Safety in Cambodia

Street theft: Bag snatching by motorbike is common in the capital and in Sihanoukville. Do not walk along the road with your phone in your hand, and wear your backpack on both straps so you are not an easy target.

Traffic: This is the biggest real risk to your health. Rules are loosely observed, helmets are ignored and a whole family may share one scooter. Take crossing the road and riding seriously.

Drugs: Some menus openly list dishes with marijuana, but police regularly use this to set travellers up and extract very large bribes. Anything harder carries severe prison sentences.

Landmines: In remote areas near the border there is still unexploded ordnance in the ground. Never leave the beaten path in the forest and pay attention to the warning signs and red markers.

Scams: Only pay at official ticket counters. Never buy Angkor passes from someone on the street, and ignore drivers who tell you your hotel has closed so they can take you somewhere that pays them commission.

Wildlife: In budget jungle bungalows you will certainly meet geckos and spiders. They are harmless, but mosquitoes here carry dengue, so use a repellent with DEET and check your government's travel advisory for current health notices.

Cambodia is welcoming but poor, and street theft in Phnom Penh is a real problem rather than an exaggeration.

Motorbike bag snatching. Phnom Penh's main affliction. Bags and phones are torn away at speed, and the danger is less the theft than the fall: people are pulled out from under wheels with fractures. Wear your bag across your body on the side away from the road, and do not hold a phone in the street.

The border at Poipet. The classic on the way in from Thailand: "visa processing" at a bogus office at double the price, a demand for a "medical certificate", and exchange at a robbery rate. The visa is issued only at the official post for a fixed dollar amount, and no additional fees exist.

Tuk-tuks at Angkor. Agree a whole-day price in advance and specify the route: the "small circuit" and "grand circuit" cost differently, and this emerges unexpectedly at the end of the day.

"Orphanages." Volunteering and visits to children's homes are a profitable industry in which the children are often not orphans. International organisations urge people not to take part. Direct donations to established charities instead.

ATMs. Fees are high, so withdraw in larger amounts. The country effectively runs on US dollars, with riel used as small change.

Drugs. The law is severe, sentences are long, and conditions are harsh. "Happy pizza" and "special shakes" on a menu are drug sales, and the police know it: the scheme in which you are met outside the venue afterwards is known and active.

Angkor. The archaeological park's rules are enforced strictly: covered shoulders and knees, no climbing on structures outside permitted places, and no nudity. Nude photo shoots at the temples have ended in arrest and deportation — there have been several cases.

Exporting antiquities. Stone fragments, statues and old objects may not be taken out; it is a criminal offence. Buy souvenirs from licensed shops with a receipt.

Drones. Prohibited over Angkor and government sites, and permission is required.

Landmines. Cambodia remains among the world's most heavily mined countries. Around Pailin, Battambang and along the Thai border, leaving marked paths is categorically unsafe. The red skull signs are not decoration.

Child protection. The laws are strict, international cooperation is active, and sentences are real.

Visas. Overstaying costs 10 dollars a day, and a long overstay means deportation and an entry ban.

Vaccinations. None mandatory. Hepatitis A, typhoid, rabies and Japanese encephalitis are advised.

Dengue. Year-round, peaking in the May-to-October rains. The mosquito bites by day.

Malaria. Present in forested border areas — Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri, and along the Thai and Lao frontiers. Absent from Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and the coast. For trips inland, discuss prophylaxis with a doctor: this region has drug-resistant strains.

Water. Bottled only. Ice in decent establishments is industrially produced and safe.

Heat. March to May is the furnace, above 38°C at high humidity. See Angkor at dawn, not at midday.

Healthcare. Weak. Phnom Penh has the Royal Phnom Penh Hospital and international-standard clinics, and Siem Reap has Royal Angkor. Everything else is not an option. Anything serious means evacuation to Bangkok — hours and tens of thousands of dollars. Insurance with evacuation cover is essential; do not come without it.

Emergency numbers: 117 police, 119 ambulance, 118 fire. In practice it is faster to call your clinic or hotel.

Cambodia sits at the very bottom of the Corruption Perceptions Index, and it shows.

Traffic police. Foreigners on motorbikes are stopped regularly and offered a "fine" without a receipt. The sum is usually small. Asking for an official report sometimes works and sometimes drags the conversation out. Keep small notes separate from your main wallet.

Licences. Cambodian rules require a local permit or an International Driving Permit with category A. Rental shops do not ask; the police do, and your insurer certainly will.

Reporting theft. A certificate for your insurer will be issued, though a "paper fee" is often requested at the station. There will be no investigation. Siem Reap handles it better, with a tourist police unit.

Tourist police. Operating at Angkor in Siem Reap and in Phnom Penh, with English.

What genuinely matters. The police in Cambodia are not the institution that will solve your problem. Your main defence is not creating the situation: no valuables on display, no drug purchases, no stepping off paths in mined areas.

Emergency number is 117.