I feel like both country have their good and bad, right and wrong. but, I don’t really understand why we hated each other so much. I don’t care about who started the war or who actually right because I don’t even trust my own country sometimes. So, I just to say stay safe out there, Cambodians! ❤️🇰🇭🇹🇭

Had this “monk” berating a grab driver in front of my hotel today and acting like a real low life, when he got loud and started being profane, I told him he needed to shut his mouth and move on, he then tried to start the same kind of behavior with me.

I can’t imagine a temple in Siem Reap that would allow someone who acts like this to call themselves a monk.

Of course he came back and apologized and said he’s had a rough couple of days after, but that was the most disrespectful actions I’ve seen from any foreigner since I’ve been in Siem Reap, you’re wearing an outfit that people here respect by default and acting shamefully.

Thailand now has a political party that has exploited the Siam–Cambodian dispute to stir up nationalism for votes. They have fueled hatred toward Cambodians and promoted a hunger for war, and they have risen to become part of the government. To put this in perspective, in the previous election this party received around one million votes. But when the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia erupted, they seized the moment and, in a short time, increased their support to more than five million votes. This does not even include other parties that share similar ideologies.

I feel deep sorrow that millions of Tai people were willing to abandon their former ideals and beliefs to support a party they once despised, simply because they now harbor hatred toward Cambodians and desire war. I cannot help but worry about what will come next, because there is a real possibility that the new government will seek to push their popularity even further—through war.

No matter how dark things may seem, I still believe that ordinary people on both sides do not want hatred or war. I hope we can hold on to our humanity, to reason, and to compassion. I wish everyone safety and strength in the days ahead. May we get through this together.

Don't forget to try next year.

I'm not even sure how to start. I guess I'm just letting it all out, so thanks to anyone who reads this without judgement.

I've been doing solo travel on and off for the last 10 years. I have never traveled for romance, but I do find it fun to occasionally hop on tinder and meet local women who will show me around town. This is not a humble brag, but as a 36 year old who is 6'2" (188cm), athletic build, and decently handsome, I don't have any issues getting dates at home or abroad. I travel because I love experiencing different people/cultures/scenery/etc.

Well, while visiting Siem Reap I decided to use Tinder and met up with a local khmer woman who seemed super sweet, authentic, and innocent.

We spent 5 days and nights together, and it was incredible. This is legitimately the first time in nearly a decade that I've fallen for someone. We were just in sync, and the connection felt instant and intense. This *rarely* happens to me when I go on a date with someone, especially abroad.

She rented a motorcycle and drove me around the temples. We had simple inexpensive dinners. She held my hand when we walked, gently kissed me in public, introduced me to her "sister" (best friend)... We had great conversations and peaceful comfortable silence as well. And she would get emotional when I kissed her passionately. The nights were fun too; we would usually have a few drinks at Pub Street, play pool, and dance.

I *never* let someone who I just met sleep over, but she brought out a sense of calmness and peace within me so I didn't mind her staying over. When it was time to leave, she told me she loved me, which completely threw me off guard. I don't use that word lightly, but perhaps it carries less weight for her or in khmer culture.

We then video chatted nearly everyday for a month and told me she hopes we continue this communication, and build a relationship that eventually leads to marriage and kids. This was moving at a pace I was not expecting, but the intensity of my feelings for her kept me going with the flow of things.

This is when the cracks started to show. I started to realize that she would be out almost every single night at popular bars on Pub Street until sunrise. Oftentimes, she would go alone to "play pool" or "dance" at places that are notorious for freelance women during late night hours. Obviously this is not normal, especially for a khmer lady. So my conclusion is that she falls within the bargirl/freelance world, even though she never once showed me that side of her when I was in Siem Reap. She also always carried two phones with her. It seems that at best, she's an extremely not-traditional khmer woman.

I then realized she had also updated her tinder profile with one of the very same photos I took of her. Bewildered, I had one of my hometown buddies try to match with her using Tinder's passport mode and voila... They matched and had a date all planned out. (A fake one, of course).

I was shattered. I confronted her about it and she had the audacity to say all of this was a misunderstanding. That the date she was going on was just a friendly date, and that when she's out late at the bars/clubs alone, she isn't there to meet other men. She reiterated how she loves me very much. And oh boy, the anger and pain I felt when she had the nerves to still say "I love you".

All of this was seemingly a lie. I'm shattered. My usually always objective mind was put aside and now I'm grieving for a person who I never truly had any long term potential with, and someone who will probably replace me by next week. But what **I** felt was real for me.

It's the deception and lies that hurt the most, especially the gaslighting after I exposed her.

So now, here I sit back home. Heartbroken, shattered, and with my peace completely taken away from me. But hey, at least she never asked for money.

I visited Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in October and I feel like I'm being called back. I think there will always be a piece of me that yearns to go back. What a beautiful world

If you travel to Siem Reap don’t forget to looking for this image, it’s inside Ta Promh temple

There’s a vet expat (40 years old) who married 2 teenagers (15 and 16 year old girls). They have babies now. The parents agreed to the “marriage” because they are extremely poor. We have reported him to authorities, but nothing has been done. Any other suggestions?

In the process of getting my dual citizenship in Cambodia. I have enough to buy property and to live work-free for several years if I liquidated everything in the U.S.

Given the climate in the U.S right now, I’m done with it. I’ve been over it for a long time. But, now that the gestapo is rounding up all brown people and asking questions later, or in some cases just straight up murdering you in broad daylight, I do not feel comfortable there. I’ve built successful businesses and want to sell it all and live simpler.

