After landing on Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I headed to the visa on arrival section. You can get a Tourist visa for USD 20 and Business Visa for USD 25. Only catch - Business visa is eligible for indefinite renewals at additional cost. Both visas are issued for one month and only for single entry. If you are a traveller in this part of Asia, I would recommend you to spend some time apart from visiting the Temples of Angkor and other places of interest in Phnom Penh. You can get visas to Laos and Vietnam (in a matter of couple of days). I think it makes sense to do so. Both are fascinating places and it is worth to explore along the Mekong river.
As far as my case is concerned, I didn’t plan ahead and hence my adventure is confined within central Cambodia. I might rent a motorbike and pay a visit to Steung Meanchey and Kampong Cham. Phnom Penh is getting pretty much commercialized like Bangkok. I think Tourism has its own highs and lows. Mostly, the highs are short term impacts while the lows are long term impacts. There are about 300 NGOs out here in Phnom Penh (my first take, WTF?). The local administration is quite inept and many are recovering from the brutality of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Some of the former high ranking officers of Khmer Rouge are yet to face justice. While Pol Pot passed away in 1998, a sizeable number still remain at large. It sort of reminds me of the film, Odessa File. The movie is about the underground Nazi support movement involving powerful administrative folks that sympathize with former Nazi Officers. So, it becomes hard to bring to justice the ones that perpetrated Genocide.
I would highly recommend a visit to Toul Sleng (or known as Secret-21) Prison. How a school had been converted to interrogation Prison, where the Red Army (Khmer Rouge) systematically and brutally executed thousands of Khmers, Chams, Vietnamese and Foreigners. It is very disturbing to see the place. Especially, the empty cells create a very uncomfortable feeling. This is probably the closest you can get to Auschwitz.
I think mankind still doesn’t learn from History. Apart from it, you can also get video documentaries of related events in Phnom Penh’s markets. They are available for a bargain rate. The upscale Sorya Mall kind of masks the reality in which a majority of Cambodians live. There is also an array of expensive vehicles on the streets that actually reflect the gross economic disparity between the Cambodian Elites and others. Democracy is at the fledgling best (as in other Asian parts) and still the rule of Authority exists. Traffic regulation is virtually nill. You are on your own. As a person from India, i don’t find much difference.
People are generally warm. But then I have to get away from the City to see the rural life. USD is kind of the unofficial currency. Lesser denominations (less than 1 USD) are handed out in Cambodian Riels. At the time of writing 1 USD =~ 4000 Riels.