Cambodia

i heard the local airlines are pretty unsafe in Cambodia

I took the bus from PP to SR and it was fine although part of it was on a shitty unpaved road at the time (that might have changed)

How many days is really relative to your circumstances. I spent 2 weeks in PP because I enjoyed easily picking up girls and staying in a nice clear air con hotel for $10 a night. If you just want to do the main sightseeing and museums you could say 2 days is enough

SR - You can get a 1 day or 3 day pass to Angkor. I went for the 3 day pass because I didn't want to wake up at 5am and rush to see everything.

Check out Sihanoukville if you're into the beach and drinking. Some travelers literally stay there for months and work for a few $ a day at the bars on the beach

Kratie - Wild dolphins

Battambang - Tourists don't really go to this city which is why it's great. I rented a motorcycle and hit the countryside going through local villages and stopping by temples (one of which contains the "killing caves"). God damn it was an amazing day now I think about it, I wish I could quit my job and go backpacking again...

>>1183309
>i heard the local airlines are pretty unsafe in Cambodia

I see, can anyone else confirm? I assume the bus is easy to take from the airport?

>SR - You can get a 1 day or 3 day pass to Angkor. I went for the 3 day pass because I didn't want to wake up at 5am and rush to see everything.

Okay I see. Where can you buy the pass? As far as SR itself is concerned, how is it for hanging out, sightseeing etc? I just assume most of the day is spent at Ankor which is fine for sure.

Battambang looks intriguing, we'll look into it but we'll probably only set aside a few days for this trip. Maybe 4-5 non travel days.

>>1183314
Can confirm the airlines have a pretty bad reputation.You can get modern buses with air con and decent WiFi for about $10us These guys are probably the best http://www.giantibis.com/. The bus stations in PP are not really bus stations but more an agglomeration of bus company business on one road. Also last time I was there they were doing a lot of work to seal the rest of the road between pp and SR looked like the Chinese where doing most of it. With Ankor you buy at the entrance to the complex. You can pay a driver about $30us a day to take you there, back and also take you to out lying temple complexes, they just chill in their tuk-tuk waiting for you to do your thing then move on to the next location.

Oh sounds like your gf would like the Temple Bar in Siem Reap. Just google it, it's close to the Night Market and all. It's a multi-level café, restaurant, cocktail bar... With the aircon on very low.
I mean I personally enjoyed just popping into the random crazy cheap restaurants in the sidestreets that looked like they would collapse any minute (where the locals ate), but I know people who enjoyed the Temple Bar a lot. There's an Angelina Jolie cocktail, too.

At the night market (or at other stalls) go for the fruit juices or shakes no ice, it's more expensive but incredibly yummy. If you want to lift, drink coconut milk straight out of the coconut.

Booking.com/agoda have loads to offer in Siem Reap that she would like as well. It's full of Koreans who never left their bubbles in their lives before, so you can imagine how easy it is to get a five star hotel that looks just like any good hotel around the world...inside at least. But I mean, we stayed at Rithy Rine, some cheap ass hotel, and even that one had a good pool and was squeky clean. I guess you can get a five star one for cheap, too.

You can spend 2-3 days in Siem Reap easily.
Tuktuk was around 30usd a day, taxi with air conditioning was like 85 or so....? Can't remember for sure about the latter. Just follow the guides there.

From Siem Reap they might recommend to take you to the floating village and that huuuge lake that I cannot remember the name of.... The lake and the mangrove are beautiful and the village is interesting, but it felt like a huge rip off. Like 20 usd per person for half an hour of a boat trip, which is a lot of money in Cambodia (and then the boat driver trying to rip us off too).

i didn't like phnom penh too much, maybe i was just visiting the wrong spots but it didn't seem too special. royal palace and wat phnom are not impressive compared to e.g. the stuff you could find in bangkok. killing fields and genocide museum are a bit more interesting but will also bum you out. however you can go to around 178 or 180th street by the river and get some happy pizza pretty easily, some 10 year old might even offer to sell you some weed (or harder shit)

siem reap was pretty cool though. i took the giant ibis bus too, you can just chill out, read for a few hours, and see the cambodian country side. siem reap itself is mostly geared toward tourists. there is a decent beer brewery there and angkor muscle gym is a fun place to work out. if you are going to see angkor wat at sunrise make sure it's not going to rain the next morning. the main temples can be seen in 1 full day (8-10 hours), which is what i did. not sure how the further out temples are.

overall cambodia is pretty decent, i didn't find too much cambodian food i enjoyed but everyone is pretty friendly and it's easy to get around.

