Customer Reviews

The Rough Guide to Cambodia 2 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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In January 2008 I crisscrossed Cambodia for three weeks. The two guides I took were Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. Both are worthy guides. This guide was at its best (better than L.P.) when it came to Siem Reap/Angkor Watt. Its coverage of Angkor Watt and the multitude of other temples is excellent.

Caveat: both guides were published in 2005, which means that they were researched in 2003/04. So? Well, much has changed in five years. Restaurants and accommodations have changed or closed and you can find new accommodations and restaurants that are super but not mentioned in the guide. I did. Thus, these guides will be at their best as an orientation to Cambodia. They point you to sights to see and Rough Guide gives you a solid understanding of the history, religion and culture of this country. It has good maps, reliable recommendations of what to see and do, a good history/religion section and a very good 'recommended books' section.

Cumbersome, with all Rough Guides, is the "price code" system for accommodations, ie. 1=less than $5, 2=$5-$10, 3=$10-$15, etc. You need to memorize the amounts or flip back to the codes. Lonely Planet is easier to use; it tells you what it cost in dollars - Duh. Rough Guide also fails to tell you what you should expect to pay for your meals. So at one eatery you may pay $2 and another $20 - not good.

Overall, if you are going to explore this little known, astonishing and wonderfully mysterious country, you will do well with this guide. I would recommended watching two excellent DVD before you go (Pol Pot -1997 & The Killing Fields 1984) and also taking "The Gods Drink Whiskey" by Stephen Asthma, excellent. Happy Trails, you will love Cambodia. Strongly recommended.

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. Neither book was entirely comprehensive but the Rough Guide was a must have to point you in the right direction.

My goodness, Cambodia is an awesome place to visit! This book will help you on your journey. Well laid out (as is RG's style) and very good lodging/sightseeing advice. I really hope RG (as well as the other travel guides) will continue to update their guides to lesser traveled parts of the world like Kampuchea (Cambodia.) The world deserves to know about these places!

I've found it best to bring both this one and the lonely planet version. Each complements the other.