Adventurous Kate contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
Three years ago, I fell madly in love with Cambodia. For three years, it occupied a top five spot on my list of favorite countries.
So when it came time to go back to Southeast Asia, I knew that Cambodia would be a mandatory stop. I was beyond excited to return to this wonderful country.
If you’ve been following on Facebook, you know that things didn’t go as expected.
I used to ADORE Cambodia.
I first visited Cambodia in December 2010, and eventually spent about seven weeks in Cambodia total. I visited several different places in the country: Phnom Penh, Kampot, Kep, Sihanoukville, Siem Reap, and the countryside outside Phnom Penh.
My favorite thing about Cambodia was the people — the kind, warmhearted Khmer people who greet you with smiles and waves wherever you go, who take you into their homes and treat you like a member of the family, who would give you the shirt off their backs if you asked.
My memories of Cambodia are happy ones, like the night a family invited us to celebrate the end of harvest in the countryside with them.
Did I have any problems? Yes, I did. My friend and I got robbed while skinny-dipping in Sihanoukville. But I didn’t blame anyone for that but myself. We were asking for it.
So please know that that the following words don’t come from a place of deep-rooted hatred. It breaks my heart that a country I loved so much has turned out this way.
Cambodia has changed — and not for the better.
Since the beginning of my trip, I’ve been involved in what has felt like a continuous crime wave. The country that I once regarded as rough in some places but largely peaceful has turned into a place that leaves me feeling unnerved and uncomfortable.
Here’s a rundown on what has happened:
Bag Snatchings in Phnom Penh
When I got into my first tuk-tuk in Phnom Penh, our driver warned me that men on motorbikes sometimes snatch bags from tuk-tuks, and he promptly closed the fabric on the sides of the tuk-tuk, sealing open space off as much as possible. I had never heard this from a tuk-tuk driver in Cambodia on my earlier visits, but it made sense.
To my surprise, I got the same warning again and again. These muggings were common.
And then it happened — my good friend S. was in a tuk-tuk with a friend (incidentally, his friend was one of my readers) and a motorbike driver reached in and pulled out S.’s friend’s bag.
S. is very athletic and vaulted out of the tuk-tuk, chasing down the thief. He and the thief fought over the bag and S. eventually punched his teeth out. Soon it became clear that the thief was part of a gang of five, and S.’s tuk-tuk driver joined in the fight, pulling off his belt to whip the accomplices.
S. got his friend’s bag back, and by that point, people were watching — some even videotaping — and the military police got involved.
S. later got a phone call from the military police. The thief was probably going to die, they told him, because he didn’t have health insurance and couldn’t afford healthcare. S. was shocked by this news, because the thief didn’t appear to be gravely injured. He now thinks that the thief was beaten more brutally after he left. The thief eventually died.
S. was featured on the news in Cambodia as the man who killed a bag snatcher. He was getting recognized on the street as far away as Siem Reap.
You need to get out of Cambodia, I urged him. What if his family comes after you? He has since left the country safely.
Extortion in Kampot
I decided to take a half-day tour to some of the sights around Kampot: salt flats, burned-out French mansions, Muslim fishing villages, a pepper plantation.
Early in the trip, on the road from Kampot to Kep, my phone bounced out of the tuk-tuk.
The man who picked it up would not give it back to me for less than $200.
I completely take responsibility for dropping my phone. It was an incredibly dumb move. I guard my phone closely and haven’t lost or broken it in years — but this was a moment of idiocy on my part combined with some bad luck.
As soon as the man picked up the phone, he began taking it to different shops and seeing how much they would pay him for it. $250 was what he was offered, he told our tuk-tuk driver over the phone. He’d “help us out” and give it back to us for just $200.
I wanted to involve the police, but having had bad experiences with the police in the developing world in the past, I opted to just pay the man and chalk it up to an expensive lesson.
Sihanoukville’s New Edge
While in Kampot, I chatted with a friend who has visited Cambodia off and on for years. We chatted about Sihanoukville, and he told me about the latest developments — that the Road to Serendipity has been paved and that Monkey Republic has reopened after being destroyed by a fire.
But the changes weren’t all positive.
Sihanoukville’s got an edge now, he told us. And not a good edge.
He described recent incidents in Sihanoukville — a woman was raped on the beach; a man was robbed on the beach. But the most striking story was that five different women got their drinks spiked while he was there.
Drink spikings happen all over Southeast Asia and the world, from frat houses to exclusive clubs. Most of the time, you can avoid spikings if you’re hyper-aware of your drink, but truthfully, you won’t be able to avoid them completely unless you have both a lid and a trustworthy bartender. But still, five different incidents — five different REPORTED incidents — within a short time frame, in my opinion, casts a serious reflection on Sihanoukville today as a whole.
Mugged in Siem Reap
Our friend S., the very same guy who fought off the bag-snatcher in Phnom Penh, was mugged by a gang of children in Siem Reap. He didn’t even have any valuables showing — one of the children reached into his pocket and stole his phone.
After running after the kid and smacking him, S. got his phone back. The children retaliated by throwing glass bottles at him, cutting his feet.
Others Confirm
On the minibus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, the girl sitting next to us told us that minutes after leaving the airport in Phnom Penh, she saw a motorbike driver rip a backpack right off a tourist’s back.
And while this incident didn’t affect tourists directly, my friends Dalene and Pete witnessed the recent Phnom Penh protest where police opened fire on unarmed workers, killing one woman.
I’ve also heard lots of stories about drug users being blackmailed by locals threatening to turn them in to the police. My opinion on that hasn’t changed since the beginning: if you’re dumb enough to 1) do drugs in a developing country 2) get caught doing drugs in a developing country, you deserve all of the consequences, whether it’s going to jail or getting blackmailed for hundreds of dollars.
Doing drugs publicly makes you a target. Period. This has always happened throughout Southeast Asia and other developing countries, and for that reason, I don’t consider it a factor in this analysis.
Cambodia’s Defenders
I have several friends who have fallen as deeply in love with Cambodia as I did that first time. Many of them are expats who have lived here long-term; others are travelers who found themselves returning to Cambodia again and again. And they haven’t been happy with what they’ve heard from me and Mario.
Here is a selection of what I’ve heard recently:
Bad things happen everywhere, not just Cambodia. Yes, I’m aware of that. The one time I was mugged was in front of my apartment in Boston.
Lots of places have worse crime than Cambodia, even in Southeast Asia. That may be, but I’m not comparing places. I’m talking about Cambodia.
If you have common sense, you’ll be fine. Often. But common sense is not a cure-all for anything bad that could happen to you. Some places need more preparation than just common sense.
Cambodia is in a tough position. It’s not just poverty, but poverty on top of corruption, domestic violence, no safety net, and painful recent history. Indeed, it is in a very tough position — tougher than anywhere else I’ve been. But just because it can be explained doesn’t make it any less true.
