BIKE OR TUK-TUK FROM SIEM REAP TOWN?

In town, I had looked around in the tour offices and there are many trips to Chong Kneas floating village offered. For $13 a tuk-tuk will drive you to the floating village where you will need to pay another $5 for a boat ride. If you are up for an adventure at your own pace I highly suggest the bike journey. Not only is it a great workout, being able to stop to check out sights on to the side of the road gives you a lot of freedom.

The best way to make sure you get the best deal on renting a bike in Siem Reap is by reserving your bike rental online. For just $2.49 for a day rental, this is cheaper than any of the rental shops in Siem Reap.

Book your bicycle rental: $2.49 Siem Reap Bicycle Rental

Staying in Siem Reap I decided to rent a Mountain Bike and started pedaling away from the busy pub street and surrounding areas. The searing heat immediately had me sweating and I spent the majority of the dripping in sweat, my t-shirt entirely saturated. 

Exploring with the family? Check out this helpful guide for things to do in Siem Reap with kids.

BICYCLE AND PADDLING TOUR FROM SIEM REAP

One of the most popular tours in Siem Reap (other than Angkor Wat) is a bicycle and paddling tour. I really loved heading out down to this area and it was a million times less touristy than the Angkor Wat area. It is just a look into the daily life of the people in the village.

• Embark on a 30km biking adventure of nature and temples
• Dig into lunch at a local restaurant, plus enjoy fruit, snacks and water throughout
• Listen closely to your local English speaking guide who will tell you all about the area
• Kids sized bikes are available too so the whole family can get involved

Book your tour: ‘Pedal & Paddle Tour’ from Siem Reap

MY DIY BICYCLE TOUR TO CHONG KNEAS VILLAGE FROM SIEM REAP

WAT ATWEA

Pedaling south along the river I stopped many times to explore small tracks to the side of the road and stumbled my way towards a temple called Wat Atwea. Despite several online guides claiming it was free to enter I was waved away by guards as I tried to enter. Luckily at this temple, there is much to see outside the fenced area. Monks chopped work and meditated while I wandered around the grounds inspecting the temples and watching locals throwing fishing nets in ponds.

I jumped back on the bike and headed further south on a barren stretch of road. Often at times, I couldn’t see another person behind nor in front of me. I was just pedaling in the middle of the nowhere, fields to my left and fields to my right. It was a great feeling to be all alone on an adventure only minutes from the busy streets around the markets downtown.

PHNOM KROM

My next stop was for cold water at the foot of the Phnom Krom Hill. I asked a local kid to watch my bike as I climbed the hundred or so stairs up to the Hill. At the summit, a sign pointed to a ticket office and I decided I had seen enough of the view to not desire any further incline. From the top of the stairs, I got a good insight into not only Phnom Krom but also Chong Kneas floating village. One of the best things to do in this town is to climb up to the top of the lookout and enjoy an epic Phnom Krom sunset with views of the town, temples, and farm fields. The reflection of the sunset on the water is an incredible spectacle.

My legs needed a break so I stopped for a drink at a small family-run store. The kids soon started to hang around me as I enjoyed a refreshing drink. I hung out with the kids for a while, taking photos of them, editing them and blowing up their portraits full-screen to their amazement.

They wanted to play soccer so we headed into an unused warehouse and I played goalkeeper for an hour as eight young kids battled it out, trying to impress me with their skills. I had some spare bracelets and they were all stoked with their new bling. As I left they chased me down the street.

I hopped on the back and rode the Phnom Krom loop. A 20-minute cruise through an extremely under-developed region was an experience. I waved to lots of kids, got hit in the head by a chicken and laughed at by many locals. Everyone was friendly as always and the school had just finished so I got lots of weird looks from the school kids. This is a region few tourists visit as there are no ‘attractions’ per se in the area that I came across.

CHONG KNEAS FLOATING VILLAGE

I rode a little further south and began to scope out Chong Kneas. I wanted to explore but also find a nice spot for sunset. Many of the homes gleamed in vibrant colors. The bright colors filled the town with a happy vibe despite the disorganized allotment of plots and trash scattered throughout the region.

I headed back on the bike towards town to grab some food before the golden hour arrived. A huge piece of chicken and some rice set me back $2. Street might be cheap and risky in the opinion of some travelers but if you are game it is often the tastiest meal you can get. I haven’t had a single issue with street food in almost 6 months in Southeast Asia.

The lighting was now perfect and I ventured into one strip of land that speared through the middle of the lake. One straight road led to nowhere with homes cramming the edges of the lake and the sides of the strip. It reminded me a lot of the whisky village in Luang Prabang.

