Budget Traveling in Cambodia

On the 10th - 17th of May 2017, me and my family traveled to Cambodia and had visited 4 areas which includes Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Kampot, and Sihanoukville.

In total, we spent estimately less than RM 2k/per person which includes flight tickets, meals, accommodations, and transports. The price will differ if you're traveling solo or as a couple. Thus, it's sometimes more costs efficient if you travel in a group.

Below are some of my traveling tips which I hope you'll find it useful if you plan to travel to Cambodia. Enjoy!

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Traveling in Siem Reap

Arriving at the Airport

When we first arrived at Siem Reap airport, we had to take a taxi to one of our destinations. The charges are stated below :

USD $15 (Van) - 5pax and more

USD $10 (Car) - 4pax or less

We could hardly find any tuk tuk around this area, mainly because it's already dominated by their local taxi company, Tourist Transport Association for Siem Reap International Airport. Thus, we had no choice but to take their services.

Currency Exchange

At the airport, you could also exchange your currency to Cambodia Riel currency :

For USD $1 = 3,800 Riels (airport);

USD $1 = 4,000 Riels (normal market rate outside)

They also accept currency exchange from MYR to Riel. However, I do not recommend travelers to exchange their currency to Riel especially at the airport as it's expensive. You can exchange it a local Cambodian market with a better rating (USD$1 for 4,000 Riels). Or else, USD currency is just enough for you to spend on almost anything in Cambodia. Don't worry about them cheating/charging you higher just because you're using USD, the locals treat USD as part of their local currency. They'll also give you back small changes in Riel.

However, do take note that they don't accept big notes with references below :

USD $2/$20/$50/$100 = only accepted in indoor aircon restaurants; not accepted by tuk tuk, certain budget hotels, and small retailer shops 

USD $1/$5/$10 = only accepted by tuk tuk

Make sure your USD is not torn or crumpled, sometimes they're really picky with torn notes. However, their Riel currency is fine even if it's torn/damage.

Budget Hotel

For a budget trip, I would always recommend in staying in a dormitory room instead of a fancy dancy hotel. Unless of course, if you're planning to stay-in at your hotel most of the time, investing in a more comfortable hotel would be a wiser choice. Otherwise, if you're out traveling all day, I would suggest staying in dormitories.

One of the budget hotel that we stayed in was called Cercle d Angkor Villa.

It's a strategic hotel location which is a walking distance to Old Market, Angkor Night Market, and Pub Street. There's also a 24hours mini mart, pharmacy, and massage parlors nearby walking distance. You may book the hotel through agoda.com.

We stayed in their dormitory room for RM12/pax/night (estimated around USD$3/pax/night).

The dorm is cleanly furnished with air-cond, blanket, your very own private fan and light, and a shared room toilet. The bed was pretty big enough to sleep 2 person as well.

There are many other budget hotels as well but it's difficult to find through online as some don't have the privilege to have an internet, or some are already dominated by tourist agencies.

Transportation

A tuk tuk could be hired, and it's possible to fit 5 people in one tuk tuk (3 small size people and 2 big size people). Tuk tuk drivers are always flooding in every tourist corner of Siem Reap, and they are willing to have your business if you let them. Many tuk tuk drivers are even willing to wait for you at an destination while you finish your sightseeing/shopping spree. However,  do be careful as some will try to trick you to sitting 2 tuks tuks instead of 1 (especially when you're carrying a lot of luggage or there's many big size people).

When we first arrived at one of the bus stations at Siem Reap, tuk tuk drivers started flooding me with "Tuk Tuk, Miss?", "Where you stay, Miss?". Because of the variety of tuk tuk's, we had the bargaining power to negotiate with them. However, some of the tuk tuk drivers seemed to have 'pakat', meaning collaborated among themselves and insist us to take 2 tuks tuks instead of 1 because of our luggage. After several negotiation, we came to an agreement of paying USD $5 for 2 tuks tuks (equivalent of RM22++). I didn't felt good about it, but they're still humans afterall who needs to work for a living, so I decided to just let it go for once.

One of our tuktuk rides in Cambodia for 5 person!