As technology becomes more widespread, more Khmers are learning how little they have compared to the rest of the world. Indeed, that’s true, and that must undoubtedly be a factor toward escalating crimes against tourists in the country.
Cambodia used to be a destination for serious travelers only, but these days is also popular with affluent inexperienced travelers and partying backpackers, my friend Michael Turtle astutely pointed out. Adding this to the previous points is like igniting a powder keg.
But if Cambodia loses the economic benefits of tourism, it will descend into chaos. That’s very true, and losing tourism would be the worst thing to happen to Cambodia. But I’m not going to omit critical information from my readers for the sake of keeping Cambodia’s tourism numbers up.
Let me be clear: I completely understand my friends’ points. Before this trip, I myself was one of Cambodia’s staunchest defenders!
But things have changed. I’m not here to demonize or destroy Cambodia — I’m just here to tell you what it was like for me to travel in Cambodia in late 2013.
My View on Cambodia
After the incidents of this trip, I can say without a doubt that Cambodia has changed since I was last here three years ago.
An isolated crime, or even multiple crimes, is one thing. But in Cambodia my friends and I experienced a series of ongoing incidents that altogether end up painting a pattern markedly different than a few years ago.
I won’t go so far to say that I feel unsafe here. I will say that I am no longer comfortable here, and have felt constantly on edge.
I even changed my travel plans. I was planning to visit the temple of Preah Vihear, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but upon hearing that there are no longer group tours from Siem Reap and that I would need to hire a private driver, I declined. I don’t feel comfortable being on my own with a driver in a very rural part of Cambodia.
Of all the questions that I get from readers, most of them are about Southeast Asia. Of all the readers that follow in my footsteps, most do so in Southeast Asia. Even though I’ve spent much more time in Europe, Southeast Asia is what I am best known for and the region on which people seek my guidance.
For that reason, I know my opinions on Southeast Asia carry weight. Writing a negative post about Cambodia could result in some of my readers — maybe two, maybe a dozen, who knows? — to skip Cambodia and spend more time in Laos or Vietnam or Thailand instead. And for that reason, I need to be very careful about what I write.
Should You Go to Cambodia?
YES. Despite its troubles, you absolutely should go.
Cambodia is one of the places that I have long believed all travelers must visit, because it shows you the reality of a country that is still raw from decades of blood, war, genocide, chaos, and death — yet despite this, the people will be some of the kindest people you will ever meet. In addition to that, it’s got so many cultural treasures, like Angkor, and nice beaches and peaceful towns and delicious food, all for dirt-cheap prices.
BUT — Cambodia is no longer the of-COURSE-it’s-safe! destination that I once lauded. Make no mistake, it’s not Somalia, but visiting Cambodia does require a greater level of caution than other countries in Southeast Asia, just as visiting Barcelona requires a greater level of caution than, say, Reykjavik.
Do visit Cambodia, but be vigilant throughout your visit. Hold on to your bags. Stay in lodging that locks properly. Lock up your valuables. Keep your purse zipped up. Don’t pay drivers in full in advance. Avoid isolating situations when possible. Watch your drink like a hawk. Don’t get too drunk.
Make sure you get travel insurance before you go to Cambodia – it will cover many of the things that might go wrong. I never travel without it and always use World Nomads.
And for travelers who are cautious and street-smart, you will find Cambodia to be an enormously rewarding destination.
Hi. My family members have spent over 6 weeks in Cambodia and r still there coming home soon. They have had a fabulous time there and in Vietnam..staying w friends from USA living there and a safe resort in Vietnam.
I had family visiting from oversees to NY where friends were mugged and gagged in there hotell and left bound to a chair and left w their underwear on. Seattle is full of crime 24/7..and guilty ones gets away..plenty of gross murders in USA – AND around the world.
I am sad for these gentle people that they have to resort to crime to live one more day.
My family have sent wonderful pictures with people-nature- and sights to see that are wonderful.
My self I would not go there but I might not be safe in Chicago either.The whole entire world is in chaos.
Going to Cambodia next week. Thanks for the warning.
http://www.sky-clad.blogspot.com
Cambodia didn’t change Kate. You just had better luck the first time you were there. Also, you were probably blinded from all of the realities of Cambodia during your first stay. I was in Cambodia in late 2013 and it was wonderful. In fact, I’m moving back there for good next month. Can’t wait. Another thing, people who use drugs in developing countries aren’t stupid. It’s just that the only ones who get caught ARE the stupid ones. In 2013, while you were in Cambodia having a hell of a time, I was there for four months straight binging on crystal meth without any problems whatsoever. If anyone had tried blackmailing me I would have just laughed at them. If you’re street smart you won’t have a problem. Hell, I even sold weed for a whole year straight while I was living in Qingdao. As long as I never sold it to any Chinese people, only other foreigners, I didn’t have anything to worry about. If you flaunt your habit then you’re an idiot and yes, you deserve to get caught.
Just back from Cambodia. Never experienced any of the above.
I am in Cambodia right now. I am a 63yr old woman and am traveling solo for a month. I keeping a blog of my travels which is being posted online in The Province.
http://blogs.theprovince.com/author/travellingmom1951/
I have had no problems tho I have heard of increased crime in recent years. My thoughts are the same as much that has been posted and as a matter of fact, I just addressed safety in my last blog. Crime can happen everywhere. You have to be street smart and practice basic common sense. I so glad I made this trip and Have no regrets.
I must have visited Cambodia around the same time and I also changed my travel plans after feeling iffy a couple of times.
Although I wasn’t victim to any serious crime, I made way too many bad experiences in too short of a time.
That included being ripped off in all kinds off ways, which may be a pattern in touristy areas everywhere, but Cambodia took the cake.
In fact I can’t recall any troubles in Thailand in 3 years, but then again I usually stayed far from the touristy places there.
When I arrived in Siam Reap the TukTuk driver stopped by a rather fancy hotel to drop the other guys, where we witnessed some altercation on front of what seemed to be a big brothel.
The driver answered my question wether it is safe to roam the streets in Seam Reap especially after dark with a clear “No” 🙁
My Spiderman senses gave me the same warnings during most of the trip and I decided to cancel my plans to go to Bathambang by motorcycle, especially after I read some reports on the internet.
I am really not a anxious person and so in Pnom Phen I went far from the touristy areas and actually received the nicest hospitality there.
But – pardon my harsh words – the impression I got from Cambodia was: This country is f*cked up.
I met some very nice Cambodians but there were too many bad things and characters.
It isn’t necessarily the poverty but the fact that there are still many old KR and weapons around and that the country apparently bled out culturally due to the genocide.
