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cambodia is a dream

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niko

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Joined: Aug 23, 2004
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Posted: Oct 30, 2004 - 07:53 AM
Post subject: cambodia is a dream

dear all,who will give me some sugestion about cambodia travel?i will start next Feb.Feb. is a nice season there,isnt it?

farang

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Joined: Nov 02, 2004
Posts: 256

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Posted: Nov 14, 2004 - 07:33 PM
Post subject: Re: cambodia is a dream

niko wrote:

dear all,who will give me some sugestion about cambodia travel?i will start next Feb.Feb. is a nice season there,isnt it?

February is a nice time to go in terms of the weather- should be warm but not as hot and humid as SE Asia can get.

Definitely recommend visiting Angkor Wat- it's truly an amazing place and I was thoroughly impressed, especially that I'm not usually the type of person to walk around temples.

You should book a place to stay ahead of time- there is a huge range of accommodation, but a lot of reasonable places at the lower end. I stayed in the Bakong Guesthouse at US$20/night. Was new, clean, with satellite tv, aircon and hot water. At the time there wasn't much in the midrange- there might be more these days.

The town of Siem Riep is about 20-30min from Angkor by car. I highly recommend you rent a car and driver (at US$20/day) as the motorcycles can be dangerous- a friend of mine broke his leg while visiting Angkor when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by a car.

Get up before dawn and eat breakfast at one of the local eateries- ride in with your driver and start your tour of Angkor as the sun comes up. You can easily spend 3-4 full days there exploring all of the different localed.

Recommend you buy a book on Angkor and read about the history of each temple before you visit- will give you a much greater appreciation of the place.

US dollars are as freely used as the local currency- convert at least some of your dollars into riel as you'll need the smaller denominations for short motorcycle rides (1000 riel should take you pretty much anywhere in Siem Riep).

In contrast to sleepy Siem Riep, Phnom Penh is (at least when I was there it was) a dangerous place. If you plan to visit, stay at one of the better hotels and don't walk around alone at night.

niko

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Posted: Nov 14, 2004 - 07:57 PM

thanks,dear farang,then how many places did u visit there?do u think if i can visit 3 cities there in a week?
and what's ur budget(if u dont mind telling me)?i have a travel handbook for cambodia,but better to get some actural suggestions. Very Happy

farang

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Posted: Nov 14, 2004 - 09:24 PM

niko wrote:

Hi Niko!

I really recommend you don't visit other places in Cambodia... Siem Riep is safe and worthwhile but Phnom Penh and other areas aren't so good. Instead, I recommend you visit nearby Thailand- go to Chiang Mai and visit the hilltribes, take elephant rides, ride rafts on the river, go to Soi Suthep, Doi Ithanon.

Budget per day could be US$20 for hotel, US$20-30 for car rental, and US$20 for food and misc. You could spend more or less, but I like my comfort. Very Happy

Take care!
- Farang

niko

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Posted: Nov 15, 2004 - 10:51 AM

mmm...Chiang mai is in my consideration,but it needs 2 visas,right?
Angkor:how long do u think will i stay there,3days or 7days?3 days enough?i'm sure i will like it.
another question,how many clothes will i take?hehe,you know,a girl always has many little problem like that,thanks Embarassed

zang

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Joined: May 19, 2003
Posts: 179

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Posted: Nov 15, 2004 - 11:06 AM

Hi,

I think 3 days is definitely enough for Angkor. It's really interesting and impressive but after 2 full days of looking at old temples and stones I almots had enough already. The three day ticket is good because you can check out most of the major sights and a lot of the smaller ones in the first 2 days and then go back to the ones you really liked again on the third day.
I stayed at a place called red lodge in siem reap. We paid 6 $ for a double room with bathroom and fan. We went in October but didn't need an A/C room so I don't think you'll need A/C in February.
For getting around all the temples we had a tuktuk driver who picked us up at the guesthouse in the morning. About 8-10 US / day. I liked the tuktuk a lot actually. Quite relaxing just sitting there.
BTW if you're thinking of buying a lonely planet wait until you're there. You can buy all of the guides there for 1-2 US.
Went to Pnom Penh after that. QUite intersting as well. Didn't look at many temples there but they have some intersting places remembering the khmer rouge regime which is worth visiting. Spend 2 nights in Pnom Penh(double room with bath 4US). The accomodation is cheap but really good usually. , at least way better than all of the stuff on Khao San road.
After pnom Penh we went to Battambang on our way back to Bangkok.
I wouldn't recommend visiting that twon. It szid in the guides that it's a nice colonial style riverside town. In my opinion it's not worth visiting.
Anyway. cambodia is really nice. The people are really friendly and it's definitely worth a visit!
Have fun!

bellabella

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Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
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Posted: Nov 15, 2004 - 11:50 AM

Wow Farang your budget is really high! Niko you can get a really nice hotel room in Siem Reap for about $5. I stayed in a place called Rytirin Guest house (I think) which was pretty good. If you want a tv, air con or fridge it can go up to $10, but you don't need all that stuff, save your money for the really good food there! There are lots of decent guest houses in Siem Reap for around the $5 - $10 price. Even if you don't stay there go eat at The Ivy near the market, the food is really good and the atmosphere is great. You could stay at least a week in Siem Reap - there's also this cute little japanese cafe called Molopor with cheap snacks and tea.

