Spontaneous trip to Cambodia

Actually, I didn't plan on visiting Cambodia because I hadn't heard much about it and it didn't seem very 'interesting' to me. But since I prefer to travel overland whenever possible, I decided to go there and then travel to the south of Thailand. My first stop was Kampot. To get to Kampot, I went from Can Tho back to Ha Tien (where we also took the ferry) and then crossed the border to Kampot. Cambodia taught me to wait from the very first second! You wait and wait, not knowing why and how long it will take, but you just accept it. Another thing I learned... do some research on how much, for example, the visa costs and then stick to that and don't throw money around. Instead of $30, I paid almost $40. When we finally sat on the bus on the other side, we continued for 2 hours on terrible roads. My accommodation was located quite far outside, by a river, and to get there I took a Tuk Tuk. In Cambodia, there are no Grabs, only these Tuk Tuks. One more thing! In Cambodia, everything is paid in dollars, but since the actual currency is Riel, it often happens that you get the change in Riel and so tourists are often ripped off. Since 4000 Riel is about 1 dollar, it's usually not easy to understand and you just accept it. My accommodation was, as I said, totally secluded and quiet.

Surrounded by nature, lots of greenery, many hammocks, and chill areas. I spent 3 nights here and had quite a few heart attacks :D (Animals!!! Giant spiders!) Kampot is also very well known for its pepper, it's supposed to be the best pepper in the world! So I went to where the pepper grows... got it? :)

I went to a pepper farm (completely shaken for 1 hour. A wonder that my intestines are still where they belong!) and had a free tour. It was quite interesting to see the different types of pepper that can be made from the same pepper plant.

The really great thing about the farm is that they support many social projects, including providing bicycles for the children of the employees to make it easier for them to get to school, and they have also improved the roads and provide financial support to the school. So it's not just about business. The plan for the next day was to go to the island of Koh Rong. The journey actually only involved a 2-hour drive by car to Sihanoukville and then from there, a ferry ride of about 30 minutes to the island. Yeahhh... ummm... I took over 8 hours. I understood when I entered Cambodia that it takes a little longer, but this long?? Luckily, I met Heike from Germany, which made the waiting more bearable. When I arrived in the evening, the accommodation was unfortunately not as I had imagined. My dorm was half behind the garbage dump and was far from inviting. And at 8 pm, the owners simply closed the bar and turned off the lights. Great, thanks! Unfortunately, I didn't feel comfortable at all. But that's what good friends are for, with whom you can talk on the phone for hours, right? The next day, I tried to make the best of it and walked through the jungle to a really beautiful beach!

I have NEVER sweated so much!! :D But it was worth it :)

I spent the day there and took a boat back in the evening.

Since I had booked 3 nights but didn't want to stay any longer, I left the next day and went to the neighboring island, Koh Rong Samloem. I treated myself to a dorm/room in a resort for 2 nights! I was pretty much in heaven :). In the evening, I randomly met Heike at dinner and we made plans to go 'hiking' to a lighthouse the next day.

On the way there, we also saw a few centipedes. This one was particularly beautiful:

Once we arrived, we climbed up.

Once we reached the top, the view was amazing!

Wow, that was so cool and

..funny! "Wow Larissa, you're so tiny!!" After that, we cooled off in the sea. Lots of doing nothing, sleeping, swimming, sunbathing, and even more doing nothing :)

We went to have dinner together and had a really nice day! Especially after the not-so-great last few days, it was really nice.

The next day, I took a night bus for a 10-hour journey to Siem Reap. It was the best overnight ride of the whole trip so far. I slept like a log! I arrived in Siem Reap at 6 am and had to kill some time because check-in is only at 2 pm. By chance, I ran into 3 girls from the bus at a cafe, and since we shared the same fate, we spent a good 3 hours there. A girl I met at Daimler happened to be in Siem Reap as well, and we briefly met up. But the reason why I actually went to Siem Reap was to see Angkor Wat. You can't travel to Cambodia without seeing these temples. It's like going to Paris but not seeing the Eiffel Tower. Angkor Wat is a huge temple complex and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. We started at 4:30 am to see the sunrise at the largest temple, Angkor Wat. But I wasn't the only one...

I was chauffeured from one temple to another by a Tuk Tuk driver.

On the way back from the first temple, I spotted a monkey. I was quite amazed and felt super special and unique because many others didn't notice him and just kept walking.

After the 10th monkey, not so much anymore :D

It was really interesting but also very exhausting! The heat doesn't make it any easier, and those who have been to a temple know that shoulders and knees must be covered. But it was worth it!