Let’s balance this with a nice story:
On the bus trip from Laos to SR we stopped at some place so that we could have some dinner and after everybody had their stomachs filled the girls at the restaurant had some noodles themselves and invited meet to join for free.
It’s a little things but that’s the kind of friendliness and hospitality I experienced in SEA usually.
Maybe you need to go more off the beaten track but then again the chances of looking into barrel of gun are too high,
Totally disagree with your blog…
Cambodia is indeed a country where poverty is rampant but it doesn’t mean it’s unsafe. Cambodian are actually the most kind, friendly and helpful people I’ve met.
The most shoking things (with poverty) are the high level of disabled people, mostly because they stepped on mines and also because the chimicals weapons secret testing during Viet Nam war which made some disabled born babies whom are now adult.
Like everywhere in the world you have to use your common sense, not beeing naive and beeing aware of your suroundings and it something you probably haven’t done. What the hell did you do there with an Iphone and hand bag ??? A smart phone means about 1 to 2 years of Cambodian average salary… Would you go out in your own country with $40000 worth of item in your pocket ??? Probably no, so why doing there what you wouldn’t do at home? SE Asia in general is not recommended to show your wealth and looking like an average person it’s often the best way to don’t attract troubles.
You mentioned the police brutality but foreigners are totally untouched and by sliding a dollar in their hand will solve everythings… Yes it’s a very corrupt country but a cop earns about $30 a month so they have no choice :/
Tuk Tuk drivers are so much fun, bars are cool, locals so friendly and smilling all the time, girls are pretty and it’s so easy to get new friends and hanging out all night long boozing and smoking.
Cambodia still the SE Asia country which prices didn’t rise and all still damn cheap. I went there 7 weeks years ago and I will definitely be back there soon. Only bad thing… food is crap… good time to start diet then.
Happy travelling 🙂
I just got mugged last week during my stay in Sihanoukville. It was 10.30 AM in the morning, and the location was near the Serendipity pier (about 30m from the last restaurant on the right side which has many big stones). The muggler dragged me down to the stone & choked me. I lost my phone and a sum of $. I kind of hate Sihanoukville right now (except the awesome Koh Rong Sanloem Island), and want to go to Vietnam as fast as possible. I won’t ever walking alone again in Cambodia.
We (a group of 4 seniors from India) have just done a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. On my return I decided to read up blogs on Cambodia and happened to read this blog. Our trip to Cambodia was one of the loveliest trips done in a while with absolutely no untoward incident to relate. Had I read up on these blogs, we might very well have decided not to do this trip, for safety is always upper most in one’s mind when undertaking a trip. To be honest, we have never encountered such friendly people whilst travelling anywhere else – simple, kind people who despite their poverty, seemed so welcoming. We never felt unsafe – the hotels we stayed in organised our tours, the tuk-tuks we hired for our local sight seeing were safe, reliable and always arrived on time to take us to the next destination. A poverty ridden country yes but absolutely wonderful. Both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh were great experiences
Hi
I currently live in Cambodia, and have been here for a year. I first visited in 2011 and agree that the country has changed. I can definitely say that living is, obviously, a very different experience than visiting: ex-pats generally have a “do not fuck with me” vibe that works wonders for deflecting street kids. You move around less, so there are less opportunities to get scammed. I never ride in tuk-tuks because I have a bicycle/take motodops/walk everywhere.
That being said.
In the last year of living here, only two “bad/scary” things have happened to me:
First, Siem Reap has a serious, serious problem with trafficked Vietnamese street kids–these kids carry a baby (who never gets older, because they get different babies) and ask for powdered milk from a specific shop. It’s a scam. I’ve warned tourists about the scam (which I knew was a potentially disastrous mistake, but I was drunk and in a bad mood) and was attacked by the kids. Was rescued by a tuk-tuk driver who dropped me home for free, braving the disastrous pot-holed road all the way to my house. Nobody had ever driven me down that road because it is so awful, and this man did it for free.
Second, I was robbed recently while walking home. Khmer New Year is a holiday when Khmers leave the cities for their (usually rural) hometowns. As city slickers, they are expected to bring shiny new things and money. My bag got stolen when I was walking home with a male friend (I’m a girl) who lives nearby and didn’t want me walking alone. Anyways, my bag was knifed off of my shoulder (I was unharmed!) and they drove off. Luckily for them I’m broke, so all they got was an iphone 3, $2 and molding camelbak water bottle (which I’m heartbroken about losing, to be honest).
Also, you were skinny dipping in Sihanoukville?! What a ridiculous and disrespectful thing to do. Ex-pats (of the non sex-pat variety) generally avoid Sihanoukville because it’s unsafe, run by russian mobs, dirty, loud, full of sex-tourists, gambling etc etc is basically Cambodia’s Pattaya. Something like 65% of tourists get robbed in Sihanoukville.
It’s true that you need to be careful in Cambodia–however, the risk of being shot by a policeman here is SIGNIFICANTLY lower than anywhere in America, partly because policemen have to buy their own bullets and are too poor to do so. However, if you remove alcohol from the equation, Cambodia is no more dangerous than any other place I have lived. The people are incredibly friendly, and will generally bend over backwards to help. I once inexplicably fell while walking, sober, in broad daylight, and managed to cut my knee to the bone. I realized what I’d done, probably looked like I’d seen a ghost, and before I knew what was happening, a tuk-tuk driver was helping me into his tuk-tuk and brought me to a clinic, waited for me to get stitches, and dropped me home. He didn’t charge me, and promised to take me to my daily appointments. For every bad and scary thing about Cambodia, there are ten people who will make you feel like a monster for ever thinking badly about the country. I love Cambodia, and it has become home. It’s a lot safer than Baltimore, that’s for sure.
Spent 1 month in Cambodia 2 years ago. First few minutes in the country my tuk tuk driver was doing the same, making sure my bag was out of site. I never had one problem for a second. I’m heading back to Cambodia in 2 days.. I’ll see if anything has changed..
my theory? Your first visit, you were more on guard, nothing happened, and the second trip you totally took your eye off the ball. What were you doing with a phone worth over $200 in Cambodia? Cambodia was never a totally safe place in my view. On my first visit in 2008 I was warned of bag snatches just after arriving. Thats not new. People getting on a moto with a drunk driver?? What happened to taking 20 seconds to suss the guy out to make sure he was coherent / not crazy? You got complacent, and btw, tourist numbers have increased massively in SE Asia in general. You have guys going to SE Asia on their first foreign holiday nowadays, and are totally unprepared. They think they are in some kind of pacifist paradise. Wake up. Cambodia is not ‘gone bad’. You have gone soft.
