Cambodia

Facts

Capital: Phnom Penh

Population: 13.81 Million

Language: Khmer

Currency: Reil

2 Wheels to China Ratings

Food & Drink: 8/10

Khmer food is basically quite similar to Thai food, but without so much spice. So, the taste is great, but you don't have to worry about looking a fool in front of giggling waitresses when your mouth is about to explode, or if you can cycle fast enough the next day to make it to a toilet on time. In Siem Reap, the range of food and drink available is what you would expect from a place heavily populated by Western tourists - pizzas, curries, steaks, chips as well as Khmer cuisine.

Road conditions: 2/10

We only travelled on Highway 5, but it had to be seen to be believed. The stretch between Poipet (at the Thai border) and the town of Sisophon, is challanging but mercifully short, and therefore rideable. The road from Sisophon to 25km before Siem Reap is a disaster. None of it is sealed, although in patches there is evidence of a tarmacked past. It looks bombed, some of it is sand and the potholes are the size of meteor craters. It is also incredibly dusty, making it impossible to see even a few metres in front of you every time a vehicle goes past.

Traffic: 7/10

The driving is pretty maniacal, but there is not enough traffic on the roads to make it too much of a danger. There aren't too many big vehicles - only the occassional lorry or bus. Most of the vehicles on the roads are either overloaded pickup-trucks, motorbikes or Toyota Camrys. They are all used to local cyclists, and do try to avoid you (though they can do nothing about the dust they all kick up in your face.)

Sights & Scenery: 8/10

What you see on the road from Thailand to Siem Reap is very little. It is barren and flat as a board. However, what you will almost certainly be travelling this route for is to see Angkor and the other Wats and ruins in the complex. We thought that Angkor Wat itself was stunning, and more than worth the pain and effort of getting there. We only got a one-day pass to the complex, and we found that this was enough. A couple of the lesser structures were quite impressive - The Bayon and the ones with trees growing round them - but other than that we thought you would have to be seriously into temples, ruins, both, or at least not of the opinion that they do tend to look the same after a while, to really spend 3 whole days in the place. The temples and other buildings are spread out over quite a wide area, and you can cycle round them without buying a pass - you only show this on entering one of the buildings. This may sound a bit pikey, but it is a good cycle route in itself and a great way to get an overview of the place. 

People: 9/10

We have never met a more friendly, gracious or welcoming bunch of people as those we encountered in Cambodia. From the kids on the street to truck drivers to hotel staff, everyone we came across was amazing.

Miscellaneous

Visa: We obtained our Visa for Cambodia from the Embassy in Bangkok. The cost was $20. We also had to get our Visa for Laos in Bangkok too, so to save time and hassle we got them both through an Agent, partly because when we turned up at the Cambodian Embassy it had moved two weeks earlier and was 10km away - return taxi fares meant the cost of travelling to two Embassies was just as much as paying an Agent to do all the running around for us.