Korean Job Discussion Forums

[aeln]

Hey, I'm heading to Cambodia on Friday and have heard that it's easy enough to just hop in a cab and go to an area with guesthouses in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and find somewhere for cheap. Any recommendations?

Also, Me and three friends are planning to do a couple days in Phnom Penh, then travel to Siem Reap and fly out from there. We've already booked the tickets but any suggestions on the best way to get from the one city to the other?

Thanks!

[sojourner1]

This is a long post, but I find talking about Cambodia facinating and happy to tell you what I can from experience.

You can take a flight between Phnom Phen and Siem Reap. You can also take a bus or a boat and bus combo. In Phnom Phen I would recommend staying on the river front. Local travel agents in guesthouses and tourist districts can easily help you out with arranging this travel. In Phnom Phen, I stayed in a Chinese hotel for $30 a night with a nice French restaurant a half a block away after staying one night in a really dilapidated hotel near the central market place that an airport taxi talked me into. Don't trust a taxi as he's looking for a one time chance to take advantage of you in getting that commission for taking you to an awful hotel. I used an LP book and internet to make room contacts and then for a driver, I hand picked him off the street in the old district. Hotels and guesthouses can also set you up with a driver. In Siem Reap, there are many guesthouses near the old market district (triangle shaped area) which is the tourist hangout where you'll find nice bars, night clubs, restaurants, stall shopping, hundreds of drivers jockying to be hired by the day, and happy pizza restaurants. Definitely hire a tuk tuk driver for about $15 a day to get around to the various Angkor Wat archeological sites. And give him water and lunch at a tent restaurant near one of the sites for Christs sake! That's about $4 more a day.

Also, pick up the local info books or zines in Siem Reap. Phnom Phen didn't seem to have a tourist ghetto area like Siem Reap or Bangkok does, but the river front is terrific where many tourists and NGO guys hang out. The river front also has police hired by the local businesses and rich guys looking out for your interests. In Cambodia, police only do their job when specially hired and only within the scope of the boss man's request. It's where you get real coffee and western food too and feel the safest as Phnom Phen does not feel all that safe, but I walked around and shopped as well as riding in that traffic in a 2 wheeled carriage on bicycle wheels hooked to a 75cc Korean Daelim motor bike. It was crazy, but one fascinating adventure into a 3rd world country. Warning, this trip takes courage and guts, especially if going it alone. Your drivers are the best friends you got, but be careful who you pick to ensure a good time. They'll look out for you if you're looking out for them such as giving them water and not making unreasonable demands.

You're making it a lot easier and safer to fly in and out of the country. I took a taxi to Siem Reap from Poipet on the Thai border. This is sketchy, but I pulled it off all by myself. What a scary adventure. I actually felt scared, but didn't give in or show my fear. After leaving the police box upon entering Cambodia, a man in an official looking yellow shirt accosted me and he was the only one around as I walked toward the dead end traffic circle where there's supposed to be Toyota camry taxis for hire. The man had a small motor bike and I rode on it with my luggage for a joy ride through Poipets dirt streets and seen groups of men standing in the streets in several locations. We stopped at each of these to inquire if anyone had a car going to Siem Reap. It was scary as they were mafia creeps and I thought I landed in a trap. I ended up getting in one car with the agreement to pay $75 upon arrival. I sat for 5 minutes in the car and the driver demanded I pay now, because he didn't have money for gas, but I stood my ground on not playing that game so I got out of the car and demanded for him to pop the trunk to get my bag out. He finally did after 10 minutes of arguing. I chewed the motor bike guy out to take me back to point A if he can't get me a taxi. He immediately took me back to the main road and this big fat American man in a suit comes out of a place as I'm getting ready to get in another Toyota Camry. I thought, "Oh my god, organized crime with a rich westerner heading it." It turned out he was a cool IT guy based in Bangkok go. We paid $50 each and almost got into many crashes on the dirt highway. A motorcycle almost flew into our front end when it hit a soccer ball sized rock in the middle of the road. The other passenger was strange as he wore his business suit to explore the temples as I saw him several times the following 2 days.I really had to bravely stand my ground to get my way. My independent Cambodia trip a year ago seemed like an Indiana Jones adventure in many ways.

[Tobias]

That does sound like an adventure. I've heard the road running from Poipet to the capital is the worst highway on the planet. Might have to try that one next time I'm down that way. Perhaps this road could play host to the Cambodia 500, an offshoot of the Baja 1000.