Siem Reap and Battambang

I spent 2 days, 3 nights in Siem Reap. I flew there from Sihanoukville airport to avoid a long hungover night bus! Siem Reap is best known for the Angkor Wat temple, which of course I visited! It was an early 4am wake up to be there in time for sunrise. Sadly the sunrise wasn’t great but I still really enjoyed looking around the temple. 

I also went to the Bayon Temple and the Ta Prohm temple which is where Tomb Raider was filmed. There are over 24 different temples you can see but some of them are a lot smaller and not as well kept so I just did a half day tour which included those 3 temples. I'd also recommend to do just a half day tour if you're not that much of a temple lover! I think after 3 weeks in India I've seen enough temples for this trip!

Siem Reap is probably one of the hottest places I’ve visited so far in Cambodia. It was an average of around 39 degrees most days - so of course I spent some time cooling off in the pool! As Siem Reap isn't by the sea you defiantly need to have a hostel with a pool!
At night I went to the famous pub street as well as to explore the night markets. I also had one of the best pad Thai's I've had so far! 

My next and final stop in Cambodia was Battambang. I must admit it's a bit of strange place... Not a huge amount to do there but I guess its worth a visit if you have the time and want to explore some of the less touristy city's in Cambodia. It was around a 3 hour drive from Siem Reap and I spent 2 nights there. Unfortunately we had awful weather when we were there so it rained on both days but luckily we had ponchos at the ready!
The popular things to do there are to visit the Bamboo Train and to the see famous bats of Battambang!

There was another 3 hour bus ride back to Siem Reap to catch a flight to Luang Prabang... next stop Laos! 

Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem

It was a long 10 hour journey from Phnom Penh to Koh Rong. I got a bus to Sihanoukville followed by a boat and then I finally got to Koh Rong! I spent 2 nights on Koh Rong island and 5 on Koh Rong Sanloem island. I think Koh Rong Sanloem was definitely my favourite but I loved Koh Rong too.

In Koh Rong I stayed on white beach which is the main resort just by the pier. Koh Rong is known as a party island so of course it would be rude not to party! After all there is nothing to do there but lie on the beach to cure your hangover. 

The most well known beach on Koh Rong is called ‘4K beach’ and it was just a short walk from the white beach. There was swings in the sea and hammocks to hang out and chill in. The water was clear blue and the sand was so white! 

In Koh Rong Sanloem island I spent 2 nights on M’Pai Bay and 3 nights on Saracen Bay. M’Pai Bay was definitely a lot quieter and more local, but I think it was actually just a bit too quiet for me! There was only 18 restaurants and bars across the whole bay and everywhere was very quiet. I did however manage to find an amazing breakfast place - another smoothie bowl please!

One day we hiked from M’Pai Bay to clear water bay which took around an hour up a very steep path. The beach was so nice and of course we could cool off in the sea from the hike once we got there! There was more hammocks in the sea and we even saw wild monkeys! 

Saracen Bay was definitely my favourite place on Koh Rong Sanloem island. The beach was nicer than some of the beaches I saw on the Philippines! It wasn’t too quiet or too busy so it was the perfect balance. I unfortunately managed to break my phone (while drunk, silly me!) while I was there so most of the photos below aren’t my own. My phone is all fixed now which is great - travelling without it would have been a nightmare! 

My next stop in Cambodia is Siem Reap... Time for a bit of a detox from the islands!