Just a quick note that these are the opinions of myself, of what I’ve seen and heard from talking to locals, expats and fellow travellers. I won’t pretend to clearly know everything about the situation of children in Cambodia as I’ve only spent four short weeks there. This is just what I’ve seen and heard and my conclusions from it. We’ve heard from quite a few people and tourist guide books that you can come to Cambodia and volunteer at orphanages for any length of time. Initially we were really excited to check this out as we both love kids and thought it would be good to do something to…
-
-
Kampot Accommodation
Once all of the Westerners in the squished up mini-van were dropped off in Kampot – coincidentally infront of a commissioned guesthouse, we set about trying to find some sort of accommodation. The information centre had no maps, and no information on the attractions of Kampot to give us but did mention one newly opened place, Paris Guesthouse, so we walked a street behind the riverfront and found it. Paris Guesthouse Brand new building. Good location if being central is your priority. However, Kampot is so small that you can walk everywhere quite easily. In a new building next to Captain Cham, a cafe & travel agency. Paris offered us…
-
22.5 People + Cargo in an 11-seater Van
Having not had the Internet for the past few days, we didn’t research our next leg from Sihanoukville to Kampot very much. After the 2.5 hour boat ride we had a Tuk Tuk driver pick us up and we told him to take us to the bus terminal for buses to Kampot. Once we got there, he drove us straight up to a minivan. We read about these “milk run” vans before and were instantly hesitant. It was awkward as we really didn’t want to buy the tickets and no one spoke good English. Emma went to check around the terminal to see if there were big buses to Kampot…
-
Palm Beach Bungalow Resort at Koh Rong
We decided to stay at Palm Beach Bungalow Resort on Koh Rong. Palm Beach is different to other accommodation on the island as it’s actually on the other side of the island, instead of within the rowdy Touch Village side where you will find stray dogs attacking tourists, people off their faces on alcohol and/or drugs, and local kids stealing things from your room while you sleep – (horror stories we heard from the manager of Palm Beach who used to work at Touch Village!). Took a 2.5 hr boat to Koh Rong with ‘Beast,’ a big Estonian who has spent the last few years in Cambodia and has no…
-
Taking Doxy-Moron
-
Don’t Be That Guy at a War Museum
Yes, it might be cool to have a photo of you posing with a gun, but it’s just a bit odd to get your girlfriend to follow you around taking photos as you grab different guns and pose on top of different war vehicles. Especially in the presence of people who were forced to join armies they did not understand, fight a war they did not understand, and who lost most family members in a war, when they were only children. Don’t Be That Guy.
-
War Museum – Siem Reap
Rode our free guesthouse bikes to the War Museum that other day. It’s just out of town, and probably a 30 minute ride along the main highway towards the airport. It was over 35 degrees C and I struggled with the heat, the dust, and riding on the (wrong) RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE ROAD. Definitely foreign to me, and so many times I got confused by turning left from the right lane, that I stopped mid-way through the intersection waiting for tuk-tuks, motorbikes, and trucks that were riding head on towards me. A lot of times they took pity on the panic-stricken tourist riding a single speed bike that…
-
Review – Golden Butterfly Villa
Seven days later, and we’re still in Siem Reap. In ALL due part to our amazing accommodation at Golden Butterfly Villa. As the sister company to the Golden Temple Villa down the road, Butterfly already had an established name, and colour scheme (a bright, but tonally pleasuring shade of orange covering the buildings and the rooms), but has gained a top ranking on Trip Advisor in its’ own right. The Villa has been running for 6 months, and everything is modern and new. The staff especially, are a credit to the villa, and are incredibily accommodating and friendly. We chose this place after spending two blissful nights at Antanue Resort…
-
A good day…
…was the day a Cambodian woman twice my size and twice my age bent me like a pretzel and spanked me like I had been a naughty boy. Best of all, it was free as part of the hotel’s complementary massage. Life is hard.
-
Masterchef Cambodia
Right now, Kids Masterchef Cambodia is on TV with pantry confessions; epic music for no reason; ingredient shopping frenzy; the big, stupid red clock; judges bickering and all. Seems like traveling to the far ends of the earth isn’t enough to escape the cancer that is Masterchef.