SUNSET IN CHONG KNEAS FLOATING VILLAGE

Immediately I was swarmed by kids who wanted to be the center of attention every single time I looked ready to take a photo. While it seemed like a great chance to capture some photos of the kids playing they didn’t quite understand how the 55mm lens worked and came within inches of the lens looking straight back at me.

Despite this fun game of stare at each other through both sides of the camera, I managed to do my best in capturing the essence of the end of a day in Chong Kneas floating village. One-third of the kids roamed the streets naked while the others wore tattered western clothes. Parents and grandparents sat on the edges of their homes watching over the street.

I received a few glares from some of the residents in the village, but overall I was greeted with open arms and even invited back the following night for some Cambodian wine. I challenge you to find a group of kids who smile more than those in Chong Kneas. Visiting the Chong Kneas floating village was a great experience and I definitely gave the kids something to do while the sunset over the picturesque lake.

And here are a few other shots from what will go down as a great day in Siem Reap:

HOW TO GET FROM SIEM REAP TO LUANG PRABANG

I spent a short amount of time doing some brief research and quickly discovered I had a couple of options to make the journey of 1533 km. I could fly from Siem Reap to Luang Prabang for approximately $140 USD or I could make the journey by land on several buses for a total of $65. Considering I had three days to make the journey and the potential to save $75, I naively opted to travel overland by bus.

The journey would end up taking me three days and I rode in 11 different vehicles. This is what to expect if, like me, you opt for the budget route while traveling from Siem Reap to Luang Prabang.

SIEM REAP TO VEINTANE

I bought the first ticket in Siem Reap for $47, which was supposed to be a 17-hour journey. It would get me 1203km to Vientiane, a city on the Mekong River and the Laos border. At 7 am a man picked me up from my hostel and on a motorbike, he took me to a small shop to wait for a van. Half an hour later the van drove picked me up and drove me to Krong Stung Treng.

It was in Krong Stung Treng that I asked the vendor at what time I would arrive in Vientiane. To my surprise he said 7 am in the morning. After an interesting discussion it seemed, there was nothing to do other than to accept the 7-hour add-on of time to my trip. He drove me to the bus station where I waited half an hour and boarded a new van.

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CROSSING THE BORDER

This van drove me all the way to the Cambodian/Laos border. The driver took our passports, had us fill out the necessary forms, and dealt with all of the processing for us. Several people in our van decided to do it themselves as they didn’t want to get ripped off. In the end, they saved $2 for their hassles. The cost of the visa for Laos differs depending on what country you are from. For me, the whole thing cost $40 no strings attached although a Canadian in our van had to pay $47. It seemed pretty standard to me in comparison to Vietnam and Cambodia, which were $50 and $30 respectively.

We walked over the border 10 steps and a new van picked us up on the other side. We drove to Don Det and dropped off half of the passengers in the van. Two of us remained and we felt like kings spreading out in the van.

I had been listening to a podcast that involved Mexicans telling stories and recounting their experience of hopping the border into the US. It put my 24-hour journey into perspective and I didn’t dare complain.

I arrived at Pakse bus station and was told to wait two hours for the bus to depart for Vientiane. To my relief, the bus was a double-decker sleeper bus. It sounds comfortable but in reality, it is a 5ft long bed, which is about as wide as a single bed. Oh, and you share it with a total stranger.

The first three hours were pretty uncomfortable but I got lucky as the guy sharing my bed departed at an earlier stop. With the bed all to myself, I then managed to get a few solid naps in before arriving in Vientiane.

As I looked around at my options at the bus station, the sun was just beginning to light up the sky. It seemed 30,000 Kip or $4 USD was the going fare for tourists to be transported in a jeepney to the city center.

VIENTIANE FOR THE NIGHT

I arrived at my hostel pretty weary-eyed and left my bag in the lobby before taking one of their free bikes out to explore the town. This is one of the benefits of taking the overland. I had one day to explore Vientiane, which I wouldn’t have otherwise. The city is right on the Mekong River and on the other side of the wide stretch of flowing water in Thailand. I hung out at the markets and watched the sunset over Thailand while sitting on a wall in Laos. That was a pretty unusual experience and one I won’t forget.

I paid for accommodation that night in Vientiane and bought a ticket to travel to Luang Prabang for the next morning at 7 am. Although there is another option if you are feeling up for it. You can save your second night of accommodation in a row by taking the sleeper bus that night. I decided a good night’s sleep would be worth it after the long day of travel previously.

