In my close to six years travel the world, my days on the lake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia still remain some of my favorite. I had come for a few days and stayed for a few weeks. I spent my days in the famous Number 9 Guesthouse on the lake, watching movies, having a few cold beers, meeting fellow travelers from around the world, and watching the sun set over the lake. We had a perfect view as the bank of the lake faced due west. At night, my friends (all of whom also got “stuck” in the city) and I would eat cheap Indian food, play poker, and head to our local haunt – The Drunken Frog. It was our “Cheers”. Everyone knew your name and I could put it all on my tab.

My experience was probably shared by thousands of other travelers who got stuck in Phnom Penh’s lake district. Sure, it was a bit seedy – a backpacker ghetto if there ever was one. There were the pushers, the touts, the dreads, bootleg movies, and cheap beer. But it was fun, relaxing, and a place that brought people together.

And it is no more.

Beoung Kak Lake has been completely filled in and destroyed. When I was here in 2007, there was talk about closing the area and pushing the residents out so developers could fill in the lake and build on the land. Well, the talk turned into action after I left and for the price of 88 million USD, Shukaku Inc, a firm run by the influential senator Lao Meng Khin (corruption anyone?) obtained a 99 year lease on the lake and the surrounding area.

And with that, the area’s fate was sealed.

I’ve heard of its decline in recent years. The encroaching sand and the departure of its residents. Now, that I’m back in Phnom Penh, I made sure to head over to see what was left of it first hand.

And, for the first time in my travels, I became deeply sad and angry over development. Development can bring a lot of benefits to a community, but here the flagrant disregard for people and the environment was too much and as I saw the area today, my heart sank — and is still sunk. It was heart wrenching to be there.

Gone is the lake, completely filled in except for a small strip of polluted sewage water. What once looked like this:

And this:

Now looks like this:

And from another angle:

And another:

Gone are the docks that stretch over the river where you could watch the sunset and bond with new friends while being attacked by mosquitoes.

The two dollar all-you-can-eat Indian place has been demolished:

And my favorite bar, The Drunken Frog? Boarded and locked up.

All that remains of this once vibrant area is a bunch of torn down buildings, empty lots, and shacks. Buildings that once held vibrant businesses are now tenements. A few businesses have held on and I saw three guesthouses still open. But there was less than a handful of people around. The lack of touts and tuk tuk drivers spoke to the fact that crowds had long disappeared.

“That place used to have a great breakfast,” I pointed out to my friend. “That’s where we played poker.” “That pile of rubble used to be a great seafood place.” “I used to stay here,” I said pointing to another place.

I wandered through the ruins of my memory and, as I stood on the pile of sand that was once the lake, I was deeply disturbed. There is a hole in my heart where the lake once was.

I don’t mind development. Places change, towns grow, societies develop. For the most part, I think development can be a very good thing, especially when it is done right. But looking around here I saw nothing but destruction and greed. The lake area was home to thousands of people who eeked out a life in a none too glamorous part of the city. They ran businesses here. Raised families here and lived lives that have been destroyed.

But as so often happens around the world, the locals were pushed aside for big money. Residents had very little legal recourse. The legal battle over eminent domain and just compensation was a farce. They were just told to leave, given a little compensation, and if they didn’t like it, too bad. The same thing happened in Ko Phi Phi after the tsunami, when locals were pushed out to make way for rebuilt resorts. Over the years Cambodia has become rife with corrupt land deals. Residents are kicked out in blatantly illegal moves that have even some people wishing for the Khmer Rouge, because “at least they had a place to live.” The residents are left with little compensation and a lot of unemployment and debt.

I’m sad that the lake district isn’t there anymore. I wish future travelers could have experienced the great memories that so many other people have before them.

But mostly, I’m sad and disappointed in the shortsighted nature that would fill in a lake, ruin a community, and destroy a section of town in the name of money. There was no real need to fill in this lake. The only “real” need was greed.

While a few families were allowed to stay and only after the prime minister intervened, thousands more weren’t so lucky. The lake could have been developed with the families in mind and the area saved. But that was not the case.

And so as officials enrich themselves in a clearly dubious and corrupt land deal, all that everyone else is left with is a pile of sand and a lot of resentment.