But, the next time a tuk tuk insist of getting 2 tuk tuk for you, insist that with 5 small luggage and 5 people can be fitted in 1 tuk tuk (only if you have 3 small size people), if not, you can demonstrate to them on how to put the luggages on their own tuk tuk. (Although it may be slightly uncomfortable, but if it's a short distance, it should be fine).

The minimum fee of a tuk tuk is around USD $2.

For a traveling distance of 2-3km, it's around USD $4-5.

Anything above that traveling distance, we do encourage to get a private cab or van as it may get very dusty. Unless, you don't mind brazing the dust and hot air during the ride.

It gets very dusty too

Food

The food prices here range from USD $1.50 - USD $5.

For USD $1.50, you're most likely just eating maggi mee with veggie and some meat slices or maybe just fried rice/noodle, but if you don't mind paying a little more, you'll have a nicer set of meal.

But their pork & beef meat are pretty tough and chewy to eat compared to the meat we eat in Malaysia (usually more easier to chew and swallow). Their chicken are also less meaty compared to Malaysia's big fleshy chickens, because their local chicken are majority kampung chickens which has less fat and it's believe to be much healthier.

A lady barbecuing some stick meat

Angkor Wat, Ta Phrom, & Bayon Temple

Visiting Siem Reap, these are the top 3 temples that are A MUST see during your visit.

A one day ticket visit is about USD$37/pax, equivalent of RM163/pax.

It's recommend to get a tour guide for this visit, so that you fully understand the history and meanings behind these temples.

We manage to get a small mini English group tour (from TripAdvisor) at about USD $13/pax through Cercle d Angkor Villa. It's much cheaper to get a tour guide when you're in Cambodia instead of booking through online which may costs around USD $16-20. The tour includes the below:

- Pick up and drop off from your hotel

- A water bottle

- An awesome experience English tour guide

Our guide, Phirom (with hat), and the cheeky tourist who photobombed us

However, lunch and entrance ticket is excluded from this, so you have to bring extra cash for this.

The tour starts at 8am, where they'll pick you from your hotel, and ends around 6.30pm after the sunset view from one of the temples on the hill. My group agreed to skip the sunset viewing as we have to wait 2 hours for the sunset, plus there's so many freaking tourist queuing up to watch the sunset. The hill temple only limits to 300 people to be at the top. Thus, it's not very efficient to queue just to see the sunset.

Anyway, our tour guide name Phirom, was an excellent guide from TripAdvisor. He's very knowledgeable about the culture and history of Cambodia, and he knows where and how to take pictures for us! He knows how well to use all sorts of phone devices and camera to help capture the perfect photo for you! You may read some of other TripAdvisor excellent tour guide reviews through here as well. Me and my family were quite satisfied with the tour mainly because we had tons of good memorable photos at the end of the day. So, it's really worth investing in a tour guide! 

One of the amazing shots taken by our tour guide! They're really talented with the cameras and phones!

Floating Village - Kampong Khleang

Another must see area is the floating villages in Cambodia. There are a few floating villages such as Chong Khneas, Kampong Phluk, and Kampong Khleang. I particularly chose Kampong Khleang as it's not crowded with tourists, and to escape the rumored tourists scams I read online. Also, Kampong Khleang is the biggest community of the floating village and houses between 4,000-5,000 residents in the area.

I found this particular non-profit community group that caters group tours to Kampong Khleang for USD $35/pax. It's slightly more expensive than the usual floating village tours which is around USD $12-20, but the money goes to a very good cause. They provide training for some of their own local tourist guide, and they also donates the money to local children education. Plus, if you calculate the estimate transport costs, free drinks and snacks, and boat rental provided along the way, the fee is pretty much reasonable.

You may check out their website for the breakdown on the fee structure, and other further info. Make sure to drop an e-mail to them if you wanna join the tour. 

Our tour guide, name Eddie Roohan, picked us up at our hotel and gave a brief introduction to his community work with Kampong Khleang. On the way to Kampong Khleang, we drop by a few pit stops to try out the local sticky rice, and local Cambodian donut or biscuits. Eddie also gave us an insight on how these snacks were prepared as well. Their sticky rice is not the usual Thai sticky rice with coconut milk that we usually eat, in fact, their sticky rice is served in handmade bamboo sticks roasted over a smoky charcoal pit. Their Cambodian version of donuts and biscuits tastes almost the same as 'kuih keria' and 'kuih kapet', but they were all pretty yummy to be honest (Don't worry, these snacks are all paid for).