I am in Phnom Penh right now, it’s my second day. After reading some horror stories about how dangerous PP is I cancelled my second night here. And I believe now it was unnecessary. Of course, I’m being very careful, I carry all my belongings in my zipped pockets. I don’t go out after dark as I’m a solo female traveller. But so far I didn’t feel uneasy even once, most of the time locals mind their own business. I’m careful when taking pictures with my iPhone 6, still managed to take loads of photos and no one stole it yet. To be honest, I felt more unsafe in Paris and hassled more often than in PP or Ho Chi Mingh. I’m taking tuk tuk to the bus station soon and it is going to be almost a midnight. Fingers crossed nothing happens.
Cambodia has become a pathetic country, thanks to you colonial master, everywhere you go, your spread poverty and misery, see all the country in ex-Indochina.
I will not blame you because you have nothing to do with it, but damn Cambodia would have been so much better if the fucking western country would not have colonised.
But I recognise that the Cambodian people are way too weak and easily influenceable, sometime i am ashamed to be cambodgian.
I don’t understand why you guys are making my country sound like a shithole. Everyone acting like the U.S is perfect. You guys talk about petty theft, rape and other small crimes. Tell me one place that hasn’t had those things. Every month for the past year I’ve heard of shootings and bombings in the U.S,Terrorist in the middle east. But don’t go to Cambodia because you might get your bag snatched. Give me a break. You can say that about any country. Everyone needs to open there eyes. Watch CNN
Amazing. I’ve travelled these countries with no problems but maybe because I have respect for the locals. What kind of idiot attacks someone over material possessions that they were probably stealing because they were too poor for health insurance? I hope people like you read this article and get put off going to Cambodia because you’re exactly the type of tourists ruining this country and others surrounding. Thumbs up silly falong
the crime is bad in Cambodia. does everybody get affected by it ..no.
doesnt matter if everybody else gets affected by it .it only matters if u do. ive met the most savvy travelers that have been attacked there and complete novices that have gotten away clean.
the biggest problem is the locals and then after that the locals when were talking about crime excluding deaths from suicides or partying too hard. u look at blog about a barang death in cambo and u never see a contrite comment from a local. there was one lone post I saw about a yank that killed some tuk tuk guy that allegedly molested his friend or gfs kid and all the locals got their panties in bunch. there was no shortage of outrage from locals and as far as im concerned. the same ones that cant b bothered when a foreigner meets their end in the most brutal way by a local ..the yank did the right thing ..hes a hero as much as s was for getting the purse back . im pretty sure s had plenty of problems before he left the country even though he was completey in the right.
that’s all u need to know about the locals..
the biggest problem apart from the locals are the idiots that talk about the kind and warm locals..theyre not .theyre greedy monkeys in general that think that foreighner owe them some thing despite the fact that the only reason they have what little they do have is only because of barang and their liberal governments ..theyre generally not ur friends and they don’t care about u. .kindness is a means to and end for Cambodians when it comes to barang. ur just an atm to them. and if theyre not in that category there still nothing to gain to treat them any different.
as long as u fully understand that in every way and in every situation then ul b fine in Cambodia.
u get the foreigners that always want to b down with the locals and hang out with the locals..
u don’t..trust me ..u don’t . u don’t meet that many experienced really experienced travelers that say .that. im talking about the ones that stopped counting the countries they’ve been to.. a long time ago. its bc they’ve had that heuristic experience and they know
and yes before I get a dozen responses from a dozen progressive white girls about Cambodia .yes I know u think theyre nice.. of course theyre nice t o u. .theyre trying to get into ur pants..of course only men would know that bc u know what the first thing they’ll usually ask when they become close with a western man is ?.its about having sex with western women and how they can get in on it..particularly white women. yes I m sure u want proof..no u don’t..just take my word for it unless being ravaged by 10 100lb sweaty smelly tuk tuk drivers with breath that smells like lok lak is ur fantasy .
women generally are not arbiters of crime in western nations let alone the developing world. men don’t fight with u guys on the street or jump u in clubs. .they fight with men .. at any given time in any given country its men that are exposed to the seedy side of nation not female backpackers unless exposed to it by a male friend. after all it was s that got into the fight to get back the purse, not the girls. u guys are just bystanders. u simply don’t get to the place men do good or bad. that’s side of a country unfortuntaly is closed off to u. b happy ur just bystanders. if we just had to deal with having sex with people we didn’t pariculary want a few times we consider it better of that getting jumped by 30 jealous Khmers or hacked to death.
people are desparate everywhere ..in certain places they will resort to violence or taking what u got to alleviate it
ive been broke before ..I would have resorted to suicide rather than taking from or hurting some one else..
that with inadequate law enforcement creates the problem.
its not that the criminality is that overwhelming or superior in a place like brasil or cambo..its that the police are basically toothless monkeys that enable It or profit from it. its not like in other western countries where u need training or degrees or actually requirments to b a police officer. it takes nothing to b a police officer in most developing countries ..in fact in many nations its that job u take if u havent a pot to piss in. obviously more a recipe for entrepreneurial enterprise than public safety.
one reader made a comment about would u get into a drunk tuk tuk at home
there would b no drunk tuk tuk at home ..is illegal.. in ny he would have been arrested by the tlc police if not ultimately by the nypd.. and things devolved before that system check kicked in …there would b legal remedy for the victim or their family afterwards. but then again that over regulation which is why westerners go to places where they can smoke weed and drive drunk or make a simple mistake without the possibility of the judicial and corrections systems ruing their lives
there is no such thing in Cambodia at any level
its completely personal responsibility as opposed to the government watching it for u.
another worth noting about cambo and other developing countries relative to western nations is the attitude towards foreigners re the authorities and the rule of law. in the us for example if an American gets into some incident with a foreign national there will b two people and the law. the authorities will show no partiality for a local (to the dismay of an American) when victimized by a foreigner. the law is the law. in contrast to a place like cambo u as the foreigner are wrong ..even if the authorities have the perpetrator dead to rights. whether at a restaurant and they brought u the completely wrong dish, or in a parking dispute, a car accident or an assault or other violent crime, the Cambodian will have a hundred bystanders who probably didn’t even witness what happened and the authorities on their side. all their personal issues and grievances with foreigners like jealousy will come u and u will b the object of it. in the case of cambo and a nationalistic perspective it will b one of the few time they have to feel like a world power instead of the anus of the dev world and u best believe they will take full advantage of it.
another reader made a comment about violence ..yes other countries are violent…. like the us.
but a school rampage is very different from what happens in cambo..
the character of the violence that foreigners face there is over money and some local simply wanting what u have.
im far more concerned with the criminal element in a place like ny. it get to a far more sophisticated and professional level. and if some one attempts to take something from me in ny it wont b a one hundred pound Asian guy with a stick . itll b a far larger person and larger or not they’ll usually have a gun..but my fear is balanced by the police..
the guy with the stick in an of himself in not a problem for most western males. its the fact that his 50 friends will show up and there will b no police, that’s the problem.
