Overview
Cambodia was the second country on our 2026 Southeast Asia trip, after Vietnam. We only visited Siem Reap and the Angkor temple region, so these are notes through that narrow window. Even so, the Angkor temples alone are reason enough to visit the country.
History and Society
Cambodia's recent history is devastating. The Khmer Rouge period did not merely kill people; it tore through the country's memory, education, and institutions. Every conversation about it hurts.
APOPO trains giant African pouched rats to detect landmines and unexploded ordnance. The Belgian-founded organization has a visitor center in Siem Reap, and its work matters in a country where war debris remains a real problem.
Physical contact was more common than we expected and occasionally uncomfortable, enough that I had to warn a tuk-tuk driver. Some encounters felt pushy or unsettling; many others were with remarkably gentle and kind people. Motorbikes often carried three or four people.
Khmer script is one of the most complex-looking writing systems I have seen. It is commonly described as having 74 characters, which explains why I could not make sense of it at first glance.
Khmer massage was firmer and more focused on pressure points than the Vietnamese style. It involved more sustained rubbing and felt more intense, while Vietnamese massage had more joint cracking.
Cambodian tuk-tuks felt improvised after we reached Bangkok: often a motorcycle pulling a passenger trailer. Bangkok's versions looked more like registered vehicles. The Cambodian ones were airy and convenient, but hardly reassuring from a crash-safety perspective.
Food and Drink
Cambodia is a major cashew producer, but cashews did not originate here; they are native to South America. What is true is that Cambodia has exported large volumes of raw nuts to Vietnam for processing and re-export. Seeing someone else's label on the final product says more about supply chains than origin.
Kampot pepper is famous and we bought some to try. Peanuts arrived roasted with chili, or sometimes sweet and coated in sugar. Drinks often contained plenty of sugar. Breakfast culture felt weaker than Vietnam, although the tourist-heavy hotels may simply have defaulted to Western food.
Khmer curry was excellent when made well. We tried it twice and both versions were superb. Khmer lok lak had good beef and pepper, but the runny egg did not make me want to order it again.
Banana-flower salad was one of the best dishes of the trip. Fresh spring rolls were welcome after Vietnam and felt like eating a light salad. Cambodian beer was less varied than Vietnamese craft beer and sometimes came with a headache, although heat and dehydration may deserve the blame.
Sweet corn pudding combines coconut milk, corn, and tapioca pearls. It sounds strange but works. Fish amok was excellent, with coconut cream, lime leaf, and lemongrass; if nobody had told me it contained fish, I might not have guessed. Spring-onion cake, made with rice flour, egg, spring onion, and coconut milk, was also superb.
Coffee was strong but less aromatic than in Vietnam.
Verdict
Cambodia is poor and its history is painful, but the Angkor temples are unlike anything else on earth and the food was much better than expected. It may not feel as endlessly varied as Vietnam, yet any serious Southeast Asia route should pass through Angkor.