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Cambodia Silk -
Cambodian
Art -
Cambodian
Culture -
Cambodian
Classical Dance -
Cambodian Silks
So your traveling to Cambodia?
Well, having lived in Cambodia off and
on for a 3 year period let me give my 2 cents of hotel advice.
Whether you decide to go with an luxurious hotel, medium size or
cheap it out on one of the many backpacker hang outs, Cambodia has
no shortage of Hotels to fill your needs.
Personally, I'd recommend a combination
of the 3 as the quality of hotels differ greatly. On the more
luxurious side, you'll find first class hotels in Phnom Penh such
as: Cambodiana Hotel, Inter Continental hotel, Mi Casa Hotel,
Raffles Hotel, Diamond Hotel, Royal Hotel, Asia Palace Hotel, Sun
Way Hotel, Phnom Penh Hotel to name a few. You can do a search
on these to find the room rates and facilities offered. I was
always more of a see what the city has to offer guest, rather than
spending much time in hotel rooms, but once in a while it feel great
to go the luxurious way.
The prices range from 50$ a night
upwards to over 200$ a night - with not a huge difference in hotel
attributes. The big trump type hotels (Cambodian version of
trump) are located in the southern end of Phnom Penh's riverside, Mi
Casa Hotel, Cambodiana Hotel are the most prominent, located nearby
the only legitimate casino in town.
Inter Continental Hotel |
Phnom Penh Hotel |
Cambodiana Hotel |
Basically, geographically the farther
into the city (away from the river) you go, the more affordable the
hotel accommodation becomes...with the exception of the medium
hotels which are largely found on Phnom Penh's busy Monivong street.
You'll find restaurants, store fronts, internet shops as well as
various sized (mostly medium) on this street. Big Luck Hotel
is a favorite of mine, Asia Hotel is also a nice medium sized hotel.
They range in the 20 - 50$ rate a night for a room, some include
internet and a fitness centre. Here are a few other notables
with photos.
Imperial Garden Hotel |
Asia Hotel |
Holiday International Hotel |
Lastly, there are the backpacker
hangouts or hotels, which you can basically find everywhere.
These hotels can range from 2$ up to 15$. I once staying in a
1$ hotel room, notice that was just 'once'. For the most part,
these rooms are pretty good, they have the basics for those just
passing through, hot water, air con, refrigerators and so forth...Some also include free laundry
services, they don't seem to promote it very highly though.
Ask in advance, there are some more links below.
Another thing you may want to consider
in Cambodia is taking one of the many tours that are available.
Looking back I would have gone this route. The take care of
all the travel arrangements, hotels, day and night trips and
sometimes food. You can find tours of all kinds in Cambodia,
the problem would rather be 'not seeing them'. I've heard many
good things about full package tours found on the internet but to be
honest I've never tried.
Some of the attractions...
Cambodia attracts folks of all sorts...with an
fantastic night life, countless restaurants and cafes not to mention
internet cafes at your every turn. Attraction wise...you might
as well skip the "independence monument", located at Norodom and
Sianhouk intersection, its can quickly be viewed from the back of a moto bike
or even better a post card will do.
I'd suggest you take in centralized temple on the
northern Norodom street, this is relatively close to the post office
and well worth the trip, if you are at all interested in the
cultural aspects of Cambodia...you might aswell take in the Post
office while your there too..sounds boring but it is quite a nice
building architecturally wise, you may get some 'looks' while there
if you are in shorts and a t-shirt, as apparently being that it is a
government building you supposed to be dressed as such - personally
i just couldn't picture myself getting decked out just to send a
post card....
Another point of interest that is likely in any
Cambodia Travel Book is the "Toug Sleug Museum" - Its less of a
typical museum and more of a compound / grounds where the most
atrocious of torturing took place, without even knowing the history
of the compound one gets an eerie feeling just by walking through
the gates...if you are indeed interested in gaining some insight
into khmer rouge time, this museum, the movie "killing fields" (available
here) and sitting down with someone who has first hand accounts
of the life during that period is definitely something that will
stay with you for the rest of your life.
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