VIENTIANE TO LUANG PRABANG

At 7 am a van picked me up and took me to the bus station. A big bus with two seats to myself, this was more like it. This bus took us through some winding roads, overlooking some stunning mountainous scenery and small villages. The ticket even included lunch at a small restaurant (Don’t expect a menu or silver service). A choice between chicken/lemongrass Pho style soup or rice, chicken, and vegetable plate kept everyone happy. Aside from a few small fees to use toilets along the way there were really no other costs to included.

In Cambodia I traveled to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. I concentrated on capturing everyday moments in markets, villages and on the streets. I enjoyed the Angkor Wat complex and learnt so much at S21 museum and the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh.

All of the photos were taken with my [easyazon_link identifier=”B00PX8CNCM” locale=”US” tag=”journeyera-20″]Sony Alpha a7IIK Mirrorless Digital Camera[/easyazon_link], which can be found [easyazon_link identifier=”B00PX8CNCM” locale=”US” tag=”journeyera-20″]HERE[/easyazon_link].

For the majority of the portraits and street photography I used my [easyazon_link identifier=”B01575YKUI” locale=”US” tag=”journeyera-20″]Sony 55mm, 1.8 FE lens[/easyazon_link]. I really love this lens for low-light and portraiture photography.

CAMBODIA TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY – PHNOM PENH

The first series of photos are took from a moving Tuk-Tuk as we weaved in and out of cars and motorbikes on the busy streets of Phnom Penh. Shooting from a moving vehicle is always tough. With only a second or too to compose the shot it can be very hit and miss. I try and bump up my shutter as high as practical and do quite a bit of panning. Another tip that helps is to watch down the street 50-100 yards as that’s where your next shot is going to come from most likely. Therefore if you spot an interesting scene you can semi-compose it before you even arrive. These were my favorite photos from our 15 minute Tuk-Tuk drive in Phnom Penh.

I visited the Russian Market in Phnom Penh, in particular the meat and vegetable sector of the market. To view the entire photo-blog post from the Russian Market CLICK HERE. After our short Tuk-Tuk drive I arrived as the sun was setting and although we were surrounded by building it gave the scene a nice golden glow, perfect for avoiding shadows and shooting some portraits. My aim was to capture the hustle of the workers and many seemed drained after a long day of working in the market.

CAMBODIA TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY – SIEM REAP

I had arrived in Siem Reap and decided to head to the night markets of which there are plenty. This is a situation where the low-light capability of the [easyazon_link identifier=”B00PX8CHO6″ locale=”US” tag=”journeyera-20″]Sony Alpha a7II[/easyazon_link] really delivers with it’s built in 5-axis stabilization. In conjunction with the [easyazon_link identifier=”B00FYOF61K” locale=”US” tag=”journeyera-20″]Sony 55mm F1.8 Lens[/easyazon_link], I am able to shoot inside the market, handheld even in darker areas.

The temples of Angkor Wat were amazing but a little bit of a challenge to photograph. The extreme heat, immense crowds and time of day I visited all played against me. Having said that I didn’t take too many photos and enjoyed wandering through the ruins of an ancient civilization. Sunrise at Angkor Wat is incredibly intense. Thousands of people crowd around the ponds in front of the temple hours before the sunrise, jockeying for position. I arrived as the sun was rising and the opportunist in me found a small crack in the crowd to shoot a classic reflection shot.

My favorite part of the trip was visiting Chong Kneas and Phnom Krom after riding a bicycle 10km from Downtown Siem Reap. I made the journey twice and loved hanging out and playing soccer with the same kids both times. Chong Kneas is a small village on the water’s edge. Most of the houses are propped up on stilts and some are floating entirely. I wrote a full blog post about the experience.

And here are a few other photos from my bicycle travels around Siem Reap.

This week in Siem Reap we got out and saw the temples at Angkor Wat complex. It is the largest religious monument in the world and was constructed as a Hindu Temple of God for the Khmer Empire. Sunrise is incredibly popular with thousands of tourists gathering around a pond to take reflection photos of the temple.

I also visited Ta Prohm Temple, which was the film location for Tomb Raider. Trees have enveloped entire buildings, strangling their walls with tangled roots. I spent a lot of time at the temples trying to visualize people walking around inside the temples as old as 1186 A.D.

Jorden and I made some really cool friends at the hostel. This meant each night we would head out to the popular ‘Pub Street’. Beers are 50 cents throughout the town and there are plentiful bars and nightclubs. One of our favorite spots was a small street with about 20 small street carts. Each cart was a portable bar with spirits and mixed drinks. Each cart had an iPad and huge speakers so that your group could choose the music you listened to.

