Korean Job Discussion Forums

mission_weasel · Joined: 23 Jun 2008 Location: Austin/Seoul

I would like to take a trip from about December 24th to January 4th and I would like some advice from people who have been there recently (within the past few months). It seems that things are changing rapidly in the country in regard to what is overcrowded and what is considered off the beaten path.

I should also mention that I am a young backpacker that would enjoy running into like-minded people on my vacation. I will probably be traveling with one or two other people. I have several places and activities in my mind that I would like to include in my trip:

Phnom Penh - Boeng Kak Lake. I have heard you can relax here in hammocks and there is some fairly interesting stuff in town like a market and whatnot. Input here is welcome.

Siem Reap - Angkor temples. Is this place still worth staying at for 3 days or has it become a circus during the winter?

Sihanoukville - I read on several threads here that this place is worth skipping entirely even for people my age. If so, what is a better beach or island to visit that would still be feasible on a 10+ day trip?

* I have heard you can fire rocket launchers and machine guns in the jungle but where and how do you do this?

* I read about tubing on the Mekong river in Laos and I would like to know if there is somewhere in Cambodia that you can do this or if going to Laos and Cambodia is feasible on short trip.

*Other activities I am interested in are mountain biking, rock climbing, and anything you can do at the beach.

demel · Joined: 14 Oct 2008

I've been to Cambodia three times recently. All three times by bus from Saigon (it takes only five hours).

Visas on arrival, $20.

Phnom Penh worth a couple of days for the architecture and mood. Then bus to Angkor Wat for two days. The temples are best at dawn and at dusk, of course all guidebooks will tell you that.

Then I would go by bus or shared taxi (haggle hard!) to Battambang, another nice old quiet colonial place. Then back to PP. Or from PP to Kampot, that was a nice place, and nearby is Bokor, an old Frenchy resort, now a ghost place. Some hiking might be possible there. Just remember, Cambodia is always damn hot. Plus in many areas there is the danger of leftover land mines off the beaten track.

Sihanoukville is probably not as good as Boracay or Thailand. It has a beach, I guess.

Read some guidebooks through, and don't worry about the tourists, especially this season they will probably get fewer than in the past.

Boeng Kak Lake... not the most sophisticated scene. Try to get the book "Off the Rails in Phnom Penh" for an idea.

The gun shooting and so on is all gone. Watch your back at night in the unlighted back streets of PP. Find a moto driver you can trust. Getting hurt in a traffic accident is by far the biggest danger.

ernie · Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Location: asdfghjk

when i went to cambodia, i stayed for about 4 days in siem reap and 3 days in phnom penh. i didn't go to sihanoukville but my friends did and they hated it. the beach there is nice but there were so many beggars and scams and nothing really to do. the boat ride between siem reap and phnom penh is a bit of an ordeal, and takes about 5 hours. i don't recommend doing this twice, just fly in and out of different cities.

the mekong tubing place in laos is in vang vieng, which is north of the capital (vientiane) and quite far from where you will be in cambodia. i recommend the si phan don islands in the extreme south of laos, although i think this is too ambitious for such a short vacation. it's probably a whole day's bus ride from phnom penh to the islands (and another day back, of course).

demel · Joined: 14 Oct 2008

I was able to do it from Saigon to Kratie in one day. Morning to PP, then around 3pm a van to Kratie, that took about five hours. In Kratie, off the main market, there is a nice backpackers' cafe that gives you tours of the countryside etc. From Kratie to Stung Treng just an hour and a half by car on a nice new road. From there I think at least another hour or two to the Laos border, which closes at 5pm (must get the visa in advance, but walk-in service at embassies available). From there to the islands it's just another hour or less by motorbike. Then you might as well push on into Laos, crossing into Thailand at Savannakhet or farther on, and overnighting into BKK.

sojourner1 · Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:52 pm Post subject:

I went last February. The shooting is outside of Pnom Penn and your driver will likely offer to take out to the shooting range for extra money. I didn't do it since I shot military weapons many times before. You can go see a huge glass case of skulls and shallow mass grave sites and a school that was turned into a house of horrors torture chambers. Pol Pot was one sick f*ck.

