CUSTOMS :
For Cambodians, one must remain modest on his way to dress, indeed, the tourists who will walk shirtless in public places will be very badly seen. When visiting temples, remember to cover yourself well, from the shoulders to the knee.
In temples, by pass Buddha from the left, counter-clockwise. Do not sit back to the Buddha and do not point his feet in his direction. In no case should a woman touch a monk, otherwise he would lose all his acquired merits.
Remember to take off your shoes when entering a temple or home.
It is strongly not advised to touch the head of a Cambodian; in Europe, touching someone’s head can be seen as a friendly gesture, on the other hand, this is not at all the case in Cambodia, it is for them a gesture that is very badly perceived.
In Cambodia, it is very badly perceived to contradict someone, so pay attention to what you can say and answer.
Cambodian culture is discovered through its gastronomy and festivities. It is precisely during the holiday periods that the Khmers unveil their traditional colors rhythmed by traditional instruments such as the roneat or the large xylophones and the chapeis, which are large curved guitars characterizing the Khmer community.
THE FOOD :
Cambodian cuisine mixes different influences from Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and China. There are, however, some dishes of Cambodia’s own. A traditional Cambodian meal will always include a soup or samla that will be enjoyed at the same time as the other meals. Basic foods in Cambodia are: soup, rice and vegetables.
Samla Machou Banle is a very popular fish soup that has a slight sour taste; a less spicy version of the traditional sour-sweet soup in Thailand. There are other soups such as Samla Chapek (pork soup with ginger), Samla machou bangkang (shrimp soup) or Samla ktis (fish soup with coconut milk and pineapple). Cambodian salads are very common and greatly differ from traditional cold salads in Europe. For example, you can find Phlea sach ko: it is a salad of beef and vegetables, fragrant with coriander and mint leaves and lemongrass. Don’t miss the popular rice noodles, coconut sauce (Khao Phoun). As in most Bouddhist countries, vegetarian cuisine is widespread in Cambodia.
Beer is a very popular drink in Cambodia. The main local brand is the Angkor Beer, produced inm collaboration with an Australian company in Sihanoukville. The «Angkor Stout» is the only brown beer in the country. You will also find other well-known beer brands in the main restaurants of the major cities as well as in tourist attractions, such as the Tiger Beer, the Heineken or the San Miguel.
As for the fruits, it is the paradise of the tropics: papayas, jacquiers, coconut, mangoostans (brown-purple shell with very fragrant milky white fruit), dragon fruit (fuchsia pink skin with strange petals, light grey tangy flesh, dotted with tiny black seeds) with little pronounced taste, and of course the durians! Not to mention, the mangoes are, shall we say, totally exquisite because they do not have the same taste as elsewhere.