Thanks for the insights. So a quick question. US dollars are accepted right? Is there any preference between dollars and Cambodian currency. I've read about the conversion fee scam at the airport so you should have dollars ready? Should we just bring only dollars? 50/50? Thanks.

Cambodia is so fuckin overrun by tourists and locals trying to scam the tourists, it makes the entire country seem like a real shithole.

OP, if you can, go south to Kep. Beaches are nice, seafood is godlike, and you won't have people harassing you for boom boom or drugs. Otherwise, you'll have to deal with tuk tuk drivers endlessly harassing you for some shit you don't even want.

>>1183522
Despite being dirt poor, I experienced far less people trying to scam me in Cambodia than in Thailand.

>>1183492
Don't bother to change currency. Everything is paid by US dollars. The only local currency you see is the paltry change you get on occasion.

>>1183492
Cambodians love (relatively fresh) US dollars. Every item is 1 USD at markets basically. Or 2 for 1 USD, 10 for 1 USD, etc you'll use a lot of 1 dollar notes. Only for the tuk tuk you'll need 10 dollar notes maybe.
They won't accept torn or old notes, or ones that have writings on them, and expect to get a lot of that back. They'll just tell you that you can use it in your own country, but they're stuck in Cambodia where those old notes are not accepted.

In the local currency on one hand you pay less... But if you end up with any exess, you won't be able to get rid of it elsewhere. I myself went for letting them rip me off a bit in USD, as an unofficial tourist tax.

>>1183492
Oh and you'll need a picture for the visa if you get visa on arrival. Otherwise 2 USD extra if you don't have a picture, which isn't too bad.
Also they keep on raising the visa costs. Last month it was 30 USD, but maybe next month it's going to be more...

I hear that price of apartments and such have risen in Phnom Penh because dumb fuck Westerners think "wow this is such a bargain, I should be paying more!" are aren't familiar with the housing prices, so the Cambos will charge accordingly and charge even more. E.g. what should be a $150 dollar a month 1 bedroom apartment is now $300 or $400 per month.

Is this true?

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I've only been to Siem Reap (this July!) and I absolutely loved it. The pic is of ankor wat sunrise.

I don't really have much advice on the best way to get there. I took a 5 hour train from Bangkok that cost like 5 bucks that took us right to the border of Phnom Penh. We had to then get a somewhat sketchy bus that took about 2 hours that got us to Siem Reap.

I spent a week there and I could've easily spent more. I also met my boyfriend there (he too, was traveling) so I guess Siem Reap has a special place in my heart.

I was going to recommend the Siem Reap Hostel, because it is one of the best hostels I've been to, with the best burger in town, cinema, yoga studio, pool, etc. But fuck, you can probably find affordable luxury hotels.

I recommend the Seeing Hands massage place, its this blind couple who gives hour long, deep massages for $7/hr. Its no fancy parlor. They literally do it in their home and their children and pets are around. But they are bloody fantastic.

I also recommend the Peace Tree Cafe (or peace cafe?) they have delicious vegetarian meals and all their veggies/fruits are fresh and cleaned with safe, drinking water. I'm no vegetarian but the food was so delicious and energizing. We had a full course meal with dessert and tea afterwards for 2 for $25. Oh, they also support fair trade and have cool things on sale inside. It has a gorgeous outdoor seating, so you'll GF will love it.

I heard the Land Mine museum was good but I unfortunately did not get to go. But you should check it out

Pub Street is loads of fun, if you're adventurous, try the Scorpions and stuff. My guy friends all tried it (I wussed out!).

Stay hydrated and take advantage of the cheap coconut water. If you can, take it back with you, chop it open and eat the insides. Mmm.

Get the 3 day pass for Angkor Wat because it is HUUUUUGE. I had a fantastic tuk tuk guide that my friend found on facebook named Mao.

First and only bump, thanks guys.

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>http://www.betelnuttours.com/
trip to phnom tamao animal reserve through this company was the absolute highlight for my wife and me on our trip a couple years ago. only a bit more than taking a tuktuk out, and you get a waaaay better experience. plus the best meal i had the entire trip.

>http://www.memorablecambodia.com/
evening cruise on the mekong run by hospitality students, so it's cheap and they're working hard on providing good service.

>>1183522
Going to rabbit island South of Kep was great highly suggested although facilities are basic it's good relaxing. If you're scared it's too basic thej go to Kong rong at Sihanoukville like most people.