Stones, roots and a long silence
From Bangkok it is barely an hour in the air, and yet Cambodia feels like another clock. Siem Reap takes its time, and it lives next door to the largest temple complex ever built.
I shot the Angkor footage back in 2008, so the film is a bit of a time capsule. Around the temples a lot has changed since, but the place itself has not: towers rising out of the trees, carved goddesses on every wall, the forest slowly taking things back. If you care even a little about history, go once in your life.
Then there is Phnom Penh, which tells a different and much harder story. I think a trip here should include both.
Three or four days around Angkor, two in the capital, and the coast only if you still have time left.
Getting there
Cheap flights from Bangkok land in Siem Reap after about an hour. Going by land through Poipet costs less, takes most of a day and has a long reputation for tricks at the border. If your holiday is short, fly.
One change since my visit: Siem Reap has a new airport (SAI), opened in 2023 and roughly 50 km out of town. Count on about an hour to your hotel by shuttle or taxi, and fix the taxi price first.
Siem Reap
Everybody goes for sunrise at Angkor Wat, and it is worth the alarm clock. A simple trick: once the sun is up, move on while the others go for breakfast, and you get the Bayon with its giant smiling faces almost to yourself. Ta Prohm, the temple held together by tree roots, is the one people remember. Banteay Srei, with its pink carved stone, is a little further and very worth it.
Tonlé Sap
South of town lies a huge lake that grows and shrinks with the rains, and whole villages built on stilts or floating on it. Go late in the day by boat, when the light turns gold. Do not expect clear water; go for the life along the banks.
At night, Siem Reap’s Pub Street is noisy and cheap, and the markets around it sell everything. Haggling is part of the game here; keep it friendly.
Phnom Penh
The Royal Palace, and next to it the Silver Pagoda, whose floor really is made of silver tiles. A walk on the riverfront when it cools down. The yellow art-deco dome of the Central Market.
And then Tuol Sleng, also called S-21: a school that the Khmer Rouge turned into a prison, now a museum. Give it at least two hours and, if you can, visit the Choeung Ek killing fields outside the city as well. It is painful. It also explains the country better than any guidebook.
New since my trip: Phnom Penh’s flights moved in September 2025 to Techo International, a new airport south of the city.
The coast
Years ago I would have sent you to Sihanoukville for the beach. The town has since filled up with casinos and building sites, so today I would only pass through it on the way to Koh Rong or Koh Rong Samloem. Or skip it and go to Kampot and Kep, two sleepy places by the river and the sea, famous for pepper and crab.
Best monthsVery hotRainy season
Dry, bright mornings, heat you can live with. This is the busiest time at Angkor, especially around Christmas and New Year.
Really hot, often over 35 °C. Do the temples at dawn, hide at lunch, go back out for the late afternoon.
Storms in the afternoon, few visitors, everything green and the moats full of water. The lake is at its biggest around September and October.
Khmer cooking is softer than Thai: lots of herbs, lime, palm sugar and a strong fish paste called prahok. When I first went, menus were short. Today Siem Reap and Phnom Penh are real food cities.
These notes are for travelling today, not for the year the film was made. I went through them again in . Border rules change without much warning, so please confirm on the official sites below before you book anything.
Italians and other EU citizens need one. Choose between the online e-Visa (around US$36 all in, normally ready in three working days) and the visa on arrival at airports and main border posts (US$30, cash dollars, notes in good condition). Either way it is a 30-day tourist visa. Passport valid for six months with a free page.
New and compulsory: an online arrival form, filled in during the week before you land, which gives you a QR code for immigration. It is free and it is not a visa. Sites asking US$70–90 for “the visa” are middlemen, not the government.
One day US$37, three days US$62, a week US$72. Buy them at the official ticket office in Siem Reap, on the official website, or from the machines at the west gate. Angkor Wat lets people in from 5:00 for sunrise, the other temples mostly from 6:00. Passes for more than a day carry your photo.
Prices are in US dollars for most things; small change comes back in riel. Torn or marked dollar notes get refused, so bring clean ones. ATMs give dollars and add a fee.
Tuk-tuks or the Grab and PassApp apps in town. Buses and minivans between cities: Siem Reap to Phnom Penh is about six hours on the road. A domestic flight saves a day.
No tap water. Repellent at dawn and dusk against dengue; malaria exists in remote forest areas. Buy insurance that includes medical evacuation, because serious cases are usually flown to Bangkok.
Covered shoulders and knees in temples and at the palace. Quiet voices at Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek. Ask monks before taking their picture, and do not touch anyone on the head.
230 V, with A, C and G sockets. Local SIM cards cost little and are sold at the airport if you show your passport.
I made AsiaVIDEO between 2008 and 2018. Then life went in another direction, the camera ended up in a drawer, and the project stopped. No new films will appear here.
The one thing I still update is the “Before you go” box on each trip page: visas, money, transport, seasons. Last pass: October 2026. Rules change quickly, so always double-check on the official sites listed there before you book.