A friend & I are travelling to Cambodia at Xmas and would like some travel tips, we are spending 3 weeks in Vietnam & Cambodia and possibly Laos. Is Laos worth visiting time permitting or should we skip Laos and fly straight to Hanoi from Bangkok and travel down Vietnam, if so what are must see's and best way to get there and travel around?. I would like to experience Laos, is there a quick way to buzz through enroute to Vietnam?
Apart from the obvious Angkor/Seim Rep & Phnom Penh, what must we do and see when we are in Cambodia, we will probably spend 3-4 days in Cambodia, which is not long I know!
Any advice and tips welcome on sights and best ways to travel in & out and around would be very welcome.
Our Plan is to train/bus into Phnom Penh from Vietnam and then either train or plane from Angkor to Bangkok, which of these is this the best way?
If anyone has stayed at any nice/friendly accomodation, again names and places would be most welcome?
Many thanks in advance for any advice here.
Hi,
We just arrived in Pnom Penh from Saigon today so my knowledge of cambodia is limited but just spent 3 weeks travelling from Hanoi to Saigon so maybe i can help a bit more with that route. the bus from Saigon to Pnom Penh is pretty straight forward and cost us 12 US$ each. It was a large modern coach with air con, toilet and an english speaking guide who also arranges your visa when you get on the bus and walks you through customs. the visa cost us 24US$ and the trip took us just over 6hrs. I think we got the express option as there is one that takes 8hrs. There are loads of travel agents in the city that will book the bus for you and also your hotel can book it too. seems to be the same price whoever you book with. the roads from vietnam is under construction right now and today it was a bit bumpy so glad we were in a modern coach. not sure if it will be finished by the time you get here but the journey was totally fine and you pass through some nice countryside.
We stayed in mini hotel alley in the backpacker area of saigon and it was really good if you are a backpacker. tons of hotels to chose from and plenty of shops and restaurants. also close to the main sights.
only hotel i can remember is blue sky in hanoi in the old quarter. good but small, but very helpful staff.
if i can help with any other vietnam stuff just let me know
fiona
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<hr>Any advice and tips welcome on sights and best ways to travel in & out and around would be very welcome.<hr></blockquote>
In 3-4 days there's not that much choice. Use an express bus service from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.
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<hr>train or plane from Angkor to Bangkok, which of these is this the best way?<hr></blockquote>
No train. "Unnaturally" expensive by plane. 10USD by mini bus (long trip, bumpy on the Khmer side) or taxi and bus.
a trip to cambodia would not be complete without visiting at least one of these two sites: tuol sleng (former prison, now a museum) and choeung ek (the killing fields). it is important to get a sense of the horrors that transpired in the country so recently and to realize how far the country has come. tuol sleng is much closer to the city center and riverbank.
If your travelling through the S/E asia Laos is a must see.Depending on how much time you have and were you are entering the country i'd try and check out Luang prabang wich is a beautiful town chock full of character.Then i'd try and spend and a few days(at least) in Vang Vieng wich is where all the fun is(must go tubing and caving).then last but not least threre's the beautiful Si Phan Don where after a while you get a sense that time has no meaning(stay on don det or don kong).the border crossing is just south of here and has visa on arrival.(for a Cambodian thread i just did a hell of a lot of talking about Laos)Catch:)
The 'must see' for me in Cambodia is the National Museum in PP. I was absolutely in awe of the beauty of their art. Wish i'd spent more time here. It houses the largest Khmer art collection in the world
Travel blog Phnom Penh 'must sees'
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