After the relative blur that was Thailand, up next on the Wirld Tour was Cambodia which was a bit of an unknown for the 3 of us. But we were pleasantly surprised by its beauty and the friendliness of the locals given its sad recent history. See how we got on below.
“After a pretty awful border crossing thanks to the lads who tried to rob us on the Thai side, we made it to immigration, paid the $20 for our visa, got through, only to join an even longer queue. After about an hour we made it through and hopped on a shuttle bus to the local bus station. After being told we would have to wait an hour until the bus left, we decided to leave along with our Australian mate Sam on our own bat. We legged it outside and found a random lad Ant who offered to drive us for 2 hours to Siem Reap for $28…bargain. The drive itself flew in and Ant shared some info about daily life in Cambodia. Perhaps he went a little far when he mentioned what he liked to do on a Friday night with his week’s wages. Best not get into that!
Seim Reap
Ant dropped the 4 of us off on Pub Street, which does exactly what it says on the tin, at about 8pm. We quickly found a hotel, dumped the bags and grabbed some food having eaten nothing all day. After dinner we went for a couple of alcoholic beverages but nothing too wild as we were all shattered following the long day travelling.
“After a pretty awful border crossing thanks to the lads who tried to rob us on the Thai side, we made it to immigration, paid the $20 for our visa, got through, only to join an even longer queue. After about an hour we made it through and hopped on a shuttle bus to the local bus station. After being told we would have to wait an hour until the bus left, we decided to leave along with our Australian mate Sam on our own bat. We legged it outside and found a random lad Ant who offered to drive us for 2 hours to Siem Reap for $28…bargain. The drive itself flew in and Ant shared some info about daily life in Cambodia. Perhaps he went a little far when he mentioned what he liked to do on a Friday night with his week’s wages. Best not get into that!
Seim Reap
Ant dropped the 4 of us off on Pub Street, which does exactly what it says on the tin, at about 8pm. We quickly found a hotel, dumped the bags and grabbed some food having eaten nothing all day. After dinner we went for a couple of alcoholic beverages but nothing too wild as we were all shattered following the long day travelling.
Say Wat!
We got up early the next day for some much needed breakfast and then organised a tuk-tuk to take us for the day around Angkor Wat and other temples in the area for the grand price of $10…Boom! So our driver San brought us first to a small temple which was quite impressive, then to the Tomb Raider temple and finally to Angkor Wat itself, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Another one for the list! To say it was impressive would be an understatement. After a quick Irish dance in front of some very amused locals we spent an hour or so wandering around the temple and chilled by the moat before getting the tuk-tuk back in the evening. Along the way the driver San kept offering us to meet local girls for some “boom boom”. You’re alright mate.
We headed straight to a traditional Cambodian BBQ in the city, where you are given your choice of 4 raw meats and you cook it yourself on a grill which is on the table. Pretty unreal. After an hour of cooking and having ate beef, chicken, fish, crocodile, duck and frogs legs we looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie 9 months. Preggers to the max! We went for a few scoops after but the beer didn’t really have much effect as the meal soaked it all up far too effectively. So we retired to our sleeping quarters knowing that we were getting a bus the following morning to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh
We were up and checked out by 11 the next day and on the road to Phnom Penh. We were told the journey itself would be 4 and half hours but ended up being a horrible 7 hour journey in a cooped up minivan. We were absolutely raging! Cooled off a bit, we grabbed a tuk tuk and headed towards our hostel which was due to be in the lovely area of Lakeside if the city. Unfortunately we hadn’t know that the government drained the lake a year ago and thus tourism had died in the area. So we were staying in a hostel, with pushy workers who wanted to sell us trips the following day. Not taking no for an answer we had to retire to the room for the night.
Phnom Penh
We were up and checked out by 11 the next day and on the road to Phnom Penh. We were told the journey itself would be 4 and half hours but ended up being a horrible 7 hour journey in a cooped up minivan. We were absolutely raging! Cooled off a bit, we grabbed a tuk tuk and headed towards our hostel which was due to be in the lovely area of Lakeside if the city. Unfortunately we hadn’t know that the government drained the lake a year ago and thus tourism had died in the area. So we were staying in a hostel, with pushy workers who wanted to sell us trips the following day. Not taking no for an answer we had to retire to the room for the night.
The 4 of us were up early the following morning, to both avoid the pushy owner and also to see the sights of the city. We grabbed a tuk tuk to go visit the Killing Fields which were about 40 minutes outside the city. Without doubt it was the most sobering places I have visited during our year long trip. The Killing Fields in Phnom Penh are one of the many sites where the Socialist Khmer Rouge killed up to 3 million innocent people during 1975-79. They arrested anyone they thought were spies, tortured them and their entire family members and finally killed them in mass graves. We spent about 2 hours wandering around the area with an audio guide and finally decided to head back to the city having seen one of the most haunting places possible.
We grabbed the tuk tuk back to city for some lunch and then headed off to evening markets, for some purchases and back to the ranch for some dinner and chillaxing in the hostel. We also noticed in this city the amount of dirty old sex tourists on every corner. Men about 50-60 years old sitting having dinner with 3-4 local girls, who God only knows what age they are.
