A month in Cambodia in November 2024 (page 4 of 5)

Originally the same country, but not the same trip at all 😊 Thanks for this feedback—it both brought back memories (not that old, really) and let me discover new areas through your eyes.

Thanks Bruno! For this trip, I really loved: Phnom Penh, Kep—it was perfect for relaxing, Ban Lung—you can do treks there, and other visits make the trip worthwhile. Siem Reap and Angkor—well, you guessed it, I loved it! Battambang—I’d read a lot of negative reviews, but I actually liked it.

Less interesting: Kompong Thom, Kompong Cham—the temples are interesting, but the town itself isn’t great, Kratie—it’s charming, but there’s not much to do.

Traveling in this country is really easy, and it’s enjoyable. See you soon for new adventures! 😏

Thanks, Marie Jo! See you on the India forum 😊

Hi Marie Jo, I’ll read your travel journal very carefully because I’m heading to Cambodia in November. My itinerary isn’t set yet, but there’s still time :) !

thanks for stopping by—I hope this gives you some ideas.

As usual, big sis, what an amazing travel journal—I just read it a little late! And you're already off again!

Thanks! Leaving in 10 days for new adventures. And it *will* be an adventure—the word isn’t overused here.

Good evening, Thanks for the detailed post—I first went to Cambodia in 1995 and last visited in 2023. I lived through the final offensives of the Khmer Rouge, and for me, your take is the closest to reality. Yes, Hun Sen was a former KR member, but among the population, victims and perpetrators live side by side—the torturer often ended up tortured or even eliminated. Norodom Sihanouk also switched sides multiple times but remained a unifying figure for his people. And surprisingly today, everyone lives together. Thanks for setting the record straight. Eric

While writing this long post (on Aleph’s travel journal, Routard forum), I also wanted to go beyond the historical explanation about the ruling family and recommend that travelers take some of the explanations from certain guides with a grain of salt—this one in Kampong Cham, in this case—and make sure to cross-check information with other guides or personal research.

Here, we’ve got a guide calmly telling tourists that the Khmer Rouge aren’t just in power but are also responsible for disappearances if you’re unlucky enough to talk to your neighbors! And he says this so casually 😎, even in an area with tons of Cham Muslims who are free to speak their language and practice their religion without any restrictions—definitely not very Khmer Rouge ideology!

Luckily, Aleph’s excellent travel journal helps highlight this because there are surely travelers who go home convinced that everything this guide told them is true, unfortunately.

I’d read a lot of negative reviews about Battambang, but I really liked it

Hi Marie Jo,

Well, same here! 😉 I almost skipped Battambang, but our itinerary required a stop before our flight to Bangkok. We really enjoyed the stroll along the river and wandering around this relaxing town.

I just finished reading your travel journal—I wanted to take my time and read it all in one go. I’m heading back to Cambodia in January. Where would you recommend staying near Sihanoukville? (We need to catch a boat to Koh Rong or Koh Rong Samloem.) Kep? Kampot? Somewhere else?

I recommend Kep—the beach hotel is great. We go swimming in our swimsuits, it’s super convenient, and the hotel gives us a beach towel. Some girls from Toulouse were heading to Koh Rong and took the train to Sihanoukville, then the boat right after. As for me, I’m hoping to go to Laos in November... but in a week, I’m heading back to India. I just applied for my visa—what a headache...🙁

but in a week I’m heading back to India... I just applied for the visa—what a headache...🙁

I love planning my trips, but visas are a nightmare! It takes foooorever, the site glitches, the checkboxes are diabolical, you get to the end and—error message! I asked a friend who lived in Goa for 15 years to help me out. She does it in 20 minutes, so for our second trip to India, we called on her again

I recommend Kep—the beach hotel is great. We go swimming in our swimsuits, it's convenient, and the hotel gives us a beach towel.

I just checked on Booking, and you know, I only book when the ratings are above 8 ("Exceptional," "Superb," or "Very Good"). But if you say it's great, I trust you ;)

If you put together a travel journal for Laos, I’ll follow it closely because our trip will actually be half Laos, half Cambodia (25 days). We couldn’t decide between the two :/

Just a heads-up, it's now possible to reach the Koh Rong islands from Kampot port—no need to push all the way to Sihanoukville on that bumpy road anymore! 😊

Thanks, great info! :)

Just so you know, it’s now possible to reach the Koh Rong islands from Kampot port—no need to push all the way to Sihanoukville on that bumpy road anymore!

Hi there

I can’t find anything 😕 Every site only offers train + boat...

"I can't find anything 😕 Every site only offers train + boat..."

Lyly at the beach hotel in Kep said there was only the train + boat option—that matches what you're finding.

This is brand new— the first crossings have just been launched.

After a bit of research, it looks like the service has been running since February 15, 2025. It serves Koh Rong Sanloem (2h, $25), Koh Rong (2h15, $25), and Koh Sdach (2h45, $28), with departures at 8:30 AM (return trips at 12:30 PM, 1:30 PM, and 2:00 PM respectively). In the near future, they’re also "planning" routes to Trat (Thailand) and Phu Quoc (Vietnam). Booking site (appears to be the company’s): https://www.buvasea.com/index.php

Thanks to both of you—this is great info that’ll save us time once we're there! But before that, I’ve got plenty of time to prepare 😉 By then, there might be a connection between Koh Rong and Trat—would be awesome.