I know that crook is far more worried about the nypd than they are of me.
no such thing in cambo.
the violence is more a function of useless authorities rather than criminal activity . in the west either people don’t commit those crimes bc theyre afraid of getting shot by the police or they commit the same crime and instead and get caught.
yes I have been to Cambodia..i was last there last week and have been coming there for more than a decade. ive used it as a base any time im in the region . y u ask?not bc of the locals or the food..
both are crap..bc its cheap..
I’m going to Cambodia next month and really need to watch out after reading this post! Yes, be critical but still to be careful, I reckon.
Gosh, sorry about that. Cambodia usually makes news for all the wrong reasons, like women selling their daughters to brothels.
That said, I might visit one of these days.
Hello,
now it´s August 2015 in Sihanoukville. I live for 4 months in Sihanoukville and I haven´t experienced any crime and violence. I´ve heard some stories and they all related to prostitutes, alcoholism and drugs.
Some people here in Sihanoukville are stupid, crazy and addicted and then it´s more likely that you get in trouble. I am a normal guy with no addiction problems and I can take care of myself.
Be smart an enjoy the show in Cambodia.
Good Luck
Tom
I’m from Singapore and I have just returned home from a 4-day trip to Siem Reap with my family, incident-free and full of awe and happy memories of the city and it’s people.
I traveled with my in-laws who are in their 70s and not in the best of health. They walk slowly and are visibly weak. My mother-in-law even walks with a slight limp. Yet, the 5 of us did not meet with any of the dangers described – no snatch-thieves, not even pick -pockets, even when the old folks decided to venture out on their own.
We could have been lucky. Or maybe Cambodia (Siem Reap specifically) is not as dangerous as it was? I don’t know. What we did was nothing out of the usual. We visited Angkor Wat and the usual tourist traps, such as the Night Market, Old Market etc.
I visited Cambodia a few months ago. One thing I noticed was the level of rudeness and cursing I experienced from multiple people. From a last minute money exchange place to the kids I declined to purchase from after following me all the way back to my tuk tuk. The ruins in Siem Reap were interesting, but I don’t feel any desire to go back soon. I had more trouble in India, but that’s another story.
Hi Kate,
This is off track a little, but I wanted your advice on doing business there. I have an idea for a publishing project – marketing tourist books that we produce for Cambodian hotels and gift shops. Are people generally straight or do they stray to the Dark Side? Do you have any reliable contacts there for business? I know this is coming from left field, but wondered if you could help?
Many thanks, Chris
I just got back from Cambodia one week ago. I fortunately didn’t encounter any of those accidents you listed above. I liked Angkor, every corner of it, especially Bayon. As I stayed in a village which is 2 hours away from Phnom Penh for a week as a volunteer, I was able to experience a Cambodian lifestyle generally and a rural one particularly. People were generally kind and helpful. They always said hello and waved hands kindly to us when we cycled to a public school to work. I also met a lovely local lady in Siem Reap who runs a Khmer restaurant. She bought me a snack and invited me to her restaurant. Honestly, the meal at hers was the best I had in Cambodia. On the other hand, there are some drawbacks of Cambodia. Phnom Penh is the dirtiest capital city I have ever visited. Dust was everywhere as if the city had been a construction site. Traffic was crazy, pretty much like one in Vietnam but crazier. In generall, PP was so overwhelming and chaotic. Tuk tuk or motorbike drivers were somehow creepy as they always approached me to ask me to rent them as my driver. Anyway, those problems can be seen in other SEA countries so people shouldn’t skip Cambodia if they are meant to travel. if you are aware of that, you are able to avoid as much as you can. Cambodia is still worth visiting.
Just a quick note to say that I was glad to have read this before heading to Cambodia last week. I just got back from a trip through Thailand and Cambodia and didn’t experience any weirdness in Cambodia.
A couple of things – we stayed out in a rural village outside Siem Reap and got a tuk tuk driver who lived in that village. He really took care of us and watched out for us. We were traveling as a couple, so I feel like that helped a lot. We also just were okay being ripped off a little bit. When I thought about being overcharged for things, and actually calculated how much it was in USD, the amounts were tiny. I actually felt like the people trying to sell us stuff was worse in Bangkok than in Cambodia.
just spent three months in Cambodia and witnessed 4 shoulder bag robberies from motos. two of which were by cutting the strings of the bag, with the gangstas sharp knifes it takes but 5 seconds..do not wear handbags with thin straps and be sure to secure them around your neck! good advice! in the past year there were at least 2 mysterious deaths in rooms at walkabout pub, one was of the biker who had the bar opposite walkabout (the bar is no more), another was of a younger man.these incident were all in phnom penh…at walkabout I met a 68 yr old gentleman from Miami who had won 6million bucks in a lotterie in the u.s…he was later found dead (from a heart attack! reportedly?) in a hotel room in shianoukville..too many ladys or…when I spoke to him the gentlelman looked quite healthy and trim….. B careful and aware, cheers from tony regular visitor to Cambodia!
Expats in Cambodia get into a lot of shady business with drugs and prostitutes. It’s why a lot of people move to the country. Perhaps the deaths you heard of are a result of drugs and drug deals gone wrong. After all, I can’t imagine why else a millionaire from Miami would end up in Sihanoukville, of all places.
We visited Cambodia this year and went to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. We had no problems but did use common sense. I would love to go back again one day and explore more of the country. I enjoyed visiting both cities and I guess it depends on your luck and vigiliance. I did not hear of anyone having problems first hand.
I have been living in Cambodia for 2 years and Yes change has happened as it has all over the World.
Mexico used to be the love of my life and I spent many years as a single woman traveler even on night buses I felt safe..
I have never had any negative experience whilst traveling, not even in Brazil, after all where in the World can You leave your mobile on a bar top and go back the next day and retrive it not used.
I read up on Brazil before I went to work there and felt very dilligent walking my 1st day to work with my brief case with caution after 4 months of living there I can honestly say the people are more than friendly,
I say the same about Cambodia, I have only lost one thing here my own fault an envelope containing 80$ which I lost from my bag…probably pulled out and dropped…
Yes scams are here just like everywhere, but overall I find it a charming place to live.
As a single woman, dont expect romance though lol…
Its not a place for a woman over 50 to find love, the beautiful girls here are with all due respect just that, very beautiful.
Maybe I am just a lucky traveller, and I have the Universe on my side, however I do not take risks and have a reliable tuc tuc driver…
I wish all happy travels around the World, Keep Safe Keep Happy…and please visit Cambodia….
Hello, just took the bus between phnom penh and siem reap. Got out of the bus and see that i miss 200 dollars my friend missing 100 dollars. Then everybody from the bus where in a room togheter, so we told the (tour guide) that we thaugt it was one girl and another man, how where (sleeping) next to us, even if there where a lot of Space in the bus. Then he just said- if youre wrong i call police and you are going to prison. And i anyway you canot prove the money is yours. MEY HONG TRANSPORT is the name of the company
Please forgive me but I need to say a super brief comment about this country.
