Peace of Angkor Photo Adventure Holidays for hotels travel and vacations to Cambodia and tours to Siem Reap Angkor Temples Tonle Sap

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Cambodia - location

Peace of Angkor photo adventure tours siem reap cambodia country map
Country map - courtesy CIA World Factbook
Cambodia is located in South East Asia and is bordered by the countries of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

The population of Cambodia is around 14.5 million.

The area of Cambodia is around 180,000 sq Km. This is comparable with the area of Florida, Tasmania or Portugal. it is ringed with hills and mountains with a flat centre formng the basin and flood plain of the Tonle Sap Lake; the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia

Cambodia has around 450Km coastline on the Gulf of Thailand

Climate:

Peace of Angkor photo adventure tours siem reap cambodia country climate weather seasons
Sunset over Tonle Sap Cambodia
The most popular time to visit is in the  Dry Season, from November to April.
Hardly any rain falls and skies are usually clear. Humidity is much lower, evenings are pleasant and in December and January early mornings sometimes feel a little chilly. 
It is still very hot during the day with temperatures averaging  28-30o Celsius or mid 80s Fahrenheit. By February and certainly March; temperatures can rise to the mid 30s Celsius 95oF.
The Rainy Season: May to November can bring many rewards. Although the weather can be humid at times, the temples and countryside look quite stunning. The rains usually occur in the afternoons and evenings and take the form of intense thunderstorms.

Currency:

Peace of Angkor photo adventure tours siem reap cambodia currency money exchange riel
500 Riel note and a riel fish
The riel must be the only currency named after a fish! The almost worthless riel is caught by the million and used for Prahok (fish paste) and cattle feed. 

Take ample amounts of US Dollars. They are the most widely used currency in Cambodia.
It  really isn’t  worth changing local currency when you arrive, as riels are just used for small change. except in rural areas.
There are no coins; just low value notes; 100r = $0.025. Virtually all businesses convert riels at the following rate $1=4000r, For example when changing dollars and are expecting $1.25 in change you would get $1+1000r(25c)

Some areas near Thailand use Thai Baht which is easily exchanged in the whole country. Vietnamese Dong and Lao Kip is sometimes accepted in border areas but nowhere else!
Travelers cheques are not widely used and not recommended.  If you really have to; AMEX are more likely to be accepted . Commission rates  for T/Cs are 2- 4%.

In practice the 4000r to the dollar rate is still being used for convenience
ATMs are in most major towns. They all dispense cash in US $ and reils. We do suggest you take USD as its widely accepted and can easily be exchanged when you get back home.
reals cannot be exchanged outside the country

ANZ royal Bank brought the first ATMs to Phnom Penh in November 2005; many  branches of  Canadia and Acleda banks now have them. There ATMs in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap Airports. Also some  convenience stores U Care pharmacies and a few Caltex filing stations have ATMs

The ATM network is expanding rapidly but only in bigger towns. Like; Phnom Penh. Siem Reap, Battambang, Sihanoukville, Kampot, Kompong Cham, Kompong Thom, Kratie, Banlung and many others.
Credit cards are becoming more accepted here; usually  in large shops International Hotels. Although they are not supposed to, many  charge up to 4% per transaction.

At a glance...


Language: Khmer

Dialing code: +855

Currency: Riel
(approx 4200R to US$1.00)

Timezone: GMT (UTC) + 7hours
(clocks do not change for DST)

Seasons: Dry season Nov to April
Wet season is May to October.

Voltage:  220v AC
Plugs: No common standards.
UK / EU and USA plugs generally fit sockets in Cambodia.
More information here (pdf 521kb)

International airports:
Phnom Penh (PNH)
Siem Reap (REP)

Railways:
No passenger trains at present

Religion: Primarily Buddhist