We grabbed the tuk tuk back to city for some lunch and then headed off to evening markets, for some purchases and back to the ranch for some dinner and chillaxing in the hostel. We also noticed in this city the amount of dirty old sex tourists on every corner. Men about 50-60 years old sitting having dinner with 3-4 local girls, who God only knows what age they are.
We checked out early the next day, dumped our bags in the hostel and the three of us went to the S21 prison in the city centre while Sam went shopping. The prison itself was where the majority of the prisoners were tortured. In fact when liberated, many victims were found still tied to the beds having been tortured and killed. What made the place even scarier was that the Khmer Rouge documented each person they interrogated and took their photo. All these photos can be seen at the prison. In particular the photos of young children are haunting.
After enough depression for another day we swung by the Central Market to pick up Sam, got our bags in the hostel and rented a minivan to drive us 4 hours to Sianhoukville, which is a party town in the south, better known as Sinville. En route we picked up our friend Gough who had flown into the city and we were on the road with the aim of getting there just in time for a night out! We picked up some beers on the way and within no time the Westlife tunes were flowing!
After enough depression for another day we swung by the Central Market to pick up Sam, got our bags in the hostel and rented a minivan to drive us 4 hours to Sianhoukville, which is a party town in the south, better known as Sinville. En route we picked up our friend Gough who had flown into the city and we were on the road with the aim of getting there just in time for a night out! We picked up some beers on the way and within no time the Westlife tunes were flowing!
Sinville
We rolled into Sinville at about 10pm, checked into our hotel and got our glad rags on. It is also important to note that this was the first time we had our own private room in 11 months! Such a luxury. We grabbed a few beers and headed down the beach which was packed. After a few hours we got a tuk tuk to a music festival about 20 minutes away. Queue more tunes in the tuk tuk. The festival was serious craic and went on until the early hours!
We were up pretty late the following day as you can imagine, so just spent the day on the beach chillaxing and pigging out a little. On the beach are loads of little kids selling everything from sunglasses to bracelets. Honestly they are seriously intelligent kids. For every rebuff you have they have a comeback. “No, it’s ok, I don’t want one”…”Ok fine, then buy two”. Top lads! After the beach we headed for some diner to watch the football and then we were back on the tiles again, which was a little less packed than the previous night but just as much craic.
We rolled into Sinville at about 10pm, checked into our hotel and got our glad rags on. It is also important to note that this was the first time we had our own private room in 11 months! Such a luxury. We grabbed a few beers and headed down the beach which was packed. After a few hours we got a tuk tuk to a music festival about 20 minutes away. Queue more tunes in the tuk tuk. The festival was serious craic and went on until the early hours!
We were up pretty late the following day as you can imagine, so just spent the day on the beach chillaxing and pigging out a little. On the beach are loads of little kids selling everything from sunglasses to bracelets. Honestly they are seriously intelligent kids. For every rebuff you have they have a comeback. “No, it’s ok, I don’t want one”…”Ok fine, then buy two”. Top lads! After the beach we headed for some diner to watch the football and then we were back on the tiles again, which was a little less packed than the previous night but just as much craic.
The following day we rented some scooters and went to see a little more of the town. I was fairly awful on the scooter as it was my first time on one…a bit like Jay from the Inbetweeners trying to drive Neil’s new moped home for the first time. Eventually I got the hang of it and we spent the day at some remote beaches outside the town. No fewer than 2 minutes after we rented the bikes, we were stopped by police who demanded to see our licences. A dollar each of a bribe and we were back on the road, only to be stopped a mile later by another policeman who wanted a bribe. “Here man, we just paid the fine to your buddy back there”…”ok go on!”. Serious system!
So we dropped off bikes and went to watch some more football before heading out again! Not much else to do in the town. At the first bar, I was pretty well stung when the lads nominated me to sing with the band playing. After much protest I had no choice so gave Wonderwall a whack. It went grand and got some free beer for my troubles. Work and travel…easier than it seems.
So we dropped off bikes and went to watch some more football before heading out again! Not much else to do in the town. At the first bar, I was pretty well stung when the lads nominated me to sing with the band playing. After much protest I had no choice so gave Wonderwall a whack. It went grand and got some free beer for my troubles. Work and travel…easier than it seems.
Koh Rong
We were up early the next day as we booked the boat to Koh Rong which is an idyllic island about 2 hours away from Sinville and also because we needed some serious rehab! The boat across was seriously slow and we eventually arrived at about 4 in the evening. The island itself is beautiful but full of stoners which is not really our cup of Barry’s tea. We played football for an hour or so on the beach and then went for some dinner and a few scoops to unwind. We also went for a little night swim to see the infamous plankton which was quite an experience. They were literally glowing around you as you swam. We hit the hay hoping for a decent night sleep. How wrong we were!