The temples - a 3 day pass is enough, can't remember how much is was though, maybe about $60. Make sure you visit Angkor Wat and Ta Phrom these were my faves. Try to visit just after sunrise when there are the least number of tourists. Avoid doing anything in the middle of the day - it's too hot. As far as transport goes, you can hire a guide with a motorcycle for about $6 a day and a tuktuk (a 4 wheeled cart type thing pulled by a motorcycle) for about $8, they are yours for the day and will take you back and forth from the town if you want.

At the temples there are lots of food and souvenir stalls with quite pushy kids trying to get you to buy stuff. They are actually pretty cute, try to buy something from them, even if it's just a coffee, they are quite deserving. Or just give them a few riel for taking their photo. The kids in Cambodia are just lovely. Also in Siem Reap there are quite a lot of landmine victims begging - this is their only source of income so try to give them something as well. Also there are people selling books and things on the street from carts - this money goes to help the people of Cambodia as well - they are in need of help!!

Clothes - it's pretty hot there - think Shanghai summer, but dry. Take sunscreen and a hat. Decent shoes for walking around the temples - decent boots would be good.

As far as other places to visit in cambodia - Phnom Pen is pretty safe. if you stay around the lake area where a lot of travellers stay. a lot of people also go to Sihanoukville which is by the sea and is pretty popular. haven't been myself but you might like it. Don't know about other places. If you travel between siem reap and phnom pen by bus the road is quite bumpy so prepare yourself and take a hanky or scarf to cover your mouth - the roads are covered in brown red dust!!

That's all the info I can remember. have fun in cambodia it's wonderful and the people are amazing!! You can do cambodia on about $20 dollars a day I'd think.

Happy travels, I wish it was me!!

niko

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Posted: Nov 15, 2004 - 12:18 PM

thanks indeed,zang,farang,bellabella,you're very kind,i will listen to your suggestions and hope to bring something special for u. Very Happy

Edgewood
FooSlinger

Joined: Jan 28, 2004
Posts: 3906
Location: Colonial Shanghai

Posted: Nov 15, 2004 - 01:03 PM

www.talesofasia.com is the best place on the web if you are going to Cambodia. It's a great country.

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JeffG

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Joined: July 15, 2004
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Posted: Nov 15, 2004 - 01:56 PM

Gwatamala is the only country in the world with a highier kidnapping rate than Cambodia (for non natives) ... HAPPY HOLIDAYS Laughing

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lijunj

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Joined: Nov 18, 2002
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Posted: Nov 15, 2004 - 06:17 PM

For Feb., I think it's high season there which means you have to pay more money than usual. But it's still very cheap there.

For the place to go, I've been to Sihanouk ville. It's headquarter of cambodian navy. They have really nice beaches there. There's not so many tourist visit Sihanouk ville. I think it just because all the tourists
prefer visit Angkor wat. I stayed there 3 nights. I got nice experience there. From Sinhanouk you can easily overload thailand border.

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niko

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Posted: Nov 15, 2004 - 08:20 PM

hey,sihanouk ville is also in my consider,but havent decided if i will go there,bcs i have only 7days plan,maybe after visiting Angkor wat,no enough days,what should i do Confused

Edgewood
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Joined: Jan 28, 2004
Posts: 3906
Location: Colonial Shanghai

Posted: Nov 15, 2004 - 09:59 PM

You can get from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville in a day if you need to, but it's a long day. 3 days in SR, 3 in SV. You have 7 days in country, right? You can do Sihanoukville to Bangkok in a day to fly back (but that really is a hell of a day - I did it in rainy season OMG!)

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niko

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Posted: Nov 17, 2004 - 10:10 AM

luckily,Feb. is not rainy season.thanks all,your suggestions are helpful to me. Mr. Green

bellabella

Gypsy Queen

Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
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Posted: Nov 17, 2004 - 12:01 PM

OMG Cambodia in rainy season? That must have been hell! What were the roads like?

farang

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Joined: Nov 02, 2004
Posts: 256

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Posted: Nov 17, 2004 - 10:53 PM

Niko I'm not sure about the visa needed for a Chinese person to go to Thailand. I can get a visa on arrival, valid for 30 days. 3 days in Angkor Wat should be enough, as others have said. I really recommend you read into the history of the place before you go- it'll give you a much better appreciation of the temples.

Bella-Bella... I didn't realize that my budget would be considered high. For me that was about as close to camping as I get. Wink

Not sure about Phnom Penh being called safe- the day before I was there a foreigner was shot after his motorcycle was pulled over for a robbery. Things might have improved in the last 18 months but it was quite bad when I was there- as a whole the most dangerous place I've visited.

As a whole an interesting country having suffered very much in recent history.