Delicious sticky rice by the road side!

Cambodia version of Kuih Kapet

After that, we dropped by a local market for a quick tour before heading to Kampong Khleang to visit the school that they work in. During the visit, we could hardly ever see any tourists in sight, which we're quite happy about as if we get to have the whole place to ourselves! Next, we proceeded with the boat tour to Tonle Sap to watch the sunset and floating Vietnamese villages. Lastly, we headed back to Kampong Khleang before heading back to our hotels.

Eddie talking about his community project to raise funds for the school

Kampong Khleang

Boat ride to visit the Tonle Sap

The entire trip took about half a day, which started at 2.30pm, and ended at 8.00pm. However, the tour start and end time might differ depending on the seasons. Thus, to get clearer info, you may want to refer to their website, or drop them an e-mail for more enquiry.

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Traveling in Phnom Penh

Transportation

To travel to Phnom Penh, there are several traveling options to chose from :

1. Airplane - As Phnom Penh is a capital city of Cambodia, flight tickets to this city is slightly more expensive than to Siem Reap

2. Van - The travel time from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh is estimated to be around 5-6 hours. The departure and arrival time is also depending on the van agency and the traffic itself. You don't have to worry about starving yourself through the 5-6 hours drive because at mid point, all van drivers will stop at a rest station to eat and to use the restroom. We manage to book our transport through this bookmebus website, where you can have a variety of choices on the travel time and van agency. Some van agencies do provide pick up service from your hotel (only if it's within the travel distance area). We really recommend you to take the morning van slot instead of the evening as it can become dark at night, and incidents are prone to happen too. Thus, it's really much safer to travel in the morning.

During our trip in Cambodia, we purchase all of our van tickets through bookmebus.
The trip is estimated to cost between USD$10 - USD$12 /pax/trip, equivalent to around RM44 - RM52.

3. Taxi/Jeep - This is the most difficult option you may find. You may also book this through bookmebus website. However, you may want to book in advance as there's limited private taxis who want to travel that far. If you're booking a Toyota Highlander, do take note that even if it's a jeep and it looks like it's able to fit 5-6pax, please DO NOT book it as it's not able to fit 5-6pax even if the operator says that it's able to fit 5pax. It's advisable to book a van.

We had a squishy and cramped journey experience during our 2-hour drive when we booked the Toyota Highlander for 5pax. Plus, there wasn't any additional seats at the back as the operator says so. However, the good thing is that the taxi driver was a safe driver and he even arrived at our hotel on time to pick us up.

Budget Hotel

During our stay in Phnom Penh, we stayed in 2 different hotels which are Sovanphum Villa, and Velkommen Guesthouse Phnom Penh.
Both are located at the heart of Phnom Penh, which is a walking distance to a lot of tourist area. You may book the hotels through booking.com.

For Sovanphum Villa, we stayed for 3 days 2 nights in an air-cond dorm room, with one shared bathroom, and inclusive of breakfast for a total of USD$100, which is around USD$7/pax/day equivalent of RM30/pax/day. The dorm room was really comfortable and well furnished, and they even provide free locker storage for your luggage too. The staff there was really nice and helpful as well!

Entrance to our place

Very nice, comfortable, air-cond dormitory, with 1-shared bathroom

They have very nice breakfast set too!

For Velkommen Guesthouse Phnom Penh, we stayed for only 1 night in an air-cond family room with 3 double beds (enough to fit 5-6pax). The room was pretty spacious which comes along with a private bathroom, a refrigerator, and a TV. We spent a total of USD$33 for 5pax, equivalent of RM29/pax/day. However, downside is that they don't provide breakfast and the staff was pretty ignorant and unfriendly, but since it was only one night, we might as well just live with it and move on.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum​ & Choeung Ek Genocidal Center

In Phnom Penh, the genocide centre is a must see tourist spot especially if you aren't aware of the Cambodian history. After touring these 2 places, you will realize how sad the historical story of Cambodia is which resulted in the aftermath of the current country's economic and social condition. During your tour here, we recommend you to get a tour guide or a hearing aid to understand the history better.

