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Cambodia (Country Guide) | 
 enlarge | Author: Nick Ray
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Category: Book
List Price: $21.99
Buy Used: $2.12
You Save: $19.87 (90%)
New (11) Used (21) from $2.12
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 284006
Media: Paperback
Edition: 5th
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 1740595254
Dewey Decimal Number: 915.960443
EAN: 9781740595254
ASIN: 1740595254
Publication Date: August 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Angkor Wat is just the beginning. If you want to dig deeper into the real Cambodia, this guide is your key. Unlock the mysteries of the sacred temples, share the Mekong with endangered dolphins, and eat with pythons and cobras by your side. With Lonely Planet, you’ll have the adventure you always dreamed of.
Expert Resident Author – providing the best insider tips and tricks.
Unbeatable Accuracy – updated on the road, in person.
The World's Best Travel Maps
No Guesswork – pinionated reviews and inspiring highlight sections.
Listings For All Budgets – from pinching pennies to living large.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Strangely Annoyed September 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have lots of guidebooks - and lots of Lonely Planets, for that matter. But despite the fact that they say they are for "independent travellers", I keep finding ridiculous reviews on restaurants and hotels, to the point where I've stopped using them.
The History, Snapshot, and similar sections are great, but if you have a brain of your own - use it. Forget their restaurant and hotel recommendations, as I'm not even sure they visit the places. Sometimes they have history or comments on places that is worthwhile to read, though. All tourbooks may have these drawbacks, to be fair.
Finally, I think I'm going to stop buying Lonely Planet's, though. First, they always act like driving is so scary everywhere, when it's actually quite easy to anyone with a brain. They also forget to give worthwhile tips on getting a car, etc. I imagine that this is their way of "saving the Earth". To a person who does care about the Earth, but doesn't believe that being a dirty hippie is going to save anything, this - and all their other BS trying to coerce their opinions onto you as fact - gets really freakin' old. Yes, yes, I know, LP is founded by some hippie freak from AUS or something - whooptie doo. That doesn't mean I have to pay some jerk who's going to push his politics on me, whether I agree with them or not.
Good. August 10, 2008
Good book. I've found it best to bring both Rough Guide and Lonely planet. Each complements the other.
 Lonely Planet February 15, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
found this guide book very useful. I also have friends that use the Lonely Planet series as their guide books.
Get the Rough Guide January 29, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
In the group I was traveling with we had both the Rough Guide and the Lonely Planet guide and we consistently found the Rough Guide superior to the Lonely Planet in terms of narration, history, accuracy, ease of use, and better maps. We traveled extensively throughout the country including many outlying / "off the beaten path" areas where there was not a tourist to be found. Neither book was entirely comprehensive but the Rough Guide was a must have to point you in the right direction to find more info.
Still the essential guide for traveling in Cambodia... January 14, 2007
28 out of 29 found this review helpful
I've been to Cambodia several times now and this is the guide I will continue to buy. It's important to have an up to date guide to Cambodia as the country has and is changing so rapidly (5 years ago you couldn't walk 20 metres without coming across someone with a gun in Phnom Penh and most of the roads weren't sealed). I would still buy each new edition that came out simply for the knowledge of the important basic things that change like transport routes and times etc. that are constantly changing.
Cambodia is now well and truly open for tourists. I know from speaking with locals that the author, Nick, spends a lot of time in Cambodia and has great local knowledge (I'm kind of cheesed a little since he's included many of my previously unknown haunts and now they get filled up well in advance).
I do have some criticism of the guide, and I guess how people use it. First, people mostly tend to go to restaurants and guesthouses recommended in the book. I've found many places that I've enjoyed staying that are not in the book and in many cases are better than places in the guidebook (and cheaper, many places, particularly in SEA put their prices up after getting an LP inclusion). The towns are generally small enough that you can look around and also ask people who live there for their recommendations. (Most times you can `feel' when someone has no agenda in recommending a places versus someone who'd take you someone who gains to get a commission out of you going there - and the commission system is well and truly alive in Cambodia - they're not huge in $ terms but you don't want to stay in a dump when better alternatives are available and also there's the consideration that price you pay in Cambodia is not always related to the quality you get).
