Cambodia is beautiful country with good flavor of heritage, religion, culture and Food. In this post, we are trying to share some of the common things that you should expect while visiting the country.
1. Dollars are accepted at most of the places in Cambodia (especially in Siem Reap & Phnom Penh)
2. Tuk-Tuk is main medium to commute within a city and very cheap option, which should be your first choice to explore the country in better way
3. English is not the main language, but still you find people in cities who understand basic english.
4. Siem Reap is the most popular city in Cambodia because of Angkor Wat. Since existence of Siem Reap is mainly because of tourism, language is not a big issue here. All Tuk-Tuk drivers and street vendors know base english.
5. Most of the main cities in Cambodia are well connected through luxury buses and there are over night sleeper buses to Thailand & Vietnam as well.
6. Night Markets & Pub streets of Cambodia are special, especially in Siem Reap. Almost every tourist in Siem Reap is found around Night Market or Pub Street.
7. Read about History of Khmer Rouge before reaching
8. Cambodia has lot of poverty and like other south asian countries, you would see kids selling stuff or begging. It's advisable to not buy from them or give money, because that wold only encourage kids to do the same in future instead of finding sustainable ways learn and earn.
9. Best way to explore Angkor Wat as it's huge. (You can also explore Angkor Wat on cycle)
10. People who eat Non-veg food can try some exotic stuff in the country.
11. If you are planning to do shopping in Night Markets of local markets of Cambodia, be prepared to do good negotiation as first price would most of the times be more than double they would expect.
12. Weather in Cambodia is usually warm but during evening/night it gets a little cold.
13. Hammocks are found everywhere in the country and almost everyone takes a mid-day nap. (At least that's what we saw in Phnom Penh) - I call Hammocks as national furniture of Cambodia.
14. Alcohol & Cigarettes are pretty cheap in Cambodia. Less taxes make tourists take back good number of packs of cigarettes to their countries.
16. Buddhism is main Religion in Cambodia.
17. Hand shake or waving hands if not common in Cambodia . Sampeah (A variant of Namaste) is main way to greet.
18. Since country has gone through various political changes and still struggling with few issues which nobody wants to talk. So avoid having conversations about local politics.
19. Because there is a language barrier and Cambodian people are usually smiling all the times, it becomes extra important to re-confirm if they really understood what you said.
20. Last & most important - be respectful to the local beliefs and some of the common protocols of communicating & behaving in the country. That's a common thing which is applicable to all the places you travel to.
Do you have anything else to add? Please do comment with your feedback and inputs.
Do you have anything else to add? Please do comment with your feedback and inputs.
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