We booked a private van for the half day trip to visit both genocide centers from our hotel (Sovanphum Villa) for USD$10/pax. To be honest, I think we overpaid on the private van due to an impromptu decision, otherwise we can actually get a tuk tuk for USD$10 per trip. Nevertheless, at least we don't have to go through the hot, and dusty journey, but I still think we overpaid on the transport.

We departed from our hotel around 8.30am and arrived at our first location : Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which is also known as S-21.

The name "S-21" represents the number of the genocide center, in which case this is the no.21 genocide center in Cambodia. 

After paying the entrance fee which was USD$3/pax, around RM13/pax, we got a tour guide to bring us around the small center. The tour guide is paid based on personal donation basis (however, at the end of the tour, the tour guide insist us to pay her more just because we had more people in our group even when we just wanted to pay around USD$5 for her service). After the tour, we are able to freely tour around the building and read some of the stories of the survivors, and see & touch some of the actual equipment used to torture prisoners. The barb wires, metal shackles, and the partitions in some of the prison cells are some of the remains that was left long ago. If you’re able to imagine how these prisoners were lock-up in a cramped room, tortured, and left for dead, this would be an interesting insight tour for you.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Musuem Corridor : Even looking and walking down here gives an eerie haunted feeling

Our lady tour guide holding and promoting a genocide survivor book

At around 10.30am, we left Tuol Sleng Genocide Musuem and proceeded to Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre. It was a 30 minute drive from Tuol Sleng Genocide Musuem. When we arrived at Choeung Ek Musuem, we bought the entrance ticket together with the hearing aids for USD$6, equivalent to RM27. Again, it is much recommended to get the hearing aids, as there’s not much informative sign boards to read and the centre is mainly outdoors. We spent about 1½ hours here walking to each destined spots and listening to the stories behind each location. It was so heart breaking to hear the stories, and the environment make it so much easier for listeners to imagine and relate to the actual situation.

Everyone, pausing to listen to their hearing aids

One of the places where bodies are shot and dump at the lake. Really horrible!

At around 12pm, we headed out for lunch opposite the genocide centre before heading back to our hotel to take the van to Sihanoukville.

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Traveling in Sihanoukville

 Transportation
Similar to Phnom Penh, private van, or airplane can be used to travel direct to Sihanoukville. For van, you may book through bookmebus website. However, we manage to book a van through Sivanphum Villa, where the van pick us up at our hotel to Sihanoukville.
 The journey took about 7hours including stops in between. The total van ride cost USD$50 for 5 pax, equivalent of RM43/pax.
Fortunately, when we arrive at Sihanoukville van agency location at 10pm, there are tuk tuk's already on standby, so it's very easy to get transport to your hotel.


Touring in Sihanoukville
The main attraction here in Sihanoukville are mainly their beaches and very cheap massages. For beaches, it's recommended to get a boat tour out to Koh Rong island to see the clear blue ocean. Boat leaves as early as 8am, so make sure to schedule your time accordingly. However, we didn't manage to catch the morning boat, so we end up touring the town area in Sihanoukville. We rented a tuk tuk for only USD$8 for 1 hour to travel most of the famous locations in Sihanoukville. Read further below for the places!


Ochheuteal Beach, Serendipity Beach, Otres Beach & Independence Beach
All the beaches in Sihanoukville are all the same. However, if you like to go to a somewhat cleaner beach, Otres Beach would be the best. They also have masseur at the beach to give you that extra relaxation boost! The massage is as cheap as USD$2/pax for 30 minutes. That's like only RM12.60!


Phsar Leu Market
Besides beaches, Sihanoukville have a lot of interesting things happening in the market. One of the biggest is Phsar Leu Market. There's a lot of food and clothes for sale in the market. Their clothes designs are actually not that bad (according to my personal taste). Their food are also quite interesting, but you may find it slightly weird.

The clothes section in Phsar Leu Market