I have been there only once. I will never go back. My parents have been there dozens of time for family and still have difficulties when they go to Cambodia .
One thing is always go in a group. Don't wear any jewelleries. Try to blend in and not look like a tourist. Rent a car while you are staying there. Always drink bottled water or at least boiled water. Try not to eat any unfamiliar foods. If your driving somewhere far away like on the highway or through villages - use the bathroom first they don't have toilets you have to squat in some bush shed. Also really dangerous at night when you are driving through the forest bcuz tons of robbers.
Aside from my necklace and pendant with buddha that I've worn for 21 years I don't really wear anything of value....well maybe my Seiko kinetic watch but I can leave that back home. Most people use their phone to tell time but I've always loved using the wrist watch. I will still need to carry around my camera but it's very compact so they won't know it's expensive since it's not a DSLR. I can't really blend in because my mannerism give me away and my Khmer is not very fluent. I can't really walk in groups as I'm going with my parents. Most likely they will stay at the hotel at night if I'm to walk around. I'm a picky eater so I won't be eating anything I'm not familiar with. I'd rather go 3 days without doing my number 2 business than squat in the bushes.
Yes that is true. It is better to rent a car if you are planning to stay there for awhile. I think those motorcycles and vehicles where you sit in a buggy??? Can't remember the name but ppl sit in them and the bicyclist bring them around. It Is $10 each going back and fourth so that is $20 in total. I can't recall the exact total for renting a whole month. I think it is $350-500 but I would need to double check on that. All I know is the car rental is cheaper.
I'm taking a tour around Cambodia in a counter clock wise path starting from Phnom Penh. Half way into it my mom and dad will visit relatives that I've never talk to or even seen before. I'll be there for over 19 days so I'm going to be renting a car for that length of time.
Lol they have toilet paper there too. You just have to buy it from the store. It's like little expandable shower heads next to the toilet. I don't know if every hotel has that kind of system. I know I have been to 3 different hotels and they have that. The hotels were all in Phnom Penh. But when I went to stay over at my other family's house (middle-upper class) they used the sprinkler shower head too.
That's why I'm booking hotels that have western style bathrooms. I'm not very fond of spraying my buttocks and getting the floor wet. One of the things I hated when relatives come visit my home is they always dirty my bathroom and wet my floors. We have 4 bathroom but I just can't understand why they keep using mine's....it must be all the expensive shampoo and body wash I have. Yes I do use good face wash and moisturizers daily so those are coming with me.
Yes I am like that too. I'm kind of a snobbish princess when things are not to my liking. The relatives that we visited in Cambodia all laughed at me because I'm not used to squatting in the bushes, running away and being screamish when I see mice and lizards popping up everywhere.
You sound a lot like my sister but what we have in common is that we love to hike and explore so some times a little discomfort is well worth the view and boy do we travel a lot these days. I took so much pictures I started investing in more expensive cameras. I'm not a fan of DSLR so I'm very into those full frame digital cameras that looks like the old 35mm ones.
