Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jlb]

I'm thinking about heading to Cambodia at the end of July. I mainly want to see Angkor Wat. If I'm only going for 7-9 days, should I just fly into Siem Riep and stay there for the duration of my trip. Or would it be possible to fly to Phnom Penh and see the areas in both cities in that short of time?

[crazylemongirl]

doable. There's a great bus service between PP and SR called the mekong express. It takes 4 hours and costs $10. You get breakfast, a toilet and a bus hostess.

I'd say max you need in PP is 2-3 days.

Check out www.travelfish.org

[huffdaddy]

Not sure how the weather/water levels will be, but if you can, take the ferry. Just don't spend the whole time on the top deck.

[While Away]

3 days is just right for Angkow Wat. You have to buy a 3 day pass for $50. After the pass is expired, you can't do anything else in the city or around or anything. You need the pass to climb this hill, or to see that lake, etc. One thing you can do without that pass is see the landmine museum.
The beach at Sihanokville is nice. 9 days is enough for all 3 places easy (including pp).
This site talks about lots of places to go:
http://www.passplanet.com/cambodia/index.htm
That site is good if you like to travel light and fast.

[Toon Army]

[mnhnhyouh]

I think that the roof of the fast boat PP to SR is a good option. Downstairs is closed, noisy and smells of engine.

However, to ride on the roof be prepared. Take food, and dont buy it from the ripoff stand at the boat boarding place. Have good, no, very good sun protection, including a hat with a string, so it wont blow off. If you are prepared, it is very nice. But some near me were suffering, and some, because of sunburn, were going to suffer for a few days to come.

h

[huffdaddy]

[mnhnhyouh]

[indytrucks]

It depends what you wanna do and how interested you are in Angkor. I spent a full 8-9 days in Siem Reap last summer and got the 5 day pass for Angkor. That way you can revisit some of your favourite sites at different (less busy) times of the day and see some of the other, less visited sites that are a bit further-flung (Beng Melea, Phnom Kulen, Rolous Group, etc). Phnom Kulen, for example, was well worth the 2 hour ride on the back of a moto.

Seim Reap has changed much in the last 5-6 years and is a pretty good place to relax and wander for a couple of days after all the running around to temple ruins, lots of great food and drink to be had. Click on my photostream if you want to check out some pics.

[hogwonguy1979]

[mnhnhyouh]

I met a number of people who went to lots of temples per day and on a three day pass, saw something like 20 temples!!!! Many of these places are well worth sitting around in. There are big shady trees, and the beggers are mostly excluded.

I spent a wonderful afternoon out the back of one of the temples, swinging in a hammock between trees, reading, napping, and wandering about. Very enjoyable. I only went to 2 or, at most, 3 per day. I would consider a pair of three day passes, and have a couple of days just taking it easy in and around SR for a bit.

Don't know if it still applies, but in January in 2006 you could not hire a scooter in SR. I was told that every time a hire place opens, the tuk tuk drivers burn it down.

This means that most of your travel around SR will be in a tuk tuk, or on a scooter. Any tuk tuk driver who picks you up will be attempting to get you to use them for a temple tour. Taking a day or so in SR before going to Ankor will help you find a good one. The guy who took us was very good. He understood the type of travel we wanted, and would recommend which temples to go to for a nice quiet time, and when to go to the busier ones that we wanted to see.

One further hint, get a good strong carabiner clip for your pack. You will be wanting to clip it to a tuk tuk when in PP. There is a lot of theft there, and some of it involves a couple of guys on a scooter snatching bags from tuk tuks.

h

[indytrucks]

[the saint]

[chest rockwell]

Im off on July 30th - Aug 11th and have a question about the visa. Do I need to get my visa sorted before I go or can I do it once I get there?

[indytrucks]