5 reasons why Cambodia made me happy

It’s not that I hadn’t been feeling happy in the previous destinations that I visited, but somehow the month that I spent in Cambodia was really throwing one blessing after the other at me. And so it was that halfway through my trip, I really got the feeling that this way, I could keep up the travelling for a very, very long time. Here are the five standouts.

0. The big exception

Alright, zero doesn’t count. And so the only reason why this lists starts with it, is because there was one big exception to the introduction above, which I still would like to feature in this story because it is a topic worth talking about and that I wouldn’t be able to mention otherwise.

The first two places I visited in Cambodia represent the absolute opposite from happiness: the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Prison. I had never really learned about the Cambodian genocide in school, or anywhere else for that matter, but the grim reality of the disturbing recent history of the country definitely stared me right in the face there. No longer ago than the 70’s, an unsettling number of men, women and children were being tortured in Tuol Sleng Prison and murdered in the Killing Fields. Human cruelty knows no boundaries when it’s put into practice and this was a truly devastating example of that fact.

left: the Killing Fields
right: Tuol Sleng Prison

1. My Siem Reap crew

When I arrived in Siem Reap, I was determined to try and make some new friends. My quest seemed to be getting off to a promising start after I had signed up for one of the temple tours (more on that here) on the hostel chalk board, along with a certain guy named Derek. The next day, I was searching the entrance hall for someone who I imagined to be some tall Australian or American guy, who was to join me on the tour, but I couldn’t find him. Then my eyes fell upon a tiny person standing with his back towards me. “Are you Derek?” I tentatively asked. He briskly turned around, revealing himself to be a small Chinese guy with wispy black hair, wearing glasses and a colourful little scarf, and exclaimed: “Yes!”

Although I tried my best, he did not turn out to be friendship material and I think the feeling was mutual. That night, I undertook something completely different: I agreed to join a group of hostel guests and the friendly bartender in attending a match of Cambodian boxing.

Boxing doesn’t appeal to me at all though, and so I almost bailed. But the prospect of spending another night by myself appealed even less to me. It turned out to be a great idea. Not only did I miss out on most of the boxing match by sitting with my back turned to the scene, I also ended up having a blast with this crew.

I went on to spend a great week with them. We would go out in bars on famous Pub Street, discover a local carnival with a tiny ferris wheel on speed, sing karaoke in a reggae bar…
One of the highlights was the Sunday boat tour on Tonlé Sap Lake, organized by the hostel staff, during which we sailed past a floating village, swam in the lake, chilled on the boat for hours and watched the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life (and of course, my camera battery died just before that happened).

Floating village on Tonlé Sap Lake

2. Meeting my perfect travel buddy in Kampot

Kampot is one of those places where there aren’t that many obvious sights to visit, yet it is difficult to leave without wanting to investigate further. Once you look beyond the surface of this languid little town, there are many secrets to be uncovered. This is what I must have sensed after I left Kampot for the first time. But there was more to it than that.

The languid little town of Kampot

In the streets of Kampot

Coming from Siem Reap, I had travelled on to Kampot with Max, one of the people I had been hanging out with. After two days at the Karma Traders Hostel, he suggested to head to the island of Koh Rong Samloen with two other English travellers we’d just met. I felt some disappointment about leaving already, not only because of Kampot, but because it took away the opportunity from me to get acquainted better with a handsome Texan guy who was also staying at the hostel.

One of the many beaches on Koh Rong Samloen

Village on M’Pay Bay, Koh Rong Samloen

Sunset on Koh Rong Samloen, M’Pay Bay

The island was gorgeous. After three days we had seen enough of it though and we took the boat back to the mainland. Max was musing about heading back to Kampot instead of travelling onto a next destination. I felt the exact same way and so it was that we arrived right back at the Karma Traders Hostel. To my big surprise, the Texan guy was still there after all these days. This time around, I wouldn’t be denied and before I knew it, he and I were spending not only two amazing days lazying around Kampot together, but we also took a three day trip to Koh Kong after that. Saying goodbye after having spent the best week of my trip so far was tough, but it was only temporary. We knew a perfect travel buddy match had just been made.

Admiring a gorgeous sunset on the river in Kampot together

Sharing some delicious food

3. Taking the bamboo train in Battambang

Moving on after my perfect week in Kampot and Koh Kong wasn’t easy, but the trip I took in Battambang was a whole lot of fun. Along with a Dutch and two Spanish girls, we visited the area and the highlight of that was a ride on the bamboo train. These bamboo platforms attached to train wheels and fueled by boat engines originated during the war, when the locals got creative in finding alternative ways of transportation. Nowadays, it is a tourist attraction and an incredibly fun one, too. Sitting low to the ground on the bamboo board while it is racing along a train track between green bushes on either side was an absolute blast! The cherry on top of this day trip was witnessing a million bats fly out of a hole in a mountain at dusk. They call it the bat cave and it is a truly astonishing phenomenon.

The bamboo train

Scenery from the bamboo train

4. Cycling with a local on Koh Trong

Koh Trong is an island in the Mekong river near Kratie, in the east of Cambodia. At the restaurant of the guesthouse I was staying at, there was a sweet Cambodian waitress who suggested to go there together the next day and to explore it with rented bikes. I happily accepted the offer and what an incredible day it turned out to be! Granted, the bikes were in a rather poor condition. But when I was biking behind my sweet Cambodian guide on a circular trail around the island, past villages where kids were playing and chickens ran around freely, amidst banana trees and under a radiant blue sky, I felt truly blessed by the sheer beauty and pure happiness of it all.

Cycling around

Koh Trong scenery

5. The Cambodians are the sweetest of all

Having travelled through Southeast Asia, I got to know the Vietnamese, the Cambodians, the Laotians and the Thai. I liked them all in their own way but there can be no doubt that the Cambodians were by far the sweetest of them all. I found them to be soft spoken, smiling, incredibly gracious and very friendly.  I thought it all the more remarkable considering the cruel recent history this people has had to go through.

My tuktuk driver in Siem Reap