $5 a person to ride. Haggle with them if you can.

2. Battambong Bat Caves aka Phnom Sampov: I haven't actually been here, but a volunteer lives in this town and I've heard it's amazing. Something like at 5:00 every night tons of bats all come flying out of the cave. If I'm not mistaken it was also used as a killing field during the Khmer Rouge

3. Walk along the river. Battambong is centered around a beautiful river, and it has a wonderful walkway all along the river. It's perfect for an evening after dinner stroll.

4. Visit ancient wats (temples) such as Wat Banan, a 10th century temple often considered similar to Angkor Wat, or Wat Ek Phnom, this is a temple built on top of a mountain and has spectacular views.
5. Phare Ponleu Selpak: also known as the circus. My friend teaches English at their little school so go support them and see their cool circus.
6. Check out the art scene: Battambong has a huge art scene and they sometimes do gallery strolls so go check out their art galleries.

Places to eat:
1. Chinese Noodle: ($2.50) I don't actually know the name of this place, it's just what volunteers call it. It's located just a few doors down from White Rose. It's super cheap and you can watch them make their own noodles and dumplings. SO GOOD.
2. White Rose: ($5) This is a good local restaurant and is hard to miss since it's big and on a street corner. I've never had a meal here, but I've heard it's good. I go there for their ice cream or fruit shakes for $1. Yum.
3. Cafe Eden: ($5-10) I love this restaurant. It's some of the best western food you can find in Battambong. it's run by the sweetest woman from washington. They really give back to the community. They often have music nights on the weekends so check their website.
4. Gecko Cafe: ($5-$10) Two Words...Snickers Blizzard. They're a little more spendy, but they're also really yummy.
5. Green Mango: ($5) It's hard to find good baked goods in Cambodia. The owners and workers of this place are the best.This is the place to go! It's a great organization where they are teaching young village girls how to cook, so go support them and eat a cinnamon roll for me.
6. Espresso House: ($2) This is my favorite place to eat in Battambong. I'm going to attempt to tell you how to get here. Go to the main market, Centreal Market(touches the river and street 113) and walk west. You'll see a giant cell phone store with a giant green sign, Smart Mobile. Walk down that street and on the right hand side will be Espresso House. You have to look for their little sign. It's just a few doors down from the Royal hotel. Please go give this family your business. They are the greatest and always throw in a plate of fruit or an extra dessert to their nice customers.


Places to stay:
1. Paris Guesthouse: ($6-$10) Their rooms are a bit small, but my friends got a double room with a balcony with AC for like $10. Prices may be different in the high season, or during the really hot season. The staff were nice and the hotel had nice hot water. Stay here if you're backpacking and are going to cheap and functional, but not fancy
2. Seng Hout Hotel: ($12-$20) This hotel is a little more spendy, but it's obviously a lot nicer than Paris. The rooms are really nice and if you don't get AC they'll give you a fan for your room. I've stayed here twice and the staff have always been really nice and accomodating. Stay here if you're looking for a decent place to stay, but are on a budget.
3.Bambu Hotel: ($75-$100)I haven't ever stayed here, but I've heard of volunteers staying here with their families since it's nicer with a pool and is definitely a step up from the other two hotels. Stay here if you're looking for something really nice and are fine paying an american price for a hotel room.

Kampot

Kampot is one of my favorite cities in Cambodia. It has such a laid back relaxed feel to it that almost no other large city in Cambodia has.

How to get here:
-From Phnom Penh, Kampot is located about 3 hours south of Phnom Penh and costs about 12,000 riel, or $3 to get there.

Things to do:
1. Play in the river: If you aren't afraid of the water, get in. It's nice and refreshing after or during a really hot day, which is almost every day in Cambodia. You can also do sunset boat tours on the river, or kayak on the river.
2. Bodhi Villa: To go along with playing in the river, in the evening to got Bodhi Villa. They have a diving board and a dock that you can play on. They also often have live music in the evenings.
3. Hike to the ocean: Kampot is located pretty close to the ocean. I've never done this, but I know a volunteer who did a hike to the ocean. I think it took about 2 hours one way.
4. Bokor Mountain: Whenever you tell a Cambodian you went to Kampot they always ask if you went to Bokor Mountain. On the top is a beautiful waterfall, and apparently home to a beautiful ruined casino. Seriously, go look at that website and it will make you want to go.
5. Get a $5 massage: There are ton of little massage places around town that you can just pop into to get a quick massage for a nice relaxing time.

