Sunrise in Angkor Wat Photo: Li Jingjing/GT

Royal Palace in Phnom Penh Photo: Li Jingjing/GT

A statue at the Royal Palace Photo: Li Jingjing/GT

You might not consider Cambodia a "fun" place if you're looking for a place to just relax on your vacation, especially compared to its neighbors, Thailand and Vietnam, which have various entertainment industries and beautiful costal areas to help support the tourist industry.

While the country is right next to the two, it doesn't have the same types of entertainment, instead it is rather quiet.

However, if you are looking to experience and better understand the culture, history and religion of a different world, Cambodia is definitely worth visiting. It was these things that drew me there.

I headed to Cambodia in early March. It turned out to be a good time to go because it wasn't the peak season nor summer and so the temperature and the number of visitors were bearable.

The temples, religious history and culture of Siem Reap took my breath away, but there is also a dark side. The painful history of the country, which visitors can learn about at the Killing Field of Choeung Ek and Tuol Sleng Museum, left me feeling a bit distressed.

Some of my experiences during my trip were rather depressing and shocking, but I feel it's important to share them with those who are interested in traveling there.

Angkor Wat Photo: Li Jingjing/GT

Sad fate of children

Different kinds of scams use children as a tool to target travelers, especially those from Western countries.

The first day my European friend and I were trying to explore the central market of Siem Reap when a woman beggar approached us. We immediately refused, since we had seen many scams like this in China before, but then she said she wasn't asking for money, but milk for her months-old baby.

She wanted to take us to a store to buy milk for her.

We hesitated, trying to figure out whether this was real or not, and we eventually decided to refuse. But she wouldn't leave and kept pressing us.

The entire time, she had been talking to my white friend, hoping to convince him.

Maybe Asians are harder to convince since we are more familiar with these types of scams in our own country.

I told my friend to just say no and the woman suddenly got mad and began yelling at me. Probably because I blocked some potential business. This just made us sure that it was a scam.

As that woman left, we saw there were many other women also holding babies in their arms trying to ask travelers to buy milk for them. We indeed saw a white couple far away from us follow one woman to a store.

At one point, we saw a baby in one woman's arms crying out loud, the woman hit the baby in the head very hard several times to stop the baby from crying.

I started to feel unsure if they were even the real mothers of these babies. 

Siem Reap market Photo: Li Jingjing/GT

Helping can hurt

On thinkchildsafe.org - the website for ChildSafe, an organization that aims to protect children worldwide - they also warned travelers about similar cases.

"In the scam, the shop selling the milk are 'in' on this, and the milk is sold back to them by the beggar, so both the beggar and the business make money from the unsuspecting tourist. A serious concern of many is that the babies involved in this scam appear to be drugged to make the situation look bad and generate more sympathy (and a sale) from the tourists," an article on thinkchildsafe.org explained.

Unfortunately there are other scams or activities that endanger the safety of children.

One friend of mine who had visited Cambodia before told me that a girl who looked only 12 or 13 approached him and offered to have sex with him, while a woman (maybe her mother or just her pimp) watched from a distance.

Everywhere we went, no matter if it was a restaurant or hotel, we kept seeing notices warning visitors that "sex with children is a crime." We were shocked that they even had to write this down, but we realized that this must be so prevalent that they had to.

Another typical scam involves schools or orphanages that attracts tourist to visit and donate money, which is known as "orphanage tourism."

ChildSafe has been pleading for years to end such tourism. In tourists' minds they believe they are helping by donating, but actually this ends up creating more orphans.

"It's a dangerous situation, because particularly bad [orphanages] will keep the children and the orphanage looking just pathetic enough in order to illicit sympathy and get donations," a ChildSafe employee told the Guardian Australia in 2014. Donated money often does not go to the children.

At tourist attractions, unstoppable beggar children will approach you, but if you give them money it only encourages more.

I recommend visitors to the country keep these situations in mind as they travel. More information can be found on ChildSafe's website.

The Royal Palace Photo: Li Jingjing/GT

The lighter side

Cambodia has several great places to visit. Travel guides are sure to list many places to go and things to do, but here I would like to recommend a few things I think worth seeing.

The world's largest religious temple, Angkor Watt, shouldn't be missed. The large-scale stone building, the sculptures and carvings are spectacular. The elevated location of the temple also makes it a great place to watch the sunrise or sunset. Standing in front of the temple and watching the sun gradually rise as its reflection is mirrored in nearby ponds is a breathtaking view.

There are so many temples in Siem Reap that it would be impossible for you to see them all in one day. You need at least two or three days. 

Hiring a guide to take you around to these temples is a good idea. Professional guides speak different languages and through their explanations, you will be able to understand the complicated long history behind each temple. Without this background knowledge most temples will probably seem no more incredible than a bunch of rocks.

There is also a lot of outdoor adventure to be had. Riding motorcycles to the countryside, swinging around like a gibbon in the forest or taking an authentic Cambodian foodie tour.

I tried riding a quad bike to the countryside. Two hours of riding along country roads and looking at the fields where farmers grow rice and buffaloes chill out was very exciting.

Across this vast empty land, you can drive fast and race your friends.

After experiencing culture and adventure, you may also want to take in the several shows available at nights.

In Siem Reap, there's the Phare Circus. In Phnom Penh, you can find performances of Cambodia's traditional dance Aspara.

If you are going to Phnom Penh, take a cruise on the Mekong River if you have the chance. You will see the most amazing sunset on the river.