Погода: Баттамбанг, апрель

Siem Reap-forum threads asking if April is simply too hot don't sugarcoat it - one thread calls the month stinking hot, brain-bakingly hot, everything parched, brown and dusty, with daytime temperatures well into the 40s Celsius on the worst days. Regulars offer the same standing advice: start sightseeing at first light, retreat for a long midday siesta somewhere air-conditioned with a pool, then go back out in the late afternoon once the worst heat breaks. A tuk tuk ride is recommended over an enclosed car, since the breeze dries off sweat rather than trapping heat the way air conditioning does when you step back out. Khmer New Year lands in April too, and mango season is in full swing. The midday temples empty out fast as visitors retreat indoors. The record: a scorching 35.3C by day feeling like a punishing 41C, 25.4C nights, 74mm across 10 days, 67 percent humidity, an unhealthy 77 AQI and 11 hours of sun.

Cambodia's forum is generally upbeat about June: it's the start of the rainy season, but posters were clear it doesn't rain every day, and the rain actually helps take the edge off the heat. The typical pattern is an hour-long deluge that floods the street briefly before life carries on as normal - keep your phone and passport dry and expect it, not dread it. Battambang specifically sits inland, and forum posters noted coastal areas take the brunt of the wetter weather, so this stretch of the country generally sees less rain than the coast at the same time of year.

Forum posters describe December as a genuinely good time here - dry heat without the oppressive humidity of other months, blue skies, a slight breeze and cool mornings that call for a light jumper before warming up into T-shirt-and-shorts weather by day. Posters note this coincides with fishing season and the rice fields turning a golden yellow, with no rain or flooding to worry about. Posters are candid, though, that year-to-year variation is real - one visitor might be sweating at night while another is shivering, since Cambodia's cool season isn't perfectly consistent - but the overall consensus is that December ranks among the most pleasant, comfortable months to visit.