The other thing is often Lonely Planet uses text from previous editions (which is particularly worrying for guesthouse inclusions) and so some descriptions are a little (or a lot) out of date. While there are definitely some good places recommended there, you will often find them full of other backpackers and tourists so either you can't get a booking or there will indeed just be tones of people there which will likely detract from your experience. Restaurant and guest house recommendations, particularly in the two major cities need to be used with discretion. It's also good to spread your money around.
Some of the benefits of the book - it does clue you in to things that are very important that you otherwise would have a hard time finding out - e.g. if you take the bus from Thailand, they do slow that bus down and make the trip long and tiring as you're pre-sold for a commission to the (rotating) guesthouse they drop you off at (so you're deliberately) exhausted late at night; another useful tip was the dangerous Malaysian boats that do the Siem Reap - Phnom Penh route. You need impartial and insider advice for these kind of things because you wont necessarily get it from an average local (unless you really have their confidence and then they might tell you about stuff that sometimes doesn't get into the guidebooks - e.g. how many travelers have been killed or injured using certain types of transport like their outdated planes and some boats and other local knowledge you simply cant get from this guidebook).
For the tourist just doing the major sites, the book has extensive maps and guides to the Angkor temples and their history and layout and also Phnom Penh (which is unfortunately where most people may end their trip). The brief guide to the local language in the back will most definately help you connect with the already friendly locals. Even if you only learn please, hello and thank you, people will greatly appreciate your efforts.
The guide to some of the lesser known places is less comprehensive (eg. North, and east and some parts of the south like Campot and Kep). My friends and I were in fits of laughter at the description of Sen Monorom being like something like Switzerland! It's a LONG trip and the end result is very baron, and, unfortunately, losing lots of trees due to extensive and damaging logging. Nonetheless, I found the trips to the outlying places to be extremely rewarding. There's practically no tourists (you can have amazing trips and have entire beach to yourself for a day for less than $20) and some of the food, sights, sunsets and other experiences are simply stunning. You may however want to pass on those black delicacies they seem to enjoy tucking into on the bus... they're fried bush spiders! Cambodia does though have some of the nicest sugar cane juice I've tasted anywhere in South East Asia.
BTW if they're still using the 4 people for 3 seats in the car, just pay for the extra seat if you're doing more than 3 hours or you will find yourself in excruciating pain. Also, because it changes so often the guidebook will not be useful if you're taking an internal flight (other than the standard Phnom Penh-Siem Reap route which uses brand new planes), as some of the planes are VERY old, tires are sometimes bald, flights full (which can be a problem if you want to get back), and there have been accidents which they wont tell you about. Do your own research.
For people traveling on their own or as a backpacker I'd strongly recommend befriending a local or two as a guide. I always take some time to 'feel' the authenticity of the person approaching me and as they talk to me and that pay's huge rewards in a country where there is a hidden commission system. I've met two that I'd just take with me over the entire country next time as guides because they have extensive insider knowledge and can be invaluable if you get into trouble, especially if they relate well to other people.
Cambodia offers trips that you simply cannot do in the same way in other countries in the region because there are so many tourists, laws and other limiting factors. If you've found a great concierge (who is connected to what's happening at the ground level) or a good guide you're going to get access to trips and really deep and rich experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime. And, these are not in the guidebook, which, IMHO, is a great thing because you'll enjoy a totally unique experience and you'll get out of it in proportion to what you put in and not some off the shelf, generic and standardized `you can take your photos now' tourist experience. Sadly, in a few years time you may not be able to do this in much of South East Asia.
So grab this guide, go beyond the majors of Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville and enjoy one of the most beautiful countries in South East Asia, Cambodia. Treat your Lonely Planet as a guide and not a bible and you'll have the time of your life.
I hope you enjoy your time in Cambodia as much as I have.
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