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 Traveller's Tales: Advise for travellers in Cambodia
Heed our handy tips on safe travel in Cambodia. You may read about travel warnings, health, what to wear, travel with kids, travel with pets, local weather, local government, medical information and traffic information in the area.Also, you might want to read our
Angkor / Siem Reap city guide,
and Phnom Penh city guide.
Pages (4 of 4):
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| S Le conte |
24 August 2001 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Siem Reap was excellent and so worth the visit. We were there for 3and a half days and could have done with another 2 or 3. You do get a bit'templed' out but could do a day out on Tonle Sap for a break or just wondering around Siem Reap itself. We went to Angkor Wat (amazing and so vast), Bayon, Ta Prohm, Behkeng, the Roulos group and Beng Melea. The tour to the latter cost $70 (2 people) but was worth it. The 2 hour drive was horrendous (when booking check out the car you get - you need a 4x4 to get there and we had an old pickup....) We got stuck in the mud, got pushed out by local police and were stuck up to our calves in mud with a snake wrapping itself around our ankles!
Beng Melea is just fascinating, completely absorbed by jungle and landmines! You HAVE to have a guide there (we had to pay the police $5 per man - v. expensive as well as the guides ($5)) as the area is completely surrounded by landmines; literally centimetres from where you are walking and teenage boys doing the de-mining all around you. We tried to go to Bantrey Srey and the river of a thousand lingas but the bridge had collapsed that day or the night before (worrying) and so we couldn't get there unfortunately. Also spent an hour in a garage as our truck broke down!! The countryside getting there and back was superb - definite photo opportunities and experiences all around and even the stop in the garage was worth it just to see the way that pigs are transported (you hear them coming before they go past...).
The best place that we found to eat was the Red Piano, road parallel to the one at the back of the old market (same road as Angkor What? - a bar marked in the Lonely Planet. The food there was great and cheapest we found apart from market stalls. In the market you can barter by just walking away from stall holders and they often reduce to half the intial price. The local market was ok - a 30 minute walk away but if you've seen other markets - they are much better. The general hygiene was off putting (this was the rainy season and so some of the market was flooded).
Siem Reap is most deintely a place to go to. Get a hotel in or nearish to town (Angkor Village 5 mins from the centre). We also took a boat up from Phonm Penh for $21 each which was fantastic although the safety aspect was non-existent. We sat up on the roof and got completely soaked but it was much more preferable to being inside a boat that had no way of escape apart from a small door at the front....
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| M Herceg |
19 August 2001 |
Stayed at Angkor Village Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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The English-speaking tour guide who Angkor Village Resort arranged for us (his name's Samady) was a wonderful guide. He was very knowledgeable in the history of the country, the city and in Hindu mythology, etc. and very helpful. I recommend that English-speakers look him up. The French restaurant called Only One (that is advertised everywhere and mentioned on almost all Siem Reap websites ) was not very good. Women, watch out for the rude little boys in the soft drink/souvenir shop area right in front of the main gate that leads straight to Angkor Wat. These boys are vulgar and up to no good - unlike all other children elsewhere in Siem Reap and rest of Cambodia.
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| J Gittings |
29 July 2001 |
Stayed at Angkor Hotel - Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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Other than the obvious about Angkor....
We suggest avoiding the standard tourist times. Angkor Wat at midday is empty, so is Banteay Srei, Bayon ditto in late afternoon. You may get hot but it's worth it. Allow enough days to explore less familiar temples.
Be aware that email access is difficult -- connections very slow -- from Siem Reap (or anywhere in Cambodia outside Phnom Penh).
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| P Banfield |
22 July 2001 |
Stayed at Tai Seng Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Cambodia is a top destination, however the country works completely on $us thus would need to prepare for this. A must for the visit of course is a trip to Angkor temples, at least a three day pass would require a full and justified veiwing of the temples.