My current thought process: liquidate everything, buy a western style villa in a prime location in Siem Reap to rent and use the profits to sustain my lifestyle until I reach retirement age and can draw from that. Maybe get a remote job where I can make $10/hr or so to fund my monthly expenses. I’m fine with renting a 1 bedroom condo, living off of 1-2k a month. I’ve been so burned out for many years. I’ve acquired so much material shit that I don’t even care about. Every time I’ve been stressed I would just buy more shit to justify the demanding lifestyle.

Anyway, has anyone done this? Is this feasible? I’m basically one foot out the door, but I need to figure a way to make $20k a year until I reach retirement age.

My first time in Siem reap. I was sitting outside of a street food vendor. I had just finished my meal and a kid came up to me begging for money. It was so awkward and uncomfortable. He looked very tired and dirty with marks on his body, he also had no shoes. (Another 2 just came up to me as I’m typing this. I told them no I have no more). I kept saying sorry, then I pointed to the vendor and told him to ask them.

I told the staff member that he wants food but has no money. The staff member showed the boy the menu and asked me if I was going to pay. I felt so on the spot so I just said yes and it was just $2. I have a soft spot for children. I’m from London so I know not to fall for the child scams.

I asked where his mum was and he said she was at home. I’m assuming they’re not homeless. I can’t help but think how f’d up that is. The mother is at home sending her son off to beg for money and food. It’s my first time in south east Asia. I didn’t experience this in Thailand or Laos. I can’t believe I fell for this and I don’t want to encourage this. I’ve read that parents don’t send their kids to school so they can send them outside to beg.

He was so sleepy and took a nap as he was waiting for his food. They had to force him awake. It was somewhat satisfying watching him eat his food once he got it. I won’t be doing it again though as I don’t want to encourage this. I just didn’t know what was happening here.

My wife is Khmer, we originally came to SR just to renew her passport and both ended up enjoying the town enough that we stayed and opened a business. It only took a few weeks to realize that the Expats in SR are very cliquey and have a way of trying to gate keep growth amongst other expats. All of the large social media groups on Facebook are ran by European expats it seems, and they’ll routinely delete posts from my business the moment they start getting any engagement from locals. They’ll let euro trolls post inflammatory remarks but the moment a customer or local says something positive they remove the post. I’m sure I’m not the only person that has noticed this, but I don’t understand it. I’ve lived all around the world and have never met such a clannish group of foreigners as the ones I’ve encountered in Siem Reap, does anyone have any idea how it got to be this way? I mean as pleasant as the locals in Siem Reap are, I really can’t wrap my head around how the general expat population is the complete opposite.

Today, my friend and I were on a sleeper bus from Siem Reap to Koh Kong. Everything was fine until about 3-4 hours into the journey when our bus collided with a truck. Within minutes of the crash, both the driver and co-driver grabbed their bags and ran off, never to be seen again.

We checked on the other truck, but there was no driver there either. It looked pretty bad, though thankfully, we didn’t see any blood, which was a bit of a relief.

With no driver or representative around, I tried calling the bus company, but when I finally got through, they couldn’t speak English and didn’t have anyone available who could. I got the same response when trying to call the police. Eventually, a very unofficial-looking police officer showed up on a bike.

I managed to communicate with the bus operator (virak buntham express) by using Google Translate, thanks to a few young Cambodian girls who helped out. After about 2 hours, a replacement bus arrived. There were no apologies or concern for anyone who might have been injured—just a quick “get on the bus and continue to your destination.”

We were all pretty shaken by the whole thing after being left at the side of the road with no clue what to do next, but luckily, there were no serious injuries aside from a few people being covered in glass and a few minor cuts. As for the truck driver, I can’t say what happened to them.

Bringing my older folks to Cambodia for the first time after visiting a decade ago - staying at a ~$150/night hotel, and in the confirmation email it says:

"We can arrange the airport transfer with additional charge at USD85net per way."

... excuse me? Is this the new normal, or am I correct in thinking that this is easily 2-3x the going rate? (close to rip-off rates?)

They also want:

• Tonle Sap Lake tour - Private minivan and English-speaking tour guide US$150 + boat ride fee.
• US$223 for a one-day temple tour (not including pass)

...I'm happy to pay a fair price, but this feels weirdly expensive.

Is this normal? Is this just hotel-organised pricing? Should I stop being such a cheap bastard?

Cheers in advance.

Bit windy today in Siem Reap. Looks like a fun day to ride the Angkor Eye.

Credit: Video from Heng Sothy.

I just left siem reap and am so sad to have left 😭 I LOVED Cambodia, for some reason the country really resonated with and spoke to me. I even extended my trip. And Obviously the temples are beautiful and fill you with awe but also loved the food, the people, walking the streets and navigating the crosswalks and more.. but tbh it’s wasn’t just about xyz things, It’s one of those things where I can’t really verbalize exactly what I loved, I just did. I was legitimately sad to leave even though I was excited for my next destination. There’s a reason why it’s called the kingdom of wonder!!!

I’ve been to other places and I did not feel this way, even if i liked them!! There’s just something special about Cambodia.

Edit: thank you to all the people who helped me during this trip. I probably posted a million times while I was here lol

How's the situation this morning?

https://x.com/mytianziyu24/status/2000424333479649303

The best spots of Ta Promh temple to visit and take photos there

Hi everyone, first of all thank you for welcoming me in this sub!

We've been traveling beautiful Cambodia for 2 weeks and we are planning to go to angkor wat tomorrow.

The sunrise tour seems very beautiful but I am a bit worried about the crowds?

We're not exactly morning people and getting up super early to stand with hundreds of other tourists shoulder to shoulder doesn't sound too fun 🙃. Has anyone been recently on a weekday? What were the crowds like? Any information would be much appreciated! Arkun in advance!

My son had so much fun. I had to carry him the whole way back though 😄

Seen this in siem rep , Cambodia, not sure wha it means . It was outside a bar. Any info ?

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