We went to Cambodia via the Aranyaprathet – Poipet border and that was the worst decision we made! There are a lot of pesky scammers on the border offering special service for a price but please do not agree to pay!! They will say there is a long line in the immigration but don’t be stupid enough to believe that. This place is so third world or fourth world that corruption is at its peak! That was the time I hated being Asian. These people are so poor that they need to get money out of tourists, big time.
Never plan of riding the fucking MEKONG EXPRESS!! I did not know express these days means 12hour long Bus ride! Even a lame turtle walked faster than our bus. It’s very inconvenient. And the illiterate driver is so rude, everyone in that country is rude to guests. They will do everything just to rip you off your money. Stupid hotels with mosquitoes. I hate it.. I hate everything about it! I will never come back to that fucking country.
If you’re going to a place like Cambodia, you really can’t be offended by rude people and slow bus rides. First of all, you’re arriving in a poor country with your tourist dollars – of COURSE the people you’re encountering are going to see you as a cash machine, and of COURSE you aren’t going to be treated like a king. If you want rudeness, go talk to some longtail boat drives in Thailand, where they’ve had years of experience in ripping people off.
Second of all, buses in these countries are used for deliveries – your bus stops, a sack of vegetables is thrown on, and 2 hours later, that sack of vegetables is thrown off seemingly in the middle of nowhere. You have to be able to laugh at how bizarre that is, not get all uppity over the bus taking a couple of hours longer than expected.
Thirdly, buy some mosquito repellant. At least you can afford it, unlike the locals.
Fourthly, border crossing scams are the norm around southeast Asia, this isn’t unique to Cambodia. I’ve heard of stamp fees, fake heat gun tests, overpriced buses to cross the border when you can just walk it, etc. Get used to it, and don’t discriminate against one ‘fucking country’ based on the border you crossed at.
I have to speak out here about the amazing help we got in the Old Market in Siem Reap:
we took a tuk tuk there from our hotel spent some time browsing and shopping until my husband realized he had dropped his phone on the ride. The driver was long gone and we had the feeling there was no point going to the police so we spotted another driver told him of our problem and asked him to spread the news that we were willing to pay 20 $ for the return of the phone. We then let him take us back to our hotel and had drinks there not really believing we would ever hear from him again. 1 hour later the hotel manager whom we had told came running all excited shouting : “your phone! it has been found!” and indeed there was a tuk tuk and his driver presenting us with our lost phone! So we thanked him and paid the 20 $ a huge sum for a tuk tuk driver there.
These people are amazing and we only can say they are friendly and helpful.
I’m a PhD candidate at a university in Phnom Penh, doing research for my dissertation on crimes against foreigners in Cambodia and came across your article.
I’m having an incredibly difficult time sourcing the crimes that you say happened. I’ve culled through every television report on both major stations for that time and through both papers of consequence for the month prior and the month after the time period you were visiting Cambodia, as well as I can ascertain from your post. Before I commit my Khmer language research team’s time an effort to further sourcing this project, I would like to talk to you about many of the inconsistencies and confusing statements in this influential blog’s post so we can attest to their veracity.
Wow, I can’t believe what I just read.
So let me get this straight, your friend uses physical violence against one of the locals resulting in a death, the same person goes around smacking kids, then flees the country. Sorry, but even if that punch was justified, your friend was in the wrong here.
I’m not trying to downplay the crime that happens in Cambodia, I have friends who’ve had their bags snatched in Phonm Penh, but you seem to be shitting on Cambodia based on these experiences, all of which happen all over the world. I’ve been mugged more times in the UK than anywhere else in the world, it hasn’t changed my opinion of it and I will still return.
I will agree that there are lots of drunk backpackers now, although we can’t hold Cambodia responsible for that. And yes, Phnom Penh did have me feeling a bit on edge most of the time, but everywhere else in the country I felt very safe and had no problems despite carrying extremely expensive camera gear, a Macbook Pro and an iPhone with me. I found Cambodia to be nothing short of incredible, full of extremely friendly people, which you also said in your article so I don’t know why you’re saying the country has “changed” – it hasn’t, you just had a few bad experiences this time round.
Here’s to hoping your next experience is much more positive!
I just stumbled upon this old post after having revisited Cambodia 5 years after my first visit. Everything you stated above rang true when I also visited in 2010. Sihanoukville was admittedly a little less seedy back then, but bag snatchings in Pnomh Penh and Siem Reap were an issue, thefts on the beach in Sihanoukville, scams in Siem Reap, etc. etc. were all occurring and I was warned of them by tuk tuk drivers and hostel owners. I guess when you returned you’d just heard more about this stuff. Surely you can’t think ‘that definitely wouldn’t have happened 4 years ago’ in regards to you dropping your phone. And if you went to Angkor 4 years before, surely you encountered the gangs of children asking for your dollars. What your observations are do NOT prove that ‘without a doubt’ Cambodia has gone downhill!
These things don’t just happen in Cambodia, these things happen everywhere in the world, I have been mobbed in Perth and had got all of my stuff tooken of me, same thing happened again but this time girls where holding me back while the other was punching into me please I’m just saying don’t talk shit about my country when it happens everywhere else
Like anything, be educated, learn to read people, learn from mistakes, keep an open mind and face the fact that if you are in a situation on your own and feel vulnerable, there are people who will prey on you.
Be confident, polite and respectful.
Know customs and reflect them.
Have travelled in SE Asia four times, gotten close to being in sketchy situations but have gotten out when my intuition alerts me.
I’m in Cambodia at the moment. Siem Reap was amazing, went out for an evening, danced and talked with with four mixed age strangers at a small bar in a dark alley until four in the morning and was euphoric.
Walked through the streets and saw packs of dogs, accepted a ride home on a motorbike from an English speaking, educated young man and arrived safely back at base.
I am female, but do weights and can defend myself, but I would never travel alone. My partner an I travel together. Even on that tiny, tiny motorbike…
This being my experience, all the people that I was involved with had honest eyes, generous body language, and the time was taken to share family and understand each other. I was happy, not a shred of insecurity. When you enjoy life, it loves you back.
Sometimes when you travel, even through your own world, you have to accept your decisions and the will of the universe!!!
That being said, when the vibe is right, go with it! Enjoy and have fun.
I lived in Cambodia for 7 years and, having been back a great many times since, I can say without reservation that not much has changed in terms of crime in the past 10 years, be it Sihanoukville, Kampot or Siem Reap. It CAN be violent now, just as it always could in the past. The above commenter, Pierre, is right- it boils down to common sense. This article is really quite alarmist, but without anything other than pointing to several experiences and what other people have told you. And one more thing-
was there really a need for “S.” to “smack” the kid? He’d obviously caught him and gotten his phone back.
