Cambodia was on my ‘must travel’ list for quite some time, so I finally flew there with some close friends couple of days back. In fact the locals said that the best time to visit is between Jan to March, the weather being quite pleasant then.
A land known for its ancient temples, stunning architecture, beach parties, amazing seafood & Khmer cuisine and of course simple innocent people, Cambodia should definitely be on the must see list for any travel enthusiast. The sheer variety on offer is impressive enough to spend few days soaking up the local culture.
I have some lovely memories captured in photographs and in today’s blog, I am going to let these pictures do all the talking.
Presenting a photo-blog (of sorts) of my visit to Cambodia:
   Angkor Wat in its full glory!
The quintessential shots of Angkor Wat at sunrise..in one word Magical 🙂 You have to be at the site as early as 5am and take your ‘spot’ to get the best shot, but the amazing view is worth all the efforts of waking up early.
                                           the ruins…
I have become a huge fan of Khmer cuisine after sampling some of their lip-smacking dishes in my week long stay. I can now safely say that Cambodian food is my second most favourite after Indonesian cuisine. There are some similarities with Thai cuisine in their use of spices like lemongrass, shallots and galangal and also generous use of coconut milk in some of their dishes. Fish sauce is widely used in stir fries and soups but one can find a lot of contrasts in their flavours, from sweet to salty, sour and even bitter!
Khmer Chicken Curry: light, bursting with flavours and juicy succulent chicken pieces
Otres Beach II, Sihanoukville: soft white sand, crystal clear water, very few people and constant gentle breeze makes this the best beach to relax in Sihanoukville.
Koh Rong: A speedboat from the main pier of Serendipity beach took us to Koh Rong island (took us about 45-50 mins). The beach is stunning, clear water like Otres, which makes swimming a lot more fun, although it was pretty crowded. The island had a very laid-back vibe to it which I loved and I had the best fish amok at one of the shacks here. Just take a big towel and a book/ music along, lie down with a drink and all is bliss 🙂
Just avoid Serendipity main pier. Its too crowded, dirty and locals constantly trying to sell things by almost breathing down your neck and not letting you eat/ drink peacefully.
Don’t miss visiting Pub Street, Siem Reap to experience the vibrant night life. Its a long stretch of road teeming with restaurants and bars and people making merry. The food and drinks are very affordable and after a long day of sight seeing, this is where everyone wants to go to and unwind. My favourites were the Angkor What? Bar and Temple Club.
Okay Boutique Hotel: Our stay at Phnom Penh was made memorable thanks to this lovely hotel which was more like a beautiful palace with the majestic Mekong river as a backdrop. The interiors were spectacular, each corner was resplendent with gorgeous Cambodian craftmanship. The rooms were quite spacious, awesome breakfast buffet and great service. I would highly recommend this place to anybody looking for a hotel close to the city center in Phnom Penh.
Overall, had a very eventful trip in Cambodia and before I forget I must mention how lovely the local people were, especially in Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. They were so full of warmth and affection and genuinely took interest in making our stay memorable.
the bruised frypan 