The capital is a frenetic city called Phnom Penh, which is easy to get to from the major regional airports like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Min City or Singapore. While Phnom Penh has some curious charm of its own, like a lot of capital cities it performs better as a gateway than as a destination.



The two areas I would like to talk to you about lie in the north and south west of this nation respectively. Up north sits one of the seven wonders of the world, the Ankor Wat temple complex. This ancient marvel is breathtaking and justifiably on that well known list of 100 things to do or see before you die. To quote a recent visitor, I expected a pile of old rocks, but I got a powerful significant experience instead. It is a massive site, far bigger than most first time visitors imagine, and can easily take three days to walk around. Ankor Wat is situated adjacent to the northern regional town of Siem Reap, which is a one hour flight or a six hour road trip from Phnom Penh. Siem Reap can also be reached by air or road from Bangkok in neighboring Thailand.

The second place I want to tell you about is the seaside town of Sihanoukville. Also a regional town, Sihanoukville lies on the edge of the Gulf of Thailand, about three to fours hours from Phnom Penh down a pretty good sealed road. Close your eyes and picture white sand and turquoise water and you have pretty well visualized the beaches of Sihanoukville. Hey do not go packing your surfboard, the waters of the gulf are invariably calm and waves seldom exceed knee height. Put these cool beaches together with really low cost, and you will see why this is such an alluring and desirable place to visit. So lets look at how inexpensively you can spend say a week in this part of the world.

International flights have either hovered at the same price or have fallen noticeably over the past few years. So have a look on the net and you will possibly be pleasantly surprised at the cost of getting to Cambodia. Once you are at the airport, a thirty day tourist visa will cost you $20 usd. For $35 or so you can hire a car with driver to bring you the 235 kilometers to town, or spend about $7 for a seat on a bus instead.

Of course you will need somewhere nice to stay. There is a wide variety of accommodation on offer in town, everything from a mattress above a bar to a five star resort with all the trimmings. As a guide, an air conditioned room here with a hot shower, cable TV and a fridge will cost you around $15 per night! Food and drink is also wonderfully cheap with a tasty meal for around $3 and a cold beer for $1 a can.

Put all these advantages together and I trust you will agree that Cambodia is an as yet undiscovered gem, just waiting for you to come over and unwind.