I love your article, for me as a Cambodian living in Australia I visit Cambodia lots. Cambodia now has change and I can’t not believe how much place and view to see, especially all the hidden area.
I am a 25 year old female solo traveller. Yesterday I took a 7 hour bus (leaving at 8.30am) from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. I gave my backpack to the bus driver and watched him put it on the bus. When I got to Siem Reap my backpack was gone (along with my passport inside it). After much commotion I eventually got to the police station to report it and he told me I can’t report it now I have to wait until tomorrow as he thinks he can find it. This morning I have to go back to the police station and try to make a report. I don’t even feel safe going to the police station I felt vulnerable even there. After travelling around Thailand for the last month I can honestly say that since coming to Cambodia it’s the first time I feel really vulnerable and unsafe. The constant warnings of bag theft from tuk-tuks were the first sign that it wasn’t as safe here. Going out at night I feel the tuk-tuk drivers are more confrontational even standing in my way and not letting me pass. I was so looking forward to Cambodia after hearing such great things about it, but can honestly say I cannot wait to leave! If you are a solo female thinking of coming here maybe consider going with a travel company so you are with a group of people or something.
Also for the record, I am aware of all the safety tips etc, I have a sensible bag and keep it close to me all the time, I don’t take out valuable items that I don’t need. I locked my backpack. I had actually put my passport in my backpack rather than keep it on me as the advice was they were more likely to take a small bag you were carrying.
I just wanted to share this as I have seen a lot of posts saying how safe and lovely Cambodia is, and it has definitely not been that for me. Also, a guy from my hostel that has helped me out today knows of two other people who have had their backpacks stolen and also a guy was telling me tonight someone tried to mug him. I definitely think that whatever Cambodia used to be, it isn’t anymore.
So let’s get this straight: You’re a young female traveling alone, and you gave your backpack with your passport inside to a man you don’t know. In a third world country with a reputation for pickpockets and petty theft.
If you’d done your research on traveling, not just in Cambodia but anywhere, you would know not to get separated from your bag and especially your passport.
Perhaps you didn’t do your research before you went into Cambodia alone. Do NOT let go of your bag for several hours without locking it to something nailed to the floor. You should only be upset with yourself (and the bus driver. I’d have lost it on him. I feel bad for you, but you’ve gotta be smarter than this if you’re traveling in these areas or you’re going to be shark bait!
That being said:
I appreciated reading this article, and the comments have been great as well.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that fleecing tourists is on the rise in Cambodia. Vietnam seems to have a similar though less intense reputation. Most likely the young Burmese who are poor with nothing to live for will start figuring out how to rob tourists soon as well.
As Kate’s friend eloquently put it in the earlier comments, perhaps the biggest contribution to the problem is the huge influx of affluent, naive tourists into the cities of Cambodia. Those purses look like low-hanging fruit to a tortured and impoverished people.
I think the big takeaway here is to know what kind of place you’re going into. Southeast
Asia is not a theme park. The people on these streets aren’t paid to appear in your vacation experience. They don’t have to be nice. They can and will bite. Crime is real and prolific and every time you leave your comfort zone you become a little more vulnerable to it, so be vigilant, look over your shoulder occasionally, tune into your intuition and lock it up!
Kate: you’re a great travel writer. Keep up the interesting posts. It’s refreshing compared to the sea of gushing selfie-laden travel blogs posts where everything is AMAZING!!! SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! SO CHEAP!!!THE BEST FOOD SO NICE SUPER CHILL SO MUCH FUN BOUGHT THESE SANDALS
sorry going off the rails.
I previously read your post on the most overrated spots in SE Asia and that was great as well.
Cheers, friend. Keep telling it like it is.
Thanks for reading, William. Glad you’re enjoying it.
I agree with you. It is a dangerous place and sex-trafficking and prostitution (often forced) even in what you would consider peaceful places (Buddhist temples for example) is rampant. It is an amazing place with really beautiful people, but it is important to stay safe, cautious and defensive. I would not recommend female travelers to be alone in Cambodia.
Greetings from Bali, Indonesia. Hi Kate, terrible to hear the bad experience you had whilst your holiday in Cambodia. Would a luxury travel skip tuk-tuk (and skinny dipping :p) thus avoid these kind of incidents, what is your opinion? We have been honoured to have Angelina Jolie & her Mr Pitt visited one of our properties in Battambang, Khmer Village, they would be very upset to if they hear about the country they love so much presented itself in a non-attractive way. Yes, hope people still coming to this beautiful country…Cheers!
Very true, I have lived in Cambodia for 2 years now. I was backpacking and fell into a job I enjoy. I have been spiked, robbed and almost strangled to death here. The sadness in it lies that the local people are putting a dent into the once decent reputation it had. As for customer service it’s like they don’t know that LP and tripadvisor actually exist. Now I can understand the language a fair bit, some locals really insult tourists, but they don’t understand. I have actively translated and one man got really embarrassed and angry at me (don’t be a c*** then). I try and explain sometimes to owners that people report a lot on the internet and these reports can seriously hinder their reputation. Deaf ears. It’s only when you show them the reports that they get it (belongings stolen from the rooms etc). Anyway, if you do come here, it is relaxed, you can smoke weed pretty much anywhere and the people are nice. It’s nothing like Thailand, in a way that a middle class is almost non-existent. You have extreme wealth (coming from corruption and extortion of the kingdom at the highest level) and extreme poverty (which breeds desperation) the thieves are not to blame but the government who are raping them. The premiere has a golf course which costs 200,000 usd per annum in maintenance and has forcefully evicted poor people to profit from land sales, yet gives nothing back. It is declared he earns a prime ministerial salary of 1,250 usd per month, but has a personal wealth of 500 million. I earn the same as him, I can’t save a cent! How????
Would I go or not?? Uggg I am currently in Laos and was thinking of heading over to Cambodia but I’m not sure. It seems that the world has become more unsafe recently.
Been living here for half a year now in Phnom Penh and been around most of the country. I haven’t felt any troubles yet. It’s my 4th time here and now I’m living here. People have generally been very friendly, but they advice me to keep my belongings close to me and lock the motorbike safely. That said, my neighbour knew the security of a neighboring hotel and arranged that they take care of my motorbike during night, very friendly in my opinion. People are always smiling, only troubles I have had here has been with drunk lost souls of western men. The Khmer people are not tending to be violent but can be a little too greedy with the money sometimes, whatever, we talk about 2-3 $ extra occasionally, nothing that destroys my budget, only my pride. I think you just have to try to blend it, sorry to say it, but don’t act like a partying backpacker, these are not well seen many places. Respect the people and surroundings and very important in south east Asia, never shout, be loud or agressive, that’s very much against their way of life. Understand where you are and observe and smile.
