On my way to the airport, I am shitting my self. What was I thinking? I should have listened to my dad. I am on my way to travel solo in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. 

Looking back it was the best decision I have made that year. Throwback time to 2010. After a whirlwind year, I decided to pack my backs and travel for a month. I always loved South East Asia and as it’s a woman-friendly, cheap and easy-to-travel continent, I decided to travel to Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.

As I worked as a travel consultant at that time, I booked a few things like my plane tickets and some hotels in the cities and some transport upfront as I could benefit from great travel discounts.

My solo trip started with a week in Cambodia and I divided the other 3 weeks over Vietnam and Thailand. Excitement was an understatement. Sharing my plans with my friends, family and workmates was all cool and awesome, but as soon as I was on my way in the train from my home city of Zwolle to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, hesitation kicked in.

What the hell did I do? I was really going on a solo trip to Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. All of a sudden I didn’t feel like the power woman who could take on the world, but a kid who was going to school for the first time.

Holy crap. I was lucky enough that back in the days I was still very enthusiastic about flying ( not so much anymore ) and my enthusiasm and powerful excitement came back as soon as I walked through the departure gate.

Yes! I was ready to do this! Ready to board my first flight from Amsterdam to Bangkok with China Airlines. Chatting with my neighbours, eating, watching movies and napping got me through the 10-hour flight to Bangkok, where I arrived very early in the morning.

My connection flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia was scheduled 4.5 hours later, so I had enough time to walk all the way across Suvarnumibi Airport. People who’ve been here before, know how massive this airport is!

I checked my email, enjoyed a breakfast and coffee in the Bangkok Airlines lounge, and had a little nap before my next flight from Bangkok to Siem Riep, which took only an hour.

I had to shake off some worries when I saw how small the little ATR propellor aeroplane was and the fact that the rain was bucketing down, but I landed safely in Siem Reap, Cambodia after travelling for almost 24 hours from door to door.

My first impression of Cambodia from the plane window was; ‘ This looks a lot like the Netherlands ‘ – Just as green and rainy. There where even parts that had been flooded. Luckily, the forecast looked good for the rest of the week, so nothing to worry about!

After an easy customs and luggage pick up procedure I got a taxi to my hotel in Siem Reap, where I arrived after a short 10-minute drive. Holy Moly. I was here in Cambodia. Travelling Solo. 

Khemara Angkor Hotel Siem Riep

I was staying in the Khemara Angkor Hotel in Siem Reap. A lovely 4-star boutique hotel with swimming pool, centrally located within walking distance from Siem Reap town, 10 minutes from the airport and only 15 minutes to the Angkor Wat temples.

Cambodians are super friendly people and I got treated like a Queen. After a smooth check-in, the first two things I needed were a shower and some relaxing time after my big trip.

I treated myself to a shower and relaxed the rest of the afternoon at the pool with a book before getting myself ready for dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. One of the most confronting things of solo travel is having dinner alone in a restaurant. Especially for the first time.

Well, I was lucky, as I was literally alone in the restaurant. I counted 23 tables, 4 waiters, and one guest. Me. The great thing about solo travel is how quickly you get in contact with other people. Soon I was chatting away with the waiters, and when they discovered I was a travel consultant, the hotel manager even rocked up to say hi. 

After dinner I was completely crashed and slept from 8.30 pm till 08.45 am the next morning, to catch up with my lost night on the plane. For availability and more photo’s of the Khemara Hotel in Siem Reap have a look over here

The temples of Angkor Wat

After a quick breakfast, I decided to hire a tuk-tuk with driver/tour guide for the day to visit Angkor Wat, which is around 5 km from Siem Reap.

The great thing about visiting Angkor Wat by Tuk-Tuk is that it’s not only cheap, but you can see the temples as quick or as slow as you like. You hire a driver with tuk-tuk for a day and he will wait for you and drives you wherever you want to go. As I didn’t have the time to stay for at least 3 days but wanted to see the best of Angkor Wat, I asked the tuk-tuk driver if he wanted me to show the highlights of Angkor Wat and some things he thought were a must see.

Before visiting Angkor Wat, I always thought that the temples were actually all sitting together in one temple complex, but it’s actually a massive area with all separate temples, nature, rivers and lakes.

Because Angkor Wat is so stretched out, I would definitely recommend going by tuk-tuk or if you are not so adventurous or not sure where to go, visit Angkor Wat with a tour.