Editor’s Note: Save Boeung Kak has the latest on the ongoing battle between the residents who are trying to keep what is left of their homes and the government.

Thailand can be as expensive or inexpensive a country to visit as you want it to be. This is a country where you can stay in $3 USD per night rooms or $1000 USD per night resorts. Twenty cent street food or 300 dollar gourmet dinners. Thailand really runs the gamut. When my friends came to visit last December, they budgeted $1,700 USD for their 3 week trip. “No problem,” I said, “that’s more than enough for Thailand. This country is cheap.” But what I realized as I traveled with people on a limited time frame, is that there is big difference in budgeting for a backpacking trip versus budgeting for a holiday.

It requires a whole different mentality. It’s a lot easier to do that when you can average out your expenses over a few months instead of a few weeks. On a vacation, you tend to race around trying to see as much as you can, which can drive up your costs a lot.

Thailand is a very cheap country to live and travel around. I hardly spend much money here. But that changed when my friends came and why that changed is important for anyone planning to come to Thailand. While my friends were here, I spent a lot of money. For the 24 days we traveled, I spent $1,596.27 USD or $66.51 dollars per day. Here’s the numbers breakdown (all prices are in in Thai Baht):

• Accommodation (cheap guesthouses, nice beach bungalows, luxury jungle huts) – 13,565
• Flights around Thailand – 4,200
• Transportation (public buses, trains, taxis) – 1470
• Ferry to, around, and from the islands – 1875
• Diving in Ko Tao – 800
• Hiking in Khao Sok – 1200
• Movie and Popcorn (Sherlock Holmes 2 – don’t see it!) – 320
• Misc (bug spray, toothbrush, etc) – 363
• Drinks (it was the holidays!) – 10,115
• Jim Thompson House (museum in Bangkok) – 100
• Medicine (I popped my ear drum scuba diving!) – 1,890
• Food (street food, seafood dinners, international meals in Bangkok) – 11,000
• Web stuff – 890
• Water – 100

Total Spent: 47,888 Baht or $1,596.27 USD

Note: $1 USD = 30 Baht.

For Thailand, I think that is a lot of money. I tell people that backpacking around Thailand costs $30-35 USD per day depending on how much alcohol you consume and how many days you spend on the islands, where costs are higher. Most of the time, I spend less than that. I just stayed a week in the northern city of Chiang Mai and I only spent about $25 USD per day. That included accommodation (private room with bathroom), local food, Starbucks, the occasional Western meal, and a few drinks.

So Why Did I Spend Double?

Though my intention was to do “Thailand on a budget”, as I traveled with my friends, I realized something I forgot long ago. When time is limited and this is might be one of two big trips all year, you don’t want to scrape every penny. Vacations don’t need to cost a fortune but if you aren’t traveling all the time, then staying in the cheapest place to make your money last becomes less of an issue. You want nice things.

You travel faster. You take planes, not 12 hour trains. You cram more activities into your day. You pamper yourself more. You eat nicer meals.

And my friends definitely wanted all the above.

How Much Do You Need?

That’s not to say I don’t think a vacation in Thailand can’t be done cheaper. It can. I think a budget of around $50 USD per day would be perfect for a short vacation to Thailand. You don’t need to spend as much as I spent. I spent a lot of money going out, using the internet for work, and seeing a doctor. If I cut out those expenses, my average drops to 1,421.16 Baht or $47.31 USD per day. That’s more expensive than a backpacker budget but really good for a trip to Thailand.

Throw in some extra money for shopping, and a maximum of $55 USD per day would give you a very, very nice budget vacation in Thailand. For that price, you would get:

• Flights so you don’t have to spend time on long bus rides.
• Meals that include local restaurants and cheap street food as well as delicious seafood dinners and some delicious international food in Bangkok.
• Budget guesthouses with a few “splurge” nights thrown in.
• Some tours and activities.
• A few drinks.
• And a little extra wiggle room just in case.

Pretty much the essentials of any good, relaxing holiday.

While all the money-saving tips mentioned on my website can be applied to any style of trip you decide to take (saving money is universal), the speed in which you travel on a vacation changes the dynamic of how you spend money. We could have saved a lot if we skipped the flights and took the train but my friends didn’t have the time to spend 12 hours on a train. We flew, which during peak season, is expensive.