I headed back out to Chong Kneas with our small group of friends. We played soccer, volleyball and other games with the kids who love playing on the street. The sunset was much better than my journey to the village last week and I spent some time shooting in the village again.

Huge mention this week goes out to two girls from New York and one dude from Kansas who made our time in Siem Reap so memorable.

Tomorrow morning I drive to Vientiane, an 18 hour drive I am dreading. Hope you all had a great week.

PHNOM PENH

My first outing was to the Russian Market in Phnom Penh. Click the link to view the full blog post. I was originally looking for the large undercover market but stumbled across the local grocery trade market. As golden hour arrived, I spent my time photographing the interactions between vendors and customers. I watched young children dutifully helping their parents. Often a child will do a task and receive no recognition at all from the parent, who is run off their feet trying to complete orders. The children don’t seem to look for recognition in the same way many kids need a pat on the back or pocket money for doing chores or helping their parents in Australia or America. This is a huge generalization and I don’t like those at all so I’m not suggesting all children need a pat on the back but it is highly noticeable that children in Cambodia accept helping with chores and the business as part of life not a favor.

The killing fields and genocide museum in Phnom Penh were overwhelming and I learnt so much about the dark history of Cambodia and the lack of international support they received. It is a credit to the people of Cambodia that I would consider this the land of smiles. Even the vendors and tuk-tuk drivers take a rejection well and will laugh and joke with you thereafter. It’s amazing that so much horror years ago during the genocide isn’t reflected in the atmosphere on the streets.

After Phnom Penh I caught a six hour bus up to Siem Reap, my home for two weeks. Im staying at a hostel with a pool, bar and wifi for $4 a night called the Downtown Siem Reap Hostel. (Not sponsored)

SIEM REAP

Huge markets surround the district and I have tried to explore all corners of the markets meeting many friendly faces and coming across some unusual items. If you follow my Instagram Story (Live daily updated story) you would’ve seen a basket of raw frogs.

My favorite day in Siem Reap so came when I rented a mountain bike for $3 and rode south, following the river. Along the way I drove the backroads, coming across village after village. The most remarkable of those were the villages built on stilts above the shallow water.

I sat down for a drink and a reprieve from the searing heat. I was totally saturated from sweat and needed a rest. Two kids started hanging around and I took some photos for them, uploaded them, edited them and showed them the result within minutes. They loved it and kept bringing more friends to have a turn. They ended up taking me to a warehouse where we played barefoot soccer. Me and a bunch of six year old kids kicking away for an hour. I gave them a few spare bracelets I had and they had a great afternoon.

I then headed down to the floating villages for golden hour and did my best to go unnoticed while trying to capture the atmosphere of the village. Impossible. At times it was like a scene from the Pied Piper as twenty or more kids followed me around like the best security entail you’ve ever seen. About one third of them were butt naked without a care in the world.

Entering a village like this you will often have to purchase some treats for the kids as an entrance fee of sorts. I never pay to take photos but sometimes it is just the easy thing to do and the kids all enjoy it. I opted not to at a village earlier in the day and one of the fathers brandished a huge stick and started yelling at me. I took a few more photos then scurried out of there. Photographing people and children can sometimes be an edgy situation and you just have to take it as it comes, be respectful and ask where necessary. Although you have to have almost no shame and a lot of balls to walk up to many of the scenes and people and just take the photo.

This next week my good old buddy Jorden is linking back up with me again in Siem Reap. we are going to visit lots of temples and learn even more about the history of Cambodia.

I hope you all had a great week and got the opportunity to head and do some exploring!

Mopeds buzzed up and down the narrow path between stores. I could hardly walk a few steps before being bumped into by a motorbike or a people hurrying around in a frenzy trying to collect their fruit, vegetables and meats.

The vivid colors of the market blew me away and if they didn’t the rugged nature of local practices would’ve. Women sat cross-legged atop tables covered in meats they had expertly sliced with cleavers. Western food safety is out of the window in a market like this.

Small children tried their best to help their mothers amidst the craziness of the bustling crowds.

Despite the vibrant colors and overload of the senses I couldn’t help but notice the daily grind shining through many of the vendors. It was the end of a long day and the struggle of fatigue could be seen on the faces of many.

I was welcomed and received many smiles in what was a predominantly Cambodian environment despite fashioning my camera. As with everywhere I have experienced so far in Southeast Asia, the people make the place and this market is full of energy, vibrance and hard work.

All photos were taken on my Sony A7ii with a 55mm Zeiss 1.8