We were up early the next day as we booked the boat to Koh Rong which is an idyllic island about 2 hours away from Sinville and also because we needed some serious rehab! The boat across was seriously slow and we eventually arrived at about 4 in the evening. The island itself is beautiful but full of stoners which is not really our cup of Barry’s tea. We played football for an hour or so on the beach and then went for some dinner and a few scoops to unwind. We also went for a little night swim to see the infamous plankton which was quite an experience. They were literally glowing around you as you swam. We hit the hay hoping for a decent night sleep. How wrong we were!
The electricity on the island is switched off at 12am so that means no fans for the whole night. Queue a horrifically hot room at 25 degrees. No one could get a wink sleep with the heat and mosquitos and at one stage I lay awake only to hear Kev in the other room say to himself in the most depressing of voices “This is misssserrrabllllee”. When we did manage to get a bit of shut eye it was interrupted by the roosters going off at 5am and the builders starting work at 7. So much for a chilled out island. Pissed off we check out and found another hotel down the beach for the second night. So we dropped our bags there and decided to head to the infamous Long Beach for the day.
We did a one hour trek to Long Beach which was actually quite tough in flip flop as we had to climb a hill and then descend some rocks absolutely sweating our arses off. We also had to avoid the many snakes that were said to reside in the jungle. No bother! Eventually we made it there as the sweatiest men alive. But it was worth it. One of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. It is about 8km long with only a handful of people dotted along it. We spent 4 hours chilling there and playing some football before getting a dodgy taxi boat back to the main port in the evening. Once there we played a game of football against the locals, which we won comprehensively, but who is keeping score right? Kev and I also equalled our headers record of 37 which impressed a couple of Canadians on the beach.
We did a one hour trek to Long Beach which was actually quite tough in flip flop as we had to climb a hill and then descend some rocks absolutely sweating our arses off. We also had to avoid the many snakes that were said to reside in the jungle. No bother! Eventually we made it there as the sweatiest men alive. But it was worth it. One of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. It is about 8km long with only a handful of people dotted along it. We spent 4 hours chilling there and playing some football before getting a dodgy taxi boat back to the main port in the evening. Once there we played a game of football against the locals, which we won comprehensively, but who is keeping score right? Kev and I also equalled our headers record of 37 which impressed a couple of Canadians on the beach.
We headed out that night for some food and a beer but again nothing wild. We retired to the bedroom in hope of a good night sleep. Unfortunately things weren’t much better, so when the roosters went off at 7am, we were up, packed and sitting at the dock for the ferry ready to go! We were off to the mainland for a decent night sleep.
Sinville
We arrived back at about 1pm and planned our stay for another 3 nights in the city of Sin (of Cambodia). We booked our bus for Vietnam in 3 days times so that meant we had to go to the Vietnamese Embassy to buy our visa for $60…bit steep! We headed along to the embassy only to be told we would have to wait for 2 days for it to be processed as they were nearly finished work for the day at 3.30pm. Grand. So with that news we returned to what we do best: playing football on the beach and then heading for a few scoops at night. But thank God we finally got a decent night sleep! The following day it was Sam’s birthday so we went on a booze cruise for the afternoon, stopping off on the way for a few cannon balls and tequilas. The cruise itself was about 4 hours and serious banter. Once back to the mainland, we watched some footy (we sound like hooligans on holiday) and then went out for the night. Sam thinks he had a good night.
Sinville
We arrived back at about 1pm and planned our stay for another 3 nights in the city of Sin (of Cambodia). We booked our bus for Vietnam in 3 days times so that meant we had to go to the Vietnamese Embassy to buy our visa for $60…bit steep! We headed along to the embassy only to be told we would have to wait for 2 days for it to be processed as they were nearly finished work for the day at 3.30pm. Grand. So with that news we returned to what we do best: playing football on the beach and then heading for a few scoops at night. But thank God we finally got a decent night sleep! The following day it was Sam’s birthday so we went on a booze cruise for the afternoon, stopping off on the way for a few cannon balls and tequilas. The cruise itself was about 4 hours and serious banter. Once back to the mainland, we watched some footy (we sound like hooligans on holiday) and then went out for the night. Sam thinks he had a good night.
We checked out the next day, legged it to the embassy to collect our visa and waited around for our night bus. At 8pm we hoped on the night bus. Words can’t explain the type of bus we boarded. The seats resembled sun loungers that were stuck in the upright position. So the first few hours were not the best to Phnom Penh, but once there were changed to a more comfortable bus for our final run at the Vietnam border. Fingers crossed the air con works!
Cambodia itself has been a real hidden gem on our trip. It’s a country with a very sad recent history which can be hard to comprehend but it is developing. For backpackers it is perfect: cheap, accessible, lots of partying and friendly/educated locals. Big thanks to all the cool people we met along the way, in particular Gough and Sam, who made the trip so memorable.
On the road again,
The Lads
Cambodia itself has been a real hidden gem on our trip. It’s a country with a very sad recent history which can be hard to comprehend but it is developing. For backpackers it is perfect: cheap, accessible, lots of partying and friendly/educated locals. Big thanks to all the cool people we met along the way, in particular Gough and Sam, who made the trip so memorable.
On the road again,
The Lads
