Travel advice

Now that I have 2 weeks left in this wonderful country, it struck me that I should write a list of tips that I wish someone could have given me. So here it is! This will be interesting to read if you're coming here, and maybe not so interesting if you're not coming here :)

My Incredibly Intelligent List of Cambodia Travel Tips:

Packing

Most things you can get in Cambodia! So don’t worry about leaving clothes behind.

If you have some books in English that you don’t need, you should bring them to Cambodia. Many people want to learn English, and orphanages often want books for the kids there.

Bring 25 USD and a photo for when you’re buying the visa you need. (If you don’t have a photo, you can pay them a few dollars to scan your passport in stead.)

Visa

If you buy a visa upon arrival at the airport, you can only get it for 1 month. Tourist visa is 20 dollars, business visa is 25 dollars.

If your visa expires, you pay a fine of 5 dollars for every day it’s overdue. There are travel agents everywhere who can extend your visa for you, but sometimes mistakes can occur. Check that you get the right visa with correct dates, and get a receipt.

You can extend your visa to 1, 3 or 6 months. The 6 month one is a multiple entry visa, for the other types you must buy a new visa if you return to Cambodia after a trip abroad.

Note: If you extend your tourist visa with a new tourist visa, you have to leave the country and then come back after the two months have expired, to get a third visa.

Getting around

There is no convenient public transportation in Phnom Penh, so unless you get your own bike, you can take a moto taxi (a guy on a motorbike) or a tuk-tuk. Remember to arrange a price before you go, and it’s always good to have the exact amount of money ready.

Bring - a - map! You will be lost without a map. Sometimes streets with consecutive numbers will be next to each other, sometimes they will be on the opposite sides of town. Sometimes your driver will know the address you're going to, sometimes he won't have a clue.

The numbers of the houses on the street can also be pretty random, house number 7 can come after house number 36, and most of the time there's no sign that says which number it is. The best way to find a place is to know the street, and know which street crosses it where you're going. For instance: St. 51 by the corner of st. 63. To have the phone number to the place is also good.

Health

My Norwegian doctor told me that there was risk of getting malaria in all of Cambodia except for in Phnom Penh. But both locals and expats who live here, say that the risk of getting malaria in cities like for instance Siem Reap, is extremely low. When it comes to the more remote areas, you should talk to someone who lives there about the risk, and decide whether or not you should take anti-malaria drugs. I have met very few people here who take them over long periods of time, they can be rough on your body.

My doctor also scared me with stories about dengue fever, which you can get anywhere from the daytime mosquito. I hardly ever get mosquito bites during the daytime here, and the people who live here don't consider dengue to be a very dangerous illness for adults. You can feel really bad for maybe two weeks, and you should go to a doctor, but it's no crisis.

It’s fine to brush your teeth in the tap water, but you shouldn’t drink it. You can get a water company to deliver 20-liter water tanks to your apartment, it’s cheaper and better for the environment than buying hundreds of water bottles. Plastic bottles and bags is the biggest trash problem in Cambodia!

There are many counterfeit medicines and drugs in Cambodia. If you need to buy medicines at a pharmacy, U-Care is the best one.

If you need to go to the hospital, the Royal Rattanak Hospital is the best one in Phnom Penh. The best clinic is the SOS Clinic, which is open 24/7.

Social behavior and etiquette

It’s not common for Cambodian women to show a lot of skin, foreign girls should be aware of this. It is not seen as impolite to wear a short dress or low neckline in public, but you might attract a lot of attention.

Cambodians often speak English well. But if you say something they don’t get, they won’t always admit that they don’t understand you. So if you’re arranging something important, like a high price or certain dates or times, you should make sure you understand each other. It can be useful to write things down for them.

If Cambodians are embarrassed they will often smile or laugh, this doesn’t mean that they’re making fun of you.

Don't touch people’s heads or point your feet at anyone, especially people that are older than you. Touching people on the head is a common sign of affection in many western cultures, but in Cambodia this is a holy part of the body. (But if you know the person well, they probably won't be offended.)

Always take your shoes off when you enter somebody's home or a temple.

It is not considered as rude to ask people about age, income, if you're married or not, if you have kids... So be prepared! :)

There are many monks in orange clothing in the streets. It's considered rude to take photos of them without asking (as it is with other people too). They will often be happy to take a photo with you, but especially women should not put an arm around them in a friendly way, monks shouldn't have any physical contact with the opposite gender.