planning a 3 wk Cambodia trip next month, July. flying into Siem Reap.
_thinking of going to Battambang...will the weather & road conditions allow us to go to Prasat Preah Vihear?
_any suggestions would be appreciated for places to see, do, experience...eat, lodging....
_thank you in advance for your time & kindness
jbltr
1
henningwessel
- Should be possible to go to Preah Vihear. Try and take a boat to Battambong.
2. Check out Wat Banan (bring a torchlight for the cave, you could ask one of the urchins to show you around), Wat Ek and Wat Sampeou in BB. There are also some fruit orchards and a vineyard! I was there on New Year's Eve, no fruit on the trees but I got two bottles of wine. The stuff is a bit sweet and tastes similar to Port or Madeira but it's a nice souvenir.
2
steveatkins
Are you thinking Battambang and Preah Vihear are closeby, they are not. Preah Vihear will be possible depending on how adventurous you are. That time of year some sections of the road may be washed out, making for interesting improvisation...
3
jbltr
Steve,
<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Are you thinking Battambang and Preah Vihear are closeby, they are not.<hr></blockquote>
No, I do know they are not closeby, in trying to save space, made it confusing, should have separated the two questions. Will fly into Siem Reap, making it a kinda base to venture from in the northern regions. Just wanted to know what were the possibilities of places that might not be reachable due to the rain, read in Lonely Planet Preah Vihear can't be done in the wet but things might have improved between the date of publication of guide book & now. Needed some more recent input from in-country insights. Are you saying HenningWessel is overly optimistic about reaching Preah Vihear? Adventurous is OK but then there is STUPID, it's not like I must get there or lose out on a million dollar inheritance or something like that!
Thanks HenningWessel for your suggestions, they all sound real good. This was exactly the king of info I was seeking after.
Anybody else have others to suggest that is do-able for July, maybe not necessary to be close to Siem Reap, we've got 3+ weeks, just need to be back here since flight home is from here.
4
henningwessel
Ok, knowing SR will be your base is quite helpful.
Here are a couple of short trips and activities you could do:
- Kampong Thom to visit Sambor Prey Kuk, 2D/1N
- Combine Preah Vihear with Anlong Veng and Koh Ker 3D/2N
- Freshwater dolphins north of Kratie, ok, slightly longer, I'd give it 4D/3N
- Banteay Chhmar, never been there but the road looks ok on the map :) ... 2D/1N
- Battambong (already suggested)
- Bird sanctuary on the Tonle Sap near SR
- Riding
- Quads (don't know if it's started yet but I've heard it's going to for sure)
- Cooking classes
That's what I can think of right now... sure others will chip in.
5
htho
Around Siem Reap area, here are the places to visit:
•Tonle Sap: 30 mn away from Siem Reap. A floating fishing village and a unique ecosystem rich with birds and other wildlife
•Phnom Kulen: 50 km from Siem Reap. A sacred mountain offering hundreds of linga stands in the river, waterfalls and pagoda at its peak
•Local markets: the old market « Phsar Chas » & « Phsar Kandale » offer many Cambodian souvenirs at a good price/average quality…
•Artisans d’Angkor- Many locations: "Chantiers-Ecoles", guided tours of the workshops – stone/woodcarving, laquering and silk painting. The "Angkor Silk Farm" (20mn from Siem Reap) guided tours of the silk workshops. The craftsmen you can see there are trained by Artisans d’Angkor to the traditional ancestral crafts. They sell their beautiful products in the Artisans d’Angkor’s shops. Website: http://www.artisansdangkor.com<BR><BR>With this programm, think that you can spend 5 days in SR
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Lonely Planet
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