Cambodia

Angkor
The Angkor Archaeological Park is the top attraction in the country. It contains what was the largest pre-industrial city in the world. The UNESCO World Heritage site is outstanding and every Cambodian visitor needs to go there. It’s easy to fly into adjacent Siem Reap where there is excellent accommodation, restaurants, transport and shopping. In recent years the town has transformed from a sleepy backwater into a thriving tourist destination.It’s other great towns and cities Battambang to the west is another city that has become a popular destination. There are delightful French-era relics, Buddhist shrines, the famous bamboo railway and many nearby ancient temples. You find the best beaches and diving in Cambodia around Sihanoukville.

The beaches
The beaches are not as crowded as many of those in Thailand and Vietnam but none are world-beaters. The main scuba diving sites are Koh Rong Samloem Island 20 km offshore, and Koh Tang Island 50 km from Sihanoukville. Inland are the tropical Cardamom Mountains, part of a vast wilderness which is home to elephants, tigers, bears, gibbons, crocodiles, reptiles and birds. It is slowly emerging as an ecotourism destination for the adventurous.
 
The food
Khmer food is filling and cheap with rice and occasionally noodles the staples. Amok, a coconut milk curried dish is arguably the most well-known and it is very good. Pork fried with ginger and sweet and sour soup with pineapple are other favourites. Cambodian street food is as varied and delicious as that in Thailand or Vietnam but many visitors leave without trying it. Don’t you be one of them!

The shopping
Colourful cotton and silk fabrics, wood and stone carvings, lacquerware, and jewellery are good buys. Local markets are fun, yet noisy, crowded and it’s usually stifling hot, but there are specialist shops, galleries and hotel boutiques if you want better shopping conditions.