I also saw people biking around Angkor Wat, which is awesome if you have at least a week in Siem Reap 😉 

Keep in mind that most bikes in Cambodia are in the same state as the bikes on the bottom of the channels in Amsterdam, Cambodia is hot and sweaty, and that flat tires occur. – I speak from experience after two flat tires on the same bike within an hour in Myanmar… That’s for another story 😉 

Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world and the average time to see the big round ( most of the temples ) is at least 2 days.  If you want to see it all, take your time. If you don’t have much time definitely go for Angkor Wat’s highlights, which are:

• The Bayon.
• Banteay Srei.
• Ta Som.
• Angkor Wat. This temple was built by Suryavarman and is considered the biggest Asian pyramid.
• Ta Prohm. Covered by the jungle, and exactly as they found it years ago. If you know the blockbuster Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, you will recognise this temple as the most impressive scenes of the movie where created here.

Admission tickets for Angkor Wat

When visiting Angkor Wat, keep in mind that it’s a religious site, and you can’t enter some of the temples if you are wearing shorts and/or tops that show your shoulders or knees, so take a scarf with you or wear something that covers those body parts.

You can purchase one day, three-day and even a week pass to visit Angkor Wat. If you want to purchase your entree passes upfront for Angkor Wat, have a look at VIATOR

They do many different entrée passes and amazing tours. 

Tonle Sap Floating Village

Another thing to do in Siem Reap when the weather is not so bad and you have time is the Tonle Sap floating village ↓

Travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh

The next morning after breakfast it was time to travel overland from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s Capital City.

I booked my transfer upfront with discounts from my work and I must say I loved travelling overland from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh by private transfer as I had the chance to see more of Cambodia when driving through some villages along the way.

The drive took around 5 hours straight to Phnom Penh and the driver was a joker which told a lot about the areas we drove through, the things we saw along the way and life in Cambodia in general.

We crossed cows, living pigs on motorbikes, car’s with all kinds of mess on top of them, and all sorts of crazy things you only see on the road in Asia. Loved it!

Juliana Hotel Phnom Penh

At the end of the day, I arrived in Phnom Penh. What a difference between Siem Reap! Phnom Penh is busy with traffic, people, shops, and lots of motorbikes. But also has beautiful parks, buildings and things to do.

I stayed at the Juliana Hotel in Phnom Penh. A lovely city hotel with a nice swimming pool, clean and comfy rooms. When I arrived I got an upgrade to a luxury room! Always welcome of course 🙂  

Things to do in Phnom Penh

After check-in, I decided to go for a LITTLE walk…yeah right. Let’s say, I am just too curious to not walk a little bit further and look what’s behind that corner… 😉 Or ten corners…

After a massive rain pour, I got myself a burger from ‘Happy Burger’ ( A good copy of Burger King ) and decided to head back to the hotel to chill out for the rest of the night.

The next day I got up early to discover more of Phnom Penh. Let’s say my Allstars got a good amount of kilometres that day.

I had a brief idea of what I would like to see in Phnom Penh and got a map from the hotel, but it took a little while to figure out how the streets in Phnom Penh work, as they didn’t have street names, but only numbers.

Eventually, I ended up in the neighbourhood of the Royal Palace, which is the most interesting area in Phnom Penh. There is a nice boulevard along the Mekon River, some interesting buildings, shopping malls, and restaurants.

Phnom Penh has a lot of French-inspired buildings which are still dating back from the French colonisation of Cambodia.

It was even once called ‘the Pearl of Asia’ and ‘the loveliest French-built city in Asia’.

Tuol Sleng High School & Killing Fields 

If you have more time in Phnom Penh and are into a bit of dark history ( Not really suitable for young kids ) the Tuol Sleng High School and the Killing Fields of Cambodia should be definitely on your list.

Back in the days, the Tuol Sleng High School in Phnom Penh was a prison camp, where people were detained and tortured. Horrible!

Nowadays, it’s turned into a museum where you can learn all about this dark chapter of Cambodian history.

15 kilometres from the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum you will find the Killing Fields, again part of  Cambodia’s dark history.

Now it’s a memorial to those who were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime. You can visit the Tuol Sleng High School and the Killing Fields easily on your own, but if you want more convenience and an experienced guide who can tell you lot’s of information, book a tour here!

