Traveling and destinations

It has been already a destination high on the wish-list of Age to travel to Laos and Cambodja. Many years ago we wanted already to do this trip, but then flights were cancelled and instead we went earlier to New Zealand (in 2011). Now, Age’s sister Rineke joint him and with the two of them they booked an organized trip through Laos and Cambodja with Djoser from January 17 to February 7, 2025. This turned out to be a very good choice including an excellent Dutch guide (Willemijn). The trip started in Thailand and then went all the way through Laos and then entered Cambodja finishing at Angkor Wat (for the route, see figure below).

The traveling consisted of parts by boat along the Mekong river, which was very nice and relaxing. Parts went by train and the most traveling was done by bus. These buses were comfortable; the driving was careful with enough stops for coffee along the way. The nights were spent in hotels and lodges which were generally good.

Laos

Laos is a poor country. There are different regions in Laos, where the northern part is the most mountainous and the poorest. To the south it becomes a bit more urban but still rural areas and (relatively) richer. The people are friendly but one has to be aware of pick pockets. The nature is generally nice and at some places even beautiful. It also has some nice culture. 

Cambodja

The most defining historical event in Cambodja is the dictatorship of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot from 1975-1979. More than 3 million people were killed brutally out of a population of 12 million (1 out of 4!). Especially the upper-class people were the victim (intellectuals like us wearing glasses would not have survived). Visiting the Killing Fields a bit outside of Phnom Penh is very impressive. In almost all conversations with Cambodian people this topic is touched upon; it left deep scars in the society.  Cambodja does not have a very exciting nature to offer. Food in both Laos and Cambodja is generally good but it was sometimes hard to find good restaurants and of course you have to like Asian food!

Culture

One comes mostly to these countries for the culture and indeed there is a lot to see with (at least for us) as absolute highlight the Angkor Wat complex. But besides that, there is enough to see: many temples, palaces and museums. The first temple we visited was the Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai (still in Thailand). We went there before sunrise and watched the sum rising at the temples site which was on a hill overlooking Chiang Mai: an amazing sight! Along the way to Chiang Khong, we visited the Wat Rong Khun temple which looked like a Walt Disney creation.

We visited many more temples and historical sights. For example, the Buddah Park close to Vientiane which has many Buddas with some to them extremely large. The ancient Khmer religious complex Wat Phu (Laos) is a mystical place where one can dwell around for hours. Some of the cities in Laos and Cambodja are nice to visit, such as Luang Prabang (with also some nice temples). Others are less nice, such as Vientiane and especially Phnom Penh, which is a big and dirty city with, however, a very nice National Museum!

Angkor Wat

This ranks amongst the most beautiful cities I have ever seen (alongside Isfahan and Kyoto). It was indeed a city around the year 1000 with one million inhabitants (London then had around 50,000!). It was spread around a large area with many temples. The (wooden) houses did not survive but the temples surely did! We spend two days at the site and visited many temples. The most famous ones are the Angkor Wat (itself), the Bayon and the Ta Prohm, where Tomb Raider was shot. It is not only the grand architecture that astonishes, but also the very many detailed (small) statutes which are beautifully carved. Two days are even too short; you can easily spend four days in Angkor Wat.

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