Angkor Wat is a great reason to go to Siem Reap for about 5 days. It's really a cool adventure, but the rest of the country seems to be a little too rough around the edges to put it fairly.

Thailand is far better for trekking and getting out to get exercise as Cambodia is largely not safe and comfortable for mountain biking, rock climbing, and anything you can do at the beach.

Have a nice trip.

mission_weasel · Joined: 23 Jun 2008 Location: Austin/Seoul

Thank you for all the great advice.

We will probably stick with PP and Siem Reap but I may reconsider Sihanoukville since I have heard so many mixed reviews. I was hoping that the night life there would have been promising since there seems to be a lot of bars there. I kind of figured Laos would be too much for such a short vacation. I am very interested in visiting Thailand but I think I will wait until I finish my contract when I really have some more time to explore, more money, and the freedom to continue traveling in SE asia.

Where is a fun and safe place to go to bars and relax and mingle with other travelers?

ernie · Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Location: asdfghjk

in siem reap, you'll have no trouble finding other travellers. make sure to try the happy pizza. get some extra 'happy' in a bag to take back to your hotel. maybe avoid the 'ecstatic' pizza, unless that's your style. phnom penh is a big city with lots of nightlife. just be sure to avoid the red light district near the north part of the river at night and you should be fine. if you want some hotel recommendations, send me a PM.

Bibbitybop · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Location: Seoul

mission_weasel · Joined: 23 Jun 2008 Location: Austin/Seoul

Just need a few more posts to PM

mission_weasel · Joined: 23 Jun 2008 Location: Austin/Seoul

one or two

mission_weasel · Joined: 23 Jun 2008 Location: Austin/Seoul

mission_weasel · Joined: 23 Jun 2008 Location: Austin/Seoul

mission_weasel · Joined: 23 Jun 2008 Location: Austin/Seoul

mission_weasel · Joined: 23 Jun 2008 Location: Austin/Seoul

frenchytml · Joined: 16 Jan 2008

OP

was there last year in November I guess it was...was in PP for the big dragon boat races they have, and that pretty cool...the city was ridiculously overcrowded during that event though! PP was nice, but, you don't need a TON of time to hang out there...spent maybe 3 days total in the city, markets, and couple places outta town. then, we took a riverboat to SR...and that was a nice trip...like 5 or 6 hrs as someone else mentioned....get up early in the morning, there early afternoon....later on that day is when we went and fired machine guns, and, you can also shoot at animals if you want. (hope I don't get crucified for saying that! haha) at the place we were at the dude chained some ducks up to a pole, at the end of a LONG hallway, or shooting range, and you got to try and ping it off...was surprisingly difficult for a couple of my friends who didn't manage to hit them with a fully automatic machine gun! but, it should be noted that the ducks were going to be consumed later that night for dinner...or so he said! also, if you want to but a cow, they will take you in to the mountains somewhere, and you can blow up a cow with a rocket launcher...but that didn't really appeal to us

the next day we got up EARLY and spent the WHOLE day in the ruins of angkor wat...and I travelled for about 8 weeks straight in S.E. asia, and the ruins were probably my favourite part of the trip....we didn't spend DAYS there which you could if you wanted to as there are TONS of ruins...but, one SOLID day can get you to most of the main ones, and after 12 hours of hiking I'd had enough anyway! we just rented some dudes in little tuk tuks or whatever, for the day, and that was very cheap!

never made it down to sihanoukville....BUT, some friendds of mine spent a bunch of time there and SWORE by it, said it was amazing....my friend's dad was also a scuba instructor down there and said that he really enjoyed his time there!

hope that helps!