Tuk-Tuk brake down on the way to the Airport

When I was chilling out a bit somewhere on a bench at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, a tuk-tuk driver approached and asked me if I needed a ride ( this happens a lot )

I said; ‘ No thank you, I will do everything by foot’  The driver said; “Well I guess that’s good for you, but not for me” 

He told me tuk-tuk driving was his part-time job to be able to afford his studies as his parents were too poor to pay for his education. We had a nice chat and I realised that I actually needed a ride from my hotel to the airport the next day…

The next morning, the tuk-tuk driver named Ali was waiting exactly at 1 am at the entrance of my hotel. I always tend to depart early as you never know what might happen on your way to the airport right?!

– Years forward, in Istanbul we almost missed our flight due to traffic jam, In Borneo, we almost missed our flight thanks to the local people who didn’t know the right way to the airport, and in this story, my Tuk-Tuk broke down. Yes, all true stories 🙂

From a million and one motorcycles and tuk-tuks in Phnom Penh, my tuk-tuk breaks down! hahaha. I felt for Ali, as he said the words ‘I am so sorry’ a hundred times, and assured me that I was going to be alright and on time at the airport.

Within a minute there was a flock of people around trying to get the thing started again, but it was just completely dead. Another tuk-tuk was arranged quickly and this new driver didn’t want to lose any time…

We were racing to the airport, where I arrived 2 hours before my flight with Vietnam Airlines from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Ming, Vietnam.

Read my Solo Travel Diary about Vietnam here

Travel Solo as a woman in Cambodia

I must say that I felt very safe as a woman travelling solo in Cambodia. As in most Asian countries, I got lots of attention with my western looks ( tall, blond and light eyes = like an attraction/unique feature/V.I.P/never-saw-anything-like-that-before kinda thing 😉 ) but I never felt unsafe.

When I was sitting on a bench enjoying the view of the Mekon River, a group of Malay people approached me and they wanted to take pictures with me, you will get that a lot, but other than that I think Cambodia is a very safe country for a woman to travel solo.

We have created this easy guide for you with all the essentials you need for planning your trip to Cambodia. 

We use www.skyscanner.com for all our flights. It’s one of the most popular flight search engines and it compares hundreds of airline companies and booking websites. A big plus for us is that Sky Scanner can look for flights in the cheapest month, and it will also automatically look for the cheapest dates in that particular month. 

There are many different accommodations on offer that suits every budget. We shared with you our experiences in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, but there are many options around other popular places we didn’t visit like Sihanoukville, Battambang or Kampot.

Whether you want to stay on a budget in Cambodia or stay in a luxurious boutique hotel, you’ll find something that suits your needs and budget right HERE

If you are looking for a unique travel experience in Cambodia, or something different from a hostel or hotel go for an Airbnb.

Airbnb offers the most unique accommodations and experiences around the world that suits every budget. 

Here is our special discount link for you that offers a huge discount on your first Airbnb stay 🙂  You’re welcome 😉 

Have you booked with Airbnb before? Look for your next Airbnb accommodation in Cambodia right here ↓

Different passports and nationalities mean different Visa requirements for Cambodia. 

IVisa is the place to be for all your visa requirements. You can easily see what the requirements are for your passport and apply for your Cambodia visa straight away. Super handy↓

A Travel Insurance for Cambodia is, like travelling to any other country in the world, absolutely necessary. We never travel without a travel insurance. World Nomads Travel Insurance is definitely not your not your typical, boring insurance company.

The travel insurance from World Nomads covers people from 140 countries, with medical and evacuation cover, 24-hour emergency assistance and over 150 adventure activities. 

Simple and Flexible Travel Insurance insurance for independent travellers and intrepid families. Designed by travellers for travellers.  Get an easy and quick quote right here ↓

Viator offers a wide range of tours and excursions in Cambodia for travellers who’d just like to sit back an relax and see the highlights with a professional guide.

There are a few ways that you can travel around Cambodia. Tuk-tuks are the easiest and cheapest way of getting around in Cambodia and a chance to test your bartering skills as well 😉 

Train and buses are also an option to get around in Cambodia or cross the borders to travel to Thailand, Vietnam or Laos-check your visa requirements at iVISA-but don’t expect any Western standards in regards to hygiene and safety.

You can also book your pre organised transport overland in Cambodia with Viator right here

Weather-wise the best time to visit Cambodia is December to February when it’s dry season ( Also peak season ). It’s always warm in Cambodia, but the most rain and humidity will be between May and September.

Thank you for reading our solo travel guide to Cambodia. This article contains a few affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission when you book your trip to Cambodia via us, which helps us in providing you with our epic and FREE travel content and insider tips.