Lonely Planet Cambodia , livre ebook

Cambodia

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Cambodia
Cambodia’s Top Experiences
Need to Know
First Time Cambodia
What’s New
Accommodation
Month by Month
Itineraries
The Great Outdoors
Family Travel
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

PHNOM PENH
Sights
Activities
Courses
Tours
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Around Phnom Penh
Koh Dach
Udong
Tonlé Bati
Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre
Phnom Chisor
Kirirom National Park
SIEM REAP
Sights
Activities
Courses
Tours
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Around Siem Reap
Banteay Srei District
Kompong Khleang
Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary
Kompong Pluk
Me Chrey
Floating Village of Chong Kneas
Ang Trapaeng Thmor Reserve
TEMPLES OF ANGKOR
Angkor Wat
Angkor Thom
Around Angkor Thom
Small Circuit
Big Circuit
Roluos Temples
Beyond Angkor
Banteay Srei
Beng Mealea
Phnom Kulen
Kbal Spean
Banteay Samré
Chau Srei Vibol
Phnom Bok
Phnom Krom
Western Baray & Western Mebon
Remote Angkor Temples
Koh Ker
SOUTH COAST
Koh Kong City
Koh Kong Conservation Corridor
Tatai River & Waterfall
Southern Cardamom National Park
Botum Sakor National Park
Chi Phat
Sihanoukville
Ream National Park
The Southern Islands
Koh Ta Kiev
Koh Thmei
Koh Rong
Koh Rong Sanloem
Koh Sdach Archipelago
Kampot Province
Kampot
Around Kampot
Kep
Takeo
Around Takeo
NORTHWESTERN CAMBODIA
Kompong Chhnang
Pursat
Kompong Luong
Northern Cardamom Mountains
Battambang Province
Battambang
Around Battambang
Pailin
Poipet
Sisophon
Banteay Chhmar
Anlong Veng
Preah Vihear Province
Preah Vihear City
Prasat Preah Vihear
Preah Khan of Kompong Svay
Kompong Thom Province
Kompong Thom
Around Kompong Thom
EASTERN CAMBODIA
Kompong Cham
Kratie
Stung Treng
Around Stung Treng
Preah Rumkel
Ratanakiri Province
Ban Lung
Veun Sai
Virachey National Park
Mondulkiri Province
Sen Monorom

UNDERSTAND

History
Pol Pot & the Khmer Rouge Trials
People & Culture
The Cambodian Kitchen
Environment

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Directory A–Z
Accessible Travel
Embassies & Consulates
Electricity
Food
Insurance
Internet Access
Language Courses
Legal Matters
LGBTQI+ Travellers
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travellers
Work
Transport
Getting There & Away
Entering the Country
Air
Land
Sea
Getting Around
Air
Bicycle
Boat
Bus
Car & Motorcycle
Local Transport
Train
Health
Before You Go
Health Insurance
Medical Checklist
In Cambodia
Availability & Cost of Healthcare
Infectious Diseases
Environmental Hazards
Traditional Medicine
Language
Glossary
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers

Covid-19
We have re-checked every business in this book before publication to ensure that it is still open after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the economic and social impacts of COVID-19 will continue to be felt long after the outbreak has been contained, and many businesses, services and events referenced in this guide may experience ongoing restrictions. Some businesses may be temporarily closed, have changed their opening hours and services, or require bookings; some unfortunately could have closed permanently. We suggest you check with venues before visiting for the latest information.
Welcome to Cambodia

I can vividly remember my first trip to Cambodia in 2011. I was lured – as so many others are – by the chance to touch history at the temples of Angkor. Then, I met the Cambodian people, and I think it’s their infectious smiles that have kept me coming back. It’s also those tangerine sunsets over the Mekong in Kratie, the elephants lumbering across jade green hills in Mondulkiri, that frenetic beat of a night out in Phnom Penh and the hypnotic (though rapidly changing) islands off the South Coast. Come for the temples, sure, but expect the rest of Cambodia to dazzle, too.

Mekong River, Kratie | STEVE BARZE/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

By Mark Johanson, Writer

twitter and instagram @MarkOnTheMap
For more about Our Writers
Cambodia’s Top Experiences

Top Experiences
1 Ancient Temples
The ancient Khmers packed the equivalent of all Europe’s cathedrals into an area the size of Los Angeles, making the famed temples of Angkor a veritable Disney World for archaeology lovers. Temple-hoppers will find countless more ruins begging to be explored across Cambodia. Channel your inner Lara Croft or Indiana Jones and dive into the fascinating history of one of the world’s most illustrious empires.