This experience brought reminded me how accelerated travel requires us to be more vigilant in our efforts to save money. In the rush to see everything, you can spend a lot of money before you even realize it. I’ll admit that the budget traveler I normally am went out the door on this trip. I would normally never fly around Thailand, would skip the expensive resorts, and wouldn’t eat as much international food as I did with my friends.

A three-week vacation in Thailand might not be as cheap as a three-month backpacking trip but it can still be inexpensive so long as you watch where your money goes and don’t forget about budgeting in your quest to see everything.

The inside of St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest, Hungary

As if Holland wasn’t small enough to travel around, if you are really pressed for time, you can visit the whole country all in one day by visiting Madurodam. Madurodam is a miniature “city” located just outside The Hague, Netherlands.

Madurodam is a scale model of the country and all the attractions and geographical features that make Holland famous. You can see the canals of Amsterdam, the Red Light district, Rotterdam harbor, Maastricht, Utrecht, the dikes that made Holland famous, castles, government buildings, and windmills. Madurodam even has an airport, beaches, little cars, tin people, and trains running through it. In fact, there’s pretty much a scale version (built to a scale of 1:25) of anything of importance or shows the daily life of the country.

There is even a mayor. In 1952, the teenaged Princess Beatrix was appointed mayor of Madurodam. Today, the mayor is elected by a youth council consisting of 25 students from schools in the region.

This major Dutch tourist attraction (it sees millions of visitors per year) was first built in 1952. It was named after George Maduro, a Jewish law student who fought as a member of the Dutch resistance and died at Dachau concentration camp in 1945. His parents donated the money to start the Madurodam project and since then it has just grown.

Thirty five people build and maintain the city. Every year one or two new buildings are added, while older ones get taken away.

I visited Madurodam with Guido from Happy Hotelier. I had heard about the city on a previous trip to The Netherlands and Guido, who lives in The Hague, agreed to indulge my inner child and take me. (Knowing someone with a car is wonderful.) Arriving there, I expected this amazing Legoland version of the country and, though I didn’t find that, I thought the “town” was still pretty interesting to wander around. The detail on the buildings is exquisite and they really put a lot of work into the smallest details. At night, 50,000 miniature light bulbs light up the city.

If you take photos at the right angles, the buildings can fill the frame enough to look like the real thing and you can pretend you actually visited the place. Mostly, I liked watching the airplanes “take off” from the Schiphol Airport, though the décor inside is a bit dated from the 70s. I just wanted to run on the tarmac and play with the planes like an eight year old boy.

Madurodam is open all year round. It is open from 9am to 9pm and tickets cost €12,50 for adults; children are €9, and adults aged 65 cost €11,50. You can get here by car or take the tram from The Hague Central Station. It is tram 9 or bus 22 in the direction of Scheveningen.

I wouldn’t make the half day journey from Amsterdam to see this site. It was interesting but to eat up a whole day for this? I’m not sure it was that interesting. But if you are looking for something a bit more off beat in a country where you end up seeing lots of canals, historic buildings, and art museums, make your way out here when you get to The Hague.

I need your help. Over the last four years I’ve produced over 1,000 pages of content on this website, which I can only assume have been helpful to people since my Google Analytics tell me I get return visitors and I don’t think my parents can hit refresh that many times!

So as I dot the I’s and cross the T’s on my book, I would like to include you in it.

If you have used this website and it has helped you to travel better and cheaper, I would like a quote from you about how my website had helped you.

If you have used any of the companies I’ve recommended in this book (tour companies, hostels, backpacks, booking sites, etc.), and liked them as much as I have, I would like to hear from you.

I’m going to create a section in the book quoting readers who have used any of my advice to improve their travels and I really hope that is you!

If you send me your thoughts, you’ll get a credit in the book for contributing. If you have a website, I will list your website too.

If you are interested in providing me a quote (and I really, really hope you are), e-mail me at:

nomadicmatt@nomadicmatt.com

Please title your e-mail “Nomadic Matt Book Quote”

I don’t often ask for things from you all but if you have used my website, it would mean the world to me to get a quote from you. I will be forever grateful.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

- Matt

P.S. – Penguin Books requires you to sign a release giving me permission me use your quote in the book. Apparently, it’s a legal thing.