As tragic as it is otherworldly, Cambodia is a destination for the truly curious traveller, writes Lesley Stones
03 April 2019 - 05:05Angkor Wat temple is just one of numerous ancient buildings on a vast archaeological site. Picture: LESLEY STONES
The country is still working to rebuild itself after those four bloody years, with its recovery helped by an influx of dollars as tourists return to admire the astonishing temple of Angkor Wat. It’s as magnificent as Machu Picchu, as intriguing as the Taj Mahal, and a great deal less crowded than either. It’s also just one of more than 100 temples in the world’s largest archaeological site, displaying the skills and opulence of an empire that thrived from AD 802 to 1432.
Cambodia has plenty of other drawcards too, but it’s less developed than its neighbours Vietnam and Thailand. You need to be a traveller, rather than a tourist, accepting rough roads and broken pavements, squat toilets and the dismaying amount of litter that mars its streets and beaches. Siem Reap has become a party town for temple tourists, with a night market, a Hard Rock Cafe and Pub Street full of bars next to stalls selling T-shirts for $1.
During my tour I cruised on the mighty Mekong Rover, wimped out of eating fried tarantulas, snorkelled in the warm sea off the jagged coastline, and cycled through villages meeting rice wine bootleggers. I rode the Bamboo Train too, sitting on an open platform of bamboo and whizzing along a railway track at a merry rate. It originally shifted sacks of rice from the countryside, and now earns its keep by entertaining tourists.