Places to eat:
1. Sisters II: ($2.50) This is my favorite place to eat in Kampot. SO Good. Go there for breakfast and get a veggie omllete with their homemade bread, or their pumpkin pancakes. I dream of their pumpkin pancakes now that I'm back in America. They also have a location in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville.
2. Rusty Keyhole: ($10) This is most people's favorite restaurants in Kampot. It's located right along the river, directly across the market they're building from the Hour Kheang Guesthouse. Go there the night before you want to eat there and tell them how many racks of ribs you want the next day. These are not american cut ribs with only a little meat and you're chewing on the bone. These are chuncks of meat falling off the ribs and you'll probably have to share a rack with someone. They also have some amazing chicken dish.
3. Rikitikitavi: ($5) This place is pretty good and they give a discount to volunteers. Others said they had good drinks and they also have really good ice creams for dessert. Also a guesthouse
4. Mea Culpa: ($5-$10)The building is beautiful and the food is to die for. They use a wood fire oven to make the yummiest italian food. It's worth the little walk out there, their food is that good.

Places to Stay:
1. Paris Gueshouse: ($12-$16) I really like this hotel. Be careful though, they might give away your reservation if someone chooses to overstay their reservation. Their rooms are really nice and their little bit more expensive rooms have the most wonderful bay windows that offer great views of the city. The bathrooms are pretty darn nice for Cambodian standards and have hot water.
2. Hour Kheang Guesthouse: ($10-$18) I like this hotel. The staff were really nice and fun to joke around with. The rooms were reasonably sized and they even have a few with king size beds in them. I would probably stay here over Paris, but if you're looking for something a little nicer you should stay at Paris.


Not too far from Kampot is a little town called Kep that's worth a visit for fresh crab! It's worth splurging on a stay at The Veranda Hotel to swim in their pool and eat their buffet.

Siem Reap

Siem Reap:

Most tourists go to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat. You should go, but that's not all you should do. If that's all you see then you're missing out on the real Cambodia. Go explore other cities!

How to get here:
-From Phnom Penh on a bus it takes about 6 hours straight up National Road 6 and costs about $5
-From border of Thailand it takes about 2- 2 1/2 hours and costs about $3.75 or 15,000 riel

At Bayon temple, my favorite of the ones I visited

Things to do:
1. Angkor Wat: ($20) Go Do it. They say to actually see the temples you need 3 days. If you don't
have 3 days, go at least 1 full day. They're amazing. A Tuk Tuk will charge around $15 and they'll wait for you, or just tell them what time you want to go back. Always negotiate price before you get in and hold firm, they might try to hassle for more when you leave. Here's a post about when I went to Angkor Wat. You can go at 5:00 for sunset and get in for free to explore until the sun goes down.
2.Other Temples: Angkor Wat is only one temple complex, but in the area there are tons of other temples. Bayon was my favorite and Ta Prohm was also wonderful. There are many other temples which are a bit outside of Siem Reap that I've heard are worth the visit, they're less crowded, and more jungley. Many tuk tuk drivers or hotels have maps of all the temples in the Siem Reap area, so you can decide where to go.
3. Visit a Floating Village: If you have a tour guide, they can take you, or your hotel can set it up. Definitely go visit a floating village. I'd highly recommend going with a local guide. They will likely take you on a smaller boat, and take you to more interesting places.
4. Get Massages: You can get an amazing hour long massage for prices that will blow your mind. Hal and I got an hour long couples massage for $8 each, and it was wonderful. There are a ton of places around Siem Reap, and most of them are great.
5. Crocodile Farm: These are really cool, and they're all over Siem Reap. If you meet a nice Khmer
person, you might ask if they know someone who has crocodiles and you can go see them for free.
That's what we did, and it was pretty cool. There is a huge main one, so if you ask a tuk tuk driver
that's probably where they'll take you.
6. Silk Farm: I've never been, but it seems really cool. It's about a 20 minute ride outside of Siem
Reap. That way you get outside of the city and get to see a hint of what the rest of the country is
like.
7. Visit Modern Wats (Temples): I love visiting different wats, they're all different and all beautiful. The monks are always happy to have people look around. Wat Thmei has an area memorializing the Khmer Rouge and killing fields. Wat Bo isn't too far from the western part of Siem Reap.
8. Shop: There are endless markets all over Siem Reap. There is a large one inbetween the river and pub street. My favorite one is directly across the river from the western area. The Night Market is open late and is good too.