Ta Prohm | NOUN ROTH/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Temples of Angkor
One of the planet’s most magnificent sights, the temples of Angkor are even better than the superlatives suggest. Choose from Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious building; Bayon, one of the world’s weirdest temples, with its immense stone faces; or Ta Prohm, where nature runs amok.

Bayon | ALEXWILKO/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Prasat Preah Vihear
The mother of all mountain temples, Prasat Preah Vihear stands majestically atop the Dangkrek Mountains, forming a border post between Cambodia and Thailand. The foundation stones stretch to the edge of the cliff as it falls precipitously away to the plains below.

Prasat Preah Vihear| STEVE BARZE/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Banteay Chhmar
Angkor’s pre-eminent king, Jayavarman VII, ran riot in this jungle backwater in Northwestern Cambodia, erecting a clutch of temples festooned with his image. Banteay Chhmar and its nine satellite temples boast some of the most intricate bas-reliefs beyond Angkor.

Banteay Chhmar | SCENE_SNIPER/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
2 SUN, SAND & SEA
Cambodia’s up-and-coming southern islands offer your best chance to fulfil those paradise fantasies with swooping hammocks, swaying palms and plenty of sun-kissed solitude. Ever-growing Sihanoukville is your launch pad for most islands, with tranquil white-sand beaches just a quick ferry-ride away. Sleepy Kep (Cambodia’s original resort) is a more low-key alternative with a fine array of boutique hotels and seafood restaurants, as well as the backpacker beach of Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island).

Koh Rong Sanloem
The smaller sibling to Koh Rong, Koh Rong Sanloem is also popular thanks to the cheap lodgings on crescent-shaped Saracen Bay and the legendary Lazy Beach. The mellow island houses tropical hideaway resorts and gentle, shallow bays.

Koh Rong Sanloem | ALEKSANDAR TODOROVIC/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Koh Sdach
Koh Sdach is a castaway-cool archipelago just off the southwest tip of Botum Sakor National Park. It’s got a handful of authentic restaurants and homestays, plus some vibrant undersea life, but change is on the horizon in the form of new luxury resorts.

Koh Sdach | CAMNET/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Koh Rong
Off the coast of Sihanoukville, Koh Rong is the most popular of Cambodia’s southern islands. It’s home to the backpacker beach of Koh Tuch and its hippie-trippy village. The rest of the island, fringed by silicon sand and clad in dense jungle, is an escape.

Koh Rong | TROPICAL-TRAVEL/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
3 INTO THE JUNGLE
The endless rice fields and sugar palms that characterise the Cambodian landscape eventually give way to the rolling hills and verdant jungles of the ‘wild east’ in the little-visited provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri – both of which house some of the nation’s top ecotourism projects. Out west, the Cardamom Mountains rise higher still, offering the kind of dense tropical rainforests where endangered wildlife thrives (at least, for now).

Authentic adventures in Mondulkiri
Wildlife is the big draw to Mondulkiri. Top experiences include the opportunity to ‘walk with the herd’ at Elephant Valley Project or spot douc langurs and gibbons on a trek through the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary. Add thunderous waterfalls and a jungle zipline to the mix, and you have the perfect ingredients for an authentic adventure.

Elephant sanctuary, Mondulkiri | TOMAS LESA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Red dirt in Ratanakiri
The red dirt roads of Ratanakiri lead to some of Cambodia’s wildest nature reserves, including the vast Virachey National Park, home to clouded leopards and sun bears. Closer to the regional hub of Ban Lung you’ll find Boeng Yeak Lom, a jungle-clad crater lake that’s Cambodia’s most inviting natural swimming pool.

Boeng Yeak Lom | DEMAMIEL62/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Mountain highs: Koh Kong Conservation Corridor
The Koh Kong Conservation Corridor covers the southern reaches of the fabled Cardamom Mountains, an area of astonishing biodiversity and the jungle-flanked Tatai River, with its eco-adventures and fairy-tale accommodations.

Tatai River | JM TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
4 DOWN BY THE RIVER
Cambodia truly bursts to life next to its rivers. The Mighty Mekong may get all the fame and attention as it crashes over from Laos and pours out into Vietnam, but there are plenty of other rivers. The small regional towns and cities that have sprung up alongside them are among the most charming in Cambodia.

Art & charm in Battambang
Unfurling along the banks of the Sangker River, Battambang is one of the country’s best-preserved colonial-era towns. Streets of colonial French shophouses host everything from fair-trade cafes to art galleries. .

ELITE STUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Riverside chill in Kampot
Choose from backpacker hostels, riverside resorts or boutique hotels to take in the French architectural legacy in Kampot, then explore the pretty Kompong Bay River (above) by paddleboard or kayak.

Colonial architecture in Battambang | BTWIMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Rare dolphins in Kratie
Gateway to the rare freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins, Kratie is