Voyagner

Phnom Penh bustling in the movie SameSame

There have been a few blog posts lately about some popular travel destinations that the authors of the blog despise for one reason or another, NomadicMatt wrote about Koh Phi Phi and I wrote about Kuta, nor to glowingly about Singapore.

Before I left on my first trip I told one co-worker that Phuket was on my list of places to go “yuck” was his response, why would you want to go there, too touristy. Well yes, Phuket is touristy but it’s also a pretty big island which means there will always be places less touristed. Phuket is also a main base for exploring Phang Nga Bay and the Islands. As far as sightseeing goes one of the biggest mistakes you can make is being a high and mighty traveler and snobbing touristy areas, these places are normally like that for a reason, there are some great sights to be seen and things to experience there and no matter how touristy a place is you can always find a quieter area to explore from if it bothers you that much.

Another example of why you should not put too much value on others impressions of places can be taken from my Kuta post and one of my favorite cities. Phnom Penh is a favorite of mine but if I were to compare it to Kuta the description might not sound all that different. The infrastructure isn’t great and they both smell at times, I find the people in PP much more genuine though and I think it is the people there that do it for me.

People have connections with places, sometimes you will find yourself in a place that just feels right, you simply have to find out for yourself.  So people are looking for quiet hideaways and others for bustling cities and crazy nightlife. There is an old tourism advertising jingle for the Northern Territory here in Australia “You’ll never never know, if you never never go“, you really can’t disagree with that. Ignorance may be bliss but is it still bliss if you might be missing out on the time and place of your life?

Go to Kuta, go to Phi Phi, make your own call. We’re just sharing our own impressions and experiences and they may be very different from your own. We all find our way around life in different ways, we enjoy different things in life and it is no different in travel.