However the hotel Tai Seng aranged a similer standard hotel in Sein Repp, this was called Hotel Freedom, the hotel is nice and perfectly adequate although the manager has no concern for his customers once they have booked in, he tried (and failed) to charge extra money for various facilities and quoted us by far the most expensive method of viewing the temples. He simply is not to be trusted and with the many mid range hotels in Sienn Repp i would not advise anybody to stay there. I fully understand this is just my point of view and maybe other customers havent found this problem, or even noticed. But i wouldnt want further customers to even have the chance to.
The easiest way of veiwing the temples id to hire a moto and driver whome there are many to choose from and they also double up as a reasonable guide to the area. A must is also to purchase a guide to the temples as the viewing is much more pleasurable with the stories and history behind them.
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| R Ashley |
08 May 2001 |
Stayed at Tai Seng Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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At first Phnom Penh seemed like a place I did not want to spend much time in. It was hot, dusty, and without any western franchises to fall back on if I needed a fix of modern life. The poverty was depressing, and it didn't have a big city charm to it. I rarely saw any other tourists, which made me feel quite alone and vulnerable.
But after a day in Phnom Penh, I saw the value of no tourists, McDonalds, or glass walled buildings. I felt quite safe, and found the Cambodian people to be very upbeat, friendly, and trustworthy despite the very challenging conditions and tomultuous past. The lack of intolerant religious attitudes and customs is also a big plus. Traffic is heavy and completely uncontrolled, but the drivers do not speed and the apparent ban on two stroke motorbikes is to be commended. Very few ATM's and charge card facilities did not allow me to take full advantage of the unique and cheap street level shopping scenes (bring cash). But there are enough Internet facilities to keep you connected. The area around the French Corespondents Club has restaurants that have some familiar western food if you need it, and the FCC itself is a pricey expat hangout worth visiting.
Phnom Penh has great potential. Their temples and palaces are beautiful, and the surrounding countryside provides attractions that can leave you in tears as well as amazement. It has more tourist attractions than even Bangkok, yet has no tourists. That's the best reason to visit!
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| B Thierry |
03 May 2001 |
Stayed at Tai Seng Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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To get around, ask the hotel .Everything can be organised for you.
Trip to Angkor ,hotel, rescheduling of your international flight ....
Enjoy a drink at the Elephant Bar in the somptuous colonial style Hotel Le Royal (5 stars ..this one) at two minutes walk from Tai Seng Hotel and a western meal at the Foreign Correspondant Club on Sisowath Blvd with a nice view of Tonle Sap river. Many places also on this Blvd for Khmer food .
Don't miss the Angkor Temples of course ! and get yourself sun protected if travelling on the roof boat to Siem Reap.
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| A Morley |
21 April 2001 |
Stayed at Tai Seng Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Pnom Pen takes some grit ; I felt much safer in Ankgor Wat, but I am a single woman travelling alone, which makes my situation a little different.
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| G Houseman |
07 March 2001 |
Stayed at Tai Seng Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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One should visit the "killing center" and the "killing fields," but must be psychologically ready for this experience. Angkor Wat should be visited with as much energy as possible since it takes $20 per day for admission, though you can go back on the same day. Airport facilities are lacking; we
had to walk with our luggage a fair distance
from the domestic to the international terminal
in PhnomPenh. Luggage is not checked through
in an efficient manner. But you must pay for
these inefficiences all the same, and the costs
are steep. You pay $20 for a visa fee upon entering the country, a $10 airport tax to
leave PhnomPenh to go to a domestic location,
an airport exit tax in Siem Reap of $4 per
person, and a $20 per person fee for leaving
the country. Cambodia's corrupt and human
rights-dishonoring government charges tourists
to the hilt for visits to historic locations
and for airport use (even though the airports
are very bad.) PhnomPenh is really a wonderful
city, and Angkor Wat is a must for anyone who
wants to know about Asian culture, art, and
history.
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