This is inside Il Forno

Where to eat:

1. Il Forno: ($8)This Italian restaurant is pricey by volnteer standards, but isn't by western standards. This restaurant has the best Italian food I've ever had. You should make reservations as they're often

very busy, but it will be worth the hassle, I promise.

2. Viva: ($5) This is great Mexican food, and often very cheap. Their happy hour is practically all day, so you can get cheap drinks and $1 tacos.

3. Le Boulangerie: ($5) This french restaurant is run by a Khmer chef trained in France, and it shows.

Such good food! You can build your own sandwich for $4, and my my my, they're delicious; hands

down the most delicious sandwich in Cambodia.

4. F For Falafel: ($5.50) This place is great, you can get a giant Falafel sandwich with all the fixins for

$5.50. This feeds two of us it's so stuffed with goodness. They also make fabulous smoothies. I

recommend the Mango Passion fruit with yogurt.

5. The Maharajah: ($5) I always eat at this place when I am in Siem Reap. An Indian friend of ours recommended it and it did not disappoint. You get free rice with your meal which is uncommon for Indian restaurants in Cambodia. Get the chicken marsalal. It had chuncky veggies and a friend who doesn't usually like Indian food likes this dish.

6. Ivy: ($3) This is such a good restaurant. It's just down the street from the Riviera Hotel. On Fridays they do $1 tapas. It's not traditional tapas, but it's still delicious. Get the mini chicken burritos, or the beef medallions with green beans and please please get the pumpkin flan. They're also a guesthouse.

7. Blue Pumpkin: ($2) Ok...this is a time where I don't want to tell you of this goodness, because I

want them to run out :) They have amazing ice cream! If you have a group, it's cheaper to buy a tub...and you'll eat it all. But the real secret here is their baked goods. They have amazing cheesecake and macarons, but this is the hush hush part, get the mille feuilles. Get it and you won't be sorry, just make sure there's one left in the case for me :)

You can always hit up Lucky Supermarket or Angkor Mart for some western groceries.

Places to stay:

1. Angkor Park Guesthouse: ($7-$12) We always stay here when going to Siem Reap. The prices are
very reasonable, the hotel is clean, the two sisters who own it are awesome and it's very close
to the Pub Street area. This hotel is cheap and very basic, with hot water, a tv and comfy beds.
2. Tanei Guesthouse: ($20) This hotel is lovely and a step up from Angkor Park. They have a great
little pool and you can get breakfast included for very cheap. The staff is very nice, and the guesthouse has it's own tuk tuk which can pick you up for free. They also have bikes you can use for free.
3. Golden Banana Hotel: ($35) This is where we go swimming when we come to Siem Reap. The hotel is gorgeous, and reasonably priced, but out of our price range. The staff are very nice and the pool is fabulous.
4. Terrasse des Elephants: ($100) I've never stayed here, but a friend did and highly recommended it
if you want something really nice. The hotel rooms have mini waterfalls and ponds in them. The hotel has a pool on the roof. The price of the room usually includes one dinner at the restaurant.

A Note on Siem Reap: Because there are so many tourists here there are also a lot of beggers, especially children begging out at night. Please do not just give them money, and please do not let them trick you into buying them formula for their "sister". They will go right back and return it and take a cut from the store. Try giving them food or anything other than money and they get very angry.
I am more likely to buy something from a child who is selling something. I've met some very sweet children who have lost one parent and use the money they get from selling things to pay for English school. The children who are out on the street just begging don't need you to give them their money, it perpetuates their parents making the children beg to support them.