anyone been to Cambodia? needs some travel tips :)?
Hi, I am planning to travel to Cambodia with my sister by the end of this year. I am thinking of staying there for at least 5 days. I really wanna visit the angkor temple! anyone know how much do I need to save up? and is there any places that I must visit too? thanks P.S by the way I live in Melbourne Australia =)
Other - Asia Pacific - 2 Answers
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1 :
I think I spent $300 US in Cambodia in a week. Make sure you buy the most recent Lonely Planet for Cambodia. It will have a LOT of information about the Wats at Angkor (there are many, not just one, and some are really cool). The pass to go into Angkor is one or the most expensive things you will buy. Most likely you will not be spending more than two days with the wats, but the only units are a 1-day, and 3-day and a 7-day pass. I think the 1-day was $20 and the 3-day was $40. You need about $12/day for transport in a tuk tuk (motorcycle pulling a cart that you sit on). Food is rather cheap. If you want easy good-tasting food then eat at your guest house. We stayed at "The Good" in Siem Reap, and it was very good indeed. Beware no hot water and very hard beds. But they did have books and movies and computers (i think the internet was free) not to mention lots of soft couches and chairs. I think it was between 5 and 8 dollars a night. Also, they had VERY cheap water. If you stay there, then ONLY buy bottled water from the guesthouse. It's a ripoff everywhere else. There is nothing else to see in Siem Reap unless you want to visit other guesthouses to meet people. In Cambodia you can visit Phenom Phen (capital, only big city). There are a few cool things there like the Wat Phenom. Btw, they use US money with their own currency for change. know the exchange rate of US to Cambodian currency before you go.
2 :
Tip No.1 - the most convenient connection from Melbourne to Siem Reap, Cambodia, is via Ho Chi Minh City with Vietnam Airlines, so do check their flights. Prices are reasonable and the carrier is excellent. For Angkor you will need 3 days - 2 full days for the main temples (Small and Big Circuits) plus take one day to visit very beautiful Banteay Srey (rosy temple) and maybe Phnom Kulen (stream of 1,000 lingas, reclining Buddha and waterfalls, entrance $20). National Museum in Siem Reap will be a nice add-on, because they keep statues in the Museum, not in the temples (entrance $12). In Siem Reap there is also a floating village to visit ($15) or you may want to see the Apsara Dance show (around $10?). Decent food is $3-6 for the main dish. Guesthouses - $7-10 for the fan room, $12-17 for the AC room of a decent quality, breakfast included. Hundreds of hotels and guesthouses. Entrance to Angkor $20 for 1 day, $40 for 2 or 3 days, also for the main temples you will need a tuk-tuk from $12 a day, an English-speaking guide costs from $25 per day. Tuk-tuk ride around the town is $1-2. For Banteay Srey alone you may be fine with a tuk-tuk (48km, good road) but if you go to Phnom Kulen it is better to take a car (rough road in the hills!) I have not been to Phnom Penh, but they say it only needs 1 - 1.5 days. Things to see are Vat Phnom, Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, Killing Fields and Toul Sleng prison. Bus from SR to PP costs $10-12, 5-6 hours. There is also a beach destination Sihanoukville (3-4 hours from Phnom Penh). Here you can spend weeks of course.... Do not exchange money to Riels, you can pay US Dollars everywhere. You will get a Visa-on-Arrival at the airport, costs $20 and 10 minutes of your time. Take a passport-sized photograph for that.
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