Route Taken

Vientienne (Laos) – Phnom Penh – Siem Reap (Angkor) – Battambang – Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville – Phnom Penh – Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam)

Total number of days: 18
(See below for breakdown)

Budget

Overall Average: $30/day (definitely went off budget in Cambodia)

Interesting Expenditures: $40 to see Angkor for 3 days

Food and Drink
Food was good, but not as good as Thailand. There were a few tasty treats I became obsessed with…

Must Eats:

• Amok – meat or fish stewed in coconut sauce, served with rice.
• Pumpkin soup – delish. Toasted peanuts.

Highlights

• Angkor Wat, needless to say, is a must see. Pretty incredible. We spent 1.5 days, and despite what all the guidebooks said, that was more than enough. You can only stare at temples for so long.
• Phnom Penh – I really loved this city. Checking out all the bookstores and eating up the cheap internet is a good way to pass the time. The road along the river is lined with cute bars and restaurants that are well worth the $2 noodle dishes and $3 pumpkin soups. Some have great happy hours ($1 Jameson’s!).  The Foreign Correspondence Club is a particularly refreshing splurge (go for happy hour, and it won’t be a splurge) – great view from the roof deck bar. One restaurant on the river worth patronizing — Vieyo — it’s a non-profit that gives all its money to housing, feeding, and educating some of the thousands of tragic and adorable street children. Go on Saturday or Sunday nights at 8, and the kids put on a show.
• Occheuteal is a pretty cool beach in Sihanoukville, great back-packer scene. The beach is lined with comfy lounge chairs, and cute little bars and restaurants with great food (and unfortunately tons of women wanting to give you massages and kids selling you crap). Head to the right (if you’re facing the water), past the rocks, and you’ll hit the cheap hotels, after-hours bars/clubs, and restaurants with good food and some pretty romantic ambience.
• If visiting the Killing Fields, Security Prison 21, or any of the other extremely disturbing hmer Rouge sites (though disturbing, I think it’s a pretty important experience for folks visiting the country to have), I would suggest reading “First They Killed My Father”, which is a fast read, but gives a really good over-view of what happened in Cambodia not so long ago. They sell it everywhere in the streets.

Best Deal
1500 Riel beers in Occheuteal (about 30 cents), Indochine Hotel in Phnom Penh – right on the river, air con!/cable!/hotwater! $10 a night.

Calendar of EventsOctober
17 - Flew to Phnom Penh (from Laos), then to Siem Reap
18, 19 - Siem Reap
20 - Siem Reap to Battambang
21 - Battambang
22 - Battambang to Phnom Penh
23, 24 - Phnom Penh
25 - Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville
26-29 - Sihanoukville
30 - Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh
31 - Phnom Penh

17 - Flew to Phnom Penh (from Laos), then to Siem Reap18, 19 - Siem Reap20 - Siem Reap to Battambang21 - Battambang22 - Battambang to Phnom Penh23, 24 - Phnom Penh25 - Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville26-29 - Sihanoukville30 - Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh31 - Phnom PenhNovember
1,2,3 - Phnom Penh
4 - Phnom Penh to Vietnam