2019-10-01 Wanderlust

CAMBODIA

78 wanderlust.co.uk October 2019

DIDYOU

KNOW?

Themightyriver

Mekongstretches

4,350km–its

basinisthesecond

mostdiversearea

onearth,after

theAmazon.

67

Angkor

Don’t join the

thousands to see dawn rising

over the West Gate. Instead visit

the emptier East Gate and enjoy

a peaceful, magical half hour.

68

Kampot

Caves in the hills near

this relaxed former French river

port are 
illed with golden

Buddhas and thousand-year-

old Khmer temples. The most

arresting is at Phnom Chhngok.

69

Cardamom

Mountains

Tigers, clouded leopard and

wild elephants live in the remote

rainforest south of Battambang.

Trips into the deep forest are

organised via hostels in Koh Kong.

70

Battambang

Bamboo Train

Swap the specially-built tourist

bamboo train for the real thing,

and whizz alongside rice

paddies on a makeshift platform

set on old tank wheels. Leaving

from near Wat Sara Woan, and

running along the Battambang

to Phnom Penh mainline, it’s

a truly exhilarating experience.

71

Koh Rong

The pristine reefs of Koh

Rong marine park can be easily

reached by boat. Jump aboard

at Sok San beach.

72

Kratie

Visit this sleepy

little Mekong village for a rare

sighting of the Irrawaddy River

Dolphin. Go late afternoon.

SIX MORE CAMBODIAN SECRETS

Alex Robinson; Map illustration by Scott Jessop

Planning guides

 Cambodia Travel Guide

Archive article

 ‘Cambodia’s cardomoms’ –

issue 189

Visit http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/200

More online

Curry favour

Cambodia’s

spicy, tangy

national dish

Amok, with

boiled rice

Lying at the end of a long white
sand beach in Koh Rong Samloen,
shaded by fragrant frangipani trees,
Saracen Bay Resort (saracenbay-
resort-cambodia.com) has villas
opening onto the waterfront or set
in tropical gardens. Forest trails lead
to the other side of the island. The
hotel can organise boat or kayak
trips. B&B doubles from $95 (£79).

Food & drink
Amok is recognised as Cambodia’s
national dish and is a thick chicken
or seafood curry, steam-cooked
with coconut cream and galangal in
a banana leaf and accompanied by
jasmine rice.
In Kampot,
ine restaurants along
the riverfront serve food cooked
in the local green, black or white
pepper (including Atelier).
Try the street food – barbecued
frog, squid kebabs, breaded
ish
cakes and stuŠed baguettes in
Num Pang (in Phnom Penh);
stewed barbecue mud crab and
barbecue squid on the coast.

Further reading

Cambodia (Rough Guides, 2017)

Angkor and the Khmer Civilization

by Michael D Coe and Damian

Evans (Thames & Hudson, 2018)

First They Killed My Father by

Loung Ung (HarperCollins, 2000) –

also a 
ilm directed by Angelina Jolie

tourismcambodia.com – for o–icial

tourist information on Cambodia