Cambodia ...

PompeyPete

MUM40 wrote: »

We went last year to vist a family member who works in kampot, so will give some brief information.

From phnom phen you can either get a taxi, around 60 US Dollars, or get a local bus, but these buses are limited time. Travel time is around three hours. Would suggest that you get internal flight to Siem Reap.


We only stayed in kampot and phnom phen, so can give you details of tourist attractions that we visited if you wish

You can also get the train from PP to Kampot, reopened last year...

https://www.seat61.com/Cambodia.htm

A good place to stay in Kampot, by the river, is Rikitikitavi...

https://www.rikitikitavi-kampot.com/

...and a must-do day out from Kep is to hire a tuk tuk for the day to take you to a pepper farm, then on to Kep, and have lunch by the sea.

PompeyPete

DUKE wrote: »

here I come! Only booked flights so far to Phnom Penh, & am planning on staying mostly in Siem Reap. Discuss, all info will be gratefully received

Hi Duke. Another good read...

http://www.canbypublications.com/

prenton01

Hi all

We went Siem Reap last year loved it.

Some tips from me

We stayed here https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6529304 fantastic place it's 5 mins from centre of SR but they provide a free tuk tuk from hotel to centre and will pick you up from airport. Great villas and a fantastic swimming pool.

If you would like one of the most romantic meals in the world while you are there then do this http://www.sojournsiemreap.com/offerings/destination-dining/
It was just amazing experience my wife loved it bit more expensive than normal restaurants but does include a decent bottle of wine and pick up drop off plus the food is amazing

agrinnall

How long are you going for? If it's more than a week then spending your time in only PP and SR seems a bit of a waste when there is so much more to see. At the very least I'd try to get to Kampot and/or Kep, and my personal recommendation is to ride on the Bamboo railway at Battambang (if it is still operating).

bylromarha

In PP, the silver pagoda & royal palace are fascinating. Take a boat trip on the Mekong. Get into the Russian market...it's much more civilised now than when I first went...you can now pass people in the aisles without getting intimate! Try lots of the little diners you see locals in. The food is amazing in some, cheap in all. The pop up ones which appear in the evenings are great. FCC has to be done at some point. And my favourite coffee shop is the Blue Pumpkin by the river. If Apple did coffee shops...

If you want a swim and your hotel doesn't have a pool, most of the upmarket hotels let you use theirs for the price of a drink. Can't advise on where to stay as we stay with friends.

If you want to go lots of places, you can hire a tuk tuk driver on a daily rate. We last paid $10 a day in 2014. Cinemas are about £1 a showing, but take a jumper as they whack up the air con to full. Massages/facials/manicures very cheap. I had 3 treatments over 4 hours for £15.

Siem Reap much pricier. Journey PP-SR, about an hour in it between plane & bus, once you factor in checking in. Up to you what you want to pay. Giant Ibis have a good service on a comfy coach. We've also used a minibus. $7 one way and far more local! We stopped off at the roadside butchers stall for the driver to get his dinner & a little cafe for the toilet. Easy enough to arrange the minibus online. Trip advisor has lots of recommendations.

Loads of good places to stay in SR. We've never done more than 2 days at the temples. We get bored. Hire an air con taxi for the day. They carry chilled water, cold flannels and they're just what you need after an hour temple traipsing! Aside from the temples, SR is just a big tourist town. Make sure you get a cambodian bbq with crocodile.

Cambodia is far more than PP & SR. If you have time, try to get to Kep or Kampot. My friend likes Battambang, but not been there myself.

English is widely spoken, but they appreciate you trying out hello, goodbye, thank you, bill please and other stock phrases in Khmer. We always got a big smile when our 8 year old asked for the bill. Cambodia is a great country with fabulous people. You'll have a great time.

PompeyPete

agrinnall wrote: »

How long are you going for? If it's more than a week then spending your time in only PP and SR seems a bit of a waste when there is so much more to see. At the very least I'd try to get to Kampot and/or Kep, and my personal recommendation is to ride on the Bamboo railway at Battambang (if it is still operating).

Yep, it's still running...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g303666-d2073065-Reviews-Bamboo_Train-Battambang_Battambang_Province.html

Top Tip: If you're doing the Bamboo Train as part of a day trip into the countryside by tuk tuk, ask the tuk tuk driver to take the padded bench seat out of the vehicle for you to sit on on the train.....saves a bit of discomfort.....here's a video, see what they do when oncoming trains meet @ 2 minutes into the video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilJAczgfmHk

Listen out for the call to prayers from the local muslim village mosque too

:cool::cool:

MUM40

if you stay in Kampot, there is a boat trip, that you need to go on and see the sun set. some marvelous scenery on the trip. You can just go and get on the boat, along the main promonade, cant remember how much.


Also you need to visit the EPIC Arts Cafe in Kampot, this cafe is part of the charity EPIC Arts who have a school based in Kampot for disadvanged and disabled adults and childen.
The cafe workers all have a disability of some sort.


we hired a tuk tuk and done the caves, pepper farm, and a vist to Kep during during the day.

reehsetin

Went to SR and PP last year and it was incredible, we went straight to SR from thailand, definitely recommend getting visas sorted beforehand, very glad I did would not want to be in the queue I saw at the airport. Spent a few days in SR then got a driver to PP (about 3.5hrs with traffic but could put my feet up on the back seat and take as many breaks as we wanted).
We had our own car and tour guides and I don't regret it at all, we learned so much about the history and context of what we were seeing. Plus having a guide who knew the quiet routes and a car filled with cold water was invaluable.

PP
Do not stay at the Cardamon hotel, basic cleanliness in the room was ok but a cockroach did appear and at breakfast little bugs were all over everything and the staff were totally not bothered.
Royal palace wasn't really worth a visit but the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum are a must. I especially regretted the palace visit after learning some of the history in the museum.

SR
Visit the Lilypop restaurant http://www.lilypop-restaurant.com/ Honestly the best curry I had on my trip and super cheap
Temples were amazing but no more than 2 or 3 days, only so many differences between them.

DUKE

richardw wrote: »

How are you getting from the capital to Siem Reap?

Was thinking one way Giant Ibis bus, fly the other.

DUKE

FBaby wrote: »

Please report back, planning on going next year.

Will do Fbaby.