I’ve read these posts with interest and would like to share the experience I had in Sihanoukville in March 2016 as well as reinforce a warning that has come up a few times:
Do not travel alone or drunk at night especially in tuk tuks. Obvious really.
I got an open fracture to my forearm defending myself from a tuk tuk driver who attacked me with his metal bar.
It wasn’t an argument over the fare. I’d negotiated the fare already in Otres at about midnight. After that another tuk tuk driver jumped in with me. Should have been a warning sign. We set off and about 750m down the road he turned down a dark, empty side road to the beach and stopped. I knew something was up so jumped out and the driver immediately demanded money. Sick of the constant harassing and scamming of these drivers I said no. I didn’t see the metal bar until it was coming towards my head. Thankfully I got my arm up in time to block it with my forearm. I then threw the $10 I had in my hand on the floor and managed to avoid a few more charges from both of them before running back up the road screaming for help at an approaching motorbike. The bike didn’t stop but it appeared to spook my pursuers. I ducked left off the road across the burnt land and then made my way back to Otres along the beach holding my arm, bleeding heavily and with bones moving and crunching around inside.
I ended up flying back to the UK 3 weeks early for surgery for a plate and screws as insurance only covered for treatment in a shonky public cambodian hospital that was dirty and no one spoke English (Calette hospital in Pnom Phen). I was however given excellent and very cheap emergency car at CT Clinic in Sihanoukville.
It was a premeditated robbery. I definitely made myself more vulnerable by being drunk and alone. But I still can’t help but hate the tuk tuk drivers now. They have a misguided sense of entitlement. They are parasitic scum. I know they’re not all like it but I wouldn’t trust any of them. Luckily I’m fit and have done martial arts which may have helped in defending the metal bar although to be honest I think it’s a pretty basic reaction. Being able to run away was my best defence. God forbid what would have happened if that metal bar had hit my head. Since it broke my arm it would have likely cracked my skull, knocked me out and possibly killed me. So in spite of everything I actually very lucky.
this is silly. Pick pockets are Hong Kong. Very few people go to Paris or Rome without having to be wary of pickpockets. In Phnom Penh they snatch your purse and run or drive away. India has women getting gang raped on buses Africa has whole Villages being killed and burned alive. Let’s keep things in perspective. Just because terrorists get their purse snatched in Cambodia or their wallets pick-pocketed in Paris hardly makes a destination Unworthy to be experienced. Cambodia is an amazing place with amazing people and an amazing culture. Yes it has been through horrific times that few of us could even comprehend. .. but to throw a destination as being somehow unsafe because you might get your purse stolen and because of isolated incidents is more than silly it is a failure to embrace the positive because of a couple of negatives. I live in Los Angeles in Griffin Indiana and could certainly share murder story after murder story or drive by or hit and run and so on but I would hardly do anything do deter someone from visiting either place. If you have traveled extensively you’ve obviously felt safe and places and unsafe in places has little to do with the country and more to do with the timing and circumstances. I would suspect that wandering through the back streets of Cabo San Lucas drunk would feel much more dangerous than walking along the Riverside in pnom Penh. I would suspect that there are many many many more pickpockets in Paris and Rome then there are bag snatchers in Phmom Penn. yet I hardly see you writing about overpriced cafes in Paris gouging prices for tourists in hotels in Rome or the homeless berating passes by for money in Chicago. Please try to keep things in perspective. In the grand scheme of the world bag snatching is a minor incident. Certainly traumatic at the moment it is experienced and can be terribly inconvenient but it is relatively minor in scale compared to crimes committed against foreigners in other parts of the world
Hi i traveled all over Cambodia in 2006, 2014 and March 2016.
I didn’t have any trouble but I’m Asian, and most of the time I was with a group of Khmer friends.
If I did venture out during the day by myself, I left my passport/cash at the hotel, including the hotel room key. My base was Battambang.
However a Khmer friend told me while Battambang is quite safe, Phenom Phen was a place to be cautious whether you are a tourist or a local. As in the U.S., larger cities have their share of thugs.
My Khmer friend had been robbed at night, and the room he is renting was broken into one time.
If you stay at a hostel, it is less secure than a hotel. So you get what you pay for.
Still I love Cambodia, the Khmer people, and their traditional culture. Despite their hardships, I find them kind and genuine. I plan to return every one or two years and include some form of charity work each time I go. The country is unspoiled and there are interesting sites all across the country.
I found HoChiMinCity in Vietnam to have plenty of dishonest tricky dicks, esp. taxi drivers. And in Thailand we got scammed by a taxi driver on a two hour destination outside of Bangkok. So where ever you go pick safer choices whenever possible. Generally group tours are quite good.
I think it’s outrageous that your friend potentially led someone to their death after they had committed a crime that happens all across south east asia and for some people is the only way to survive (theft.)
I don’t condone it in anyway and would hate to have been stolen from but I don’t think death should have been mentioned in this article as I could never have forgive myself.
You also mention “you’ll be fine if you have common sense” which leads people to believe, who have been victims of crime in cambodia, that you think they are stupid.
Also saying the worst one was drink spiking…. after mentioning a rape? Unbelievable, that’s an insult to women all across the universe.
Hi Kate. It is not good to hear that in Cambodia. It’s a tough thing being in a place where you know the living conditions of so many people are very difficult.
So much paranoia over stories of crime in Cambodia makes me wonder if certain categories of travellers are more prone to others. Living in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia for 5 years now I’ve seen groups of travellers looking stoned and scruffy acting as if they don’t give a shit about the people around them, being culturally insensitive obnoxious and loud. These folks are oblivious to the simple fact that pointing their feet and treating the locals like flies do not command the respect as someone who is generally polite.
Cambodians similar people from anywhere in the world like to generalise. A stereotypical example is seeing young white braless girls sitting with the legs wide open in a public area like a cafe or bus giving the idea to locals that most if not all young white backpacker types are free or easy pickings resulting in crime against white women being categorically higher than say your average asian tourist. Another example is the white male who either looks filthy and stoned or behaves like a douchebag flashing fancy tech gizmos while bargaining loud and hard to get 50cents off a bunch of bananas at a local market. Unfortunately, these common stereotypes have over years have branded the average white backpacker as either culturally dumb sluts or hormonally charged a**holes with rich daddies and mommies back home.
Should you dare wander into this danger-filled, high crime, murderous region of the world, my first advise is to wipe out that paranoia and fear, second learn to respect and appreciate the locals-monkey see monkey do, third understand that it’s not all about me, me, me because danger lurks everywhere. You travel to play, learn and experience the awesome, stinky, good, ugly – a melting pot that will hopefully make you a better person.