HELPFUL TIPS WHEN VISITING PHNOM PENH

- We took a trip through Asia, 3 countries: Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam for a month and a half and we always like to have mobile internet. Many people know that you can buy a SIM card on arrival, but this time we opted for something different and very practical: an e-SIM. No physical card is needed, we bought it online still in Portugal before starting the trip and only activated it upon arrival in Singapore. We can say that it has always worked very well and it only takes one person to have it installed, because you could share the internet with another device. Easy to install and top-up was very easy too. You just have to pay attention if your equipment is compatible with an e-SIM. We bought ours at airalo.com

- Install the GRAB app (similar to Uber) and call cars and mainly tuk-tuks using the app. You'll find out the price right away and you don't have to negotiate prices with the tuk-tuk driver. It Works very well.

- Another app (similar to Uber) is PassApp. It's an app only for Cambodia and we advise you to install it because wherever Grab doesn't exist in that city, you always have the PassApp available. We say this because it was what saved us in another city in Cambodia, in Sihanoukville it was the only app available.

- In Cambodia the currencies used are the US Dollar and the Cambodian Riel. Both are accepted everywhere. But the question remains: which one should I use? At ATMs, which currency should I choose to withdraw? We leave here our opinion.

At ATMs we always make withdrawals in Reils. If you withdraw in US Dollars, the high probability is that the machine will only give you $100 bills, which can then be complicated to make payments, because there will be no change.

Once you get used to Reils, it's easy. You'll always talk about having millions, but it's a matter of habit. We also noticed that in terms of conversion, if we pay in Reils, it pays off a little more.

And even if you don't want to pay in Reils, the chance of paying with US dollars and receiving change in Reils is very high and most likely.

There is also a greater chance that counterfeit $100 bills exist.

- There are blogs on the internet indicating that in Cambodia they do not accept banknotes in poor condition, dirty or a little torn. It's not entirely true. This applies to US Dollars but not to Reils. We were in Cambodia for a month and almost always used Reils and whatever condition it was in (some banknotes in very bad condition) everyone accepted it.

- Cigarettes are very cheap in Cambodia and if you buy national brands, they cost around €0.50!

- On the street, be careful with your cell phone in your hand or on tables outside. Someone might try to steal it. Be careful with your cell phone, suitcases and valuable items, even inside a tuk-tuk, don't take objects outside of it that are close at hand. On the terrace of a restaurant, the owner came to tell us not to leave our cell phones on the table, so you really have to be careful. We were always careful and always felt safe in the city, day and night.

- Don't buy things from children on the street.

- If you want to go inside temples or temple complexes, be careful to cover your shoulders and knees.

- There are many tuk-tuk drivers and they become annoying with insistence. Get ready. It gets to a point where you just ignore it.