What you need to be aware of before going to Cambodia

When travel blogs present a location, they usually let the ugly parts out. That is understandable, and we all know that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but when that beauty is potentially dangerous, you should have the right to know about it. Cambodia is a beautiful country. Lots of ancient ruins, beautiful nature and wildlife preservation centers, and wonderful forests. Nothing to say about that. However, there are a few things that you may not find as appealing. Below you will see some of the things that you should be aware of.

Too many beggars

Cambodia’s economy is not the best, and there are poor people everywhere. Nothing wrong with that; they can be found in every country. However, they beg a lot. And not in the traditional way, but persistently. Also, they have all sorts of strategies. One of the most common, and the one that damaged most tourists, is the baby milk scam. It usually happens in big cities like the capital. The story is like this. A person will beg for money, but not necessarily for herself/himself, but for the baby. The baby is hungry and needs to be fed. Nothing suspicious so far. When you break, they will take you to a grocery store so that you can convince yourself that your money does not go on anything else. They will make you buy several boxes of the most expensive baby formula. You buy it, they thank you, and then you leave. They go back, return the baby milk, and they take the money. Nice, isn’t it? The idea here is to not yield. Ignore and move on.

Do your touring in the morning

If you want to visit ancient ruins, you should do it in the morning. The weather is hot in Cambodia, so you need to do whatever you want to do when there is limited sunlight. For example, ancient ruins are best to be seen early in the morning. Waking up at 5 in the morning when you are on vacation may not sound ideal, but imagine what happens when all those rocks around you stay under the sun for a few hours. That’s right. You will get scorched. On a more positive note, waking up that early has its advantages. The sunrise is mesmerizing over the ruins, so do not miss that.

Beware of petty thieves

This also applies to big cities. The other day, an article depicted the story of a couple who recently went to Cambodia. Apparently, they were moving around in a tuk-tuk, and she was holding her phone in her hand, as usual. The tuk-tuk driver told her to not ‘flaunt’ her phone like that because it can be gone in a second. Apparently, the event occurs so often that even tuk-tuk drivers warn customers about it. Keep your belongings close to you, and you should be fine.

You can get your visa online

On a more positive note, Cambodia is among the many countries in the world that issue electronic visas. You can obtain an e-visa too. That is if you are eligible, but you can easily check that. All you need is a passport and a few other things. The processing does not take long, no trip to the embassy required, and your visa arrives via e-mail. It beats going to a consulate, that is for sure.

The things mentioned above are not meant to discourage you from going to Cambodia. On the contrary, you should go. It is a country worth visiting with plenty to offer. I just thought that it is best to be informed. You need to know the cons just as well as the pros. There is no place in the world where everything is perfect. Just because some people choose to hide the imperfections, it does not mean they are not there.