Thread: Planning Ankor Wat trip Qs

the boat is nice if you have enough time. Bring strong sun lotion and sit on roof. Your hotel in PP should be able to arrange the boat tickets and sometimes a bus from the boat company will pick you up from the hotel. It leaves really early though....

Originally Posted by Bruce

Bangkok Air to Siem Reap is ridulously expensive as its a monopoly so its better to fly to Phnom Penh (appears about 3500 baht return on AirAsia) and then come back to Siem Reap, yes?

ya, get a bus from pp to sr. costs under $10 and is quicker and cheaper than the boat.

you could fly one way for about $50 but the bus only takes about 5 hours

Originally Posted by Bruce

Do we just flag a vehicle from Siem Reap to Angkor Reap or are any of the touted tours worth the money?

there are thousands of taxi/moto/tuk tuk touts in SR. you can get a tuk-tuk for about $10 a day.....they might be able to speak some english but don't expect a full guided tour. they'll just drive you to a temple, go snooze, drive you to another temple, snooze etc all day

i never got a taxi but imagine it'd be at least $25 a day

Originally Posted by Bruce

In Phnom Penh, there's some museum about Pol Pot etc I gather. Is it handy by local vehicle? Any thing else worth seeing there?

the museum is called S11 and is defo worth seeing. also check out the killing fields, national museum and the royal palace. the main market is also a nice example of french art-deco architecture. motodops will take you anywhere for about $5 a day.

Originally Posted by Bruce

Are the locals bigger ripoffs than the ones we met in Hanoi?

i find that depends on the individual and your attitude. i speak a bit of khmer and never had any hassle. just know the going prices, keep the cool and be ready to walk away if they take the piss.

Originally Posted by Bruce

There are 3-4 day online tours advertised at around 15-17,000 baht per head plus air fares, but I seriously wonder if its necessary to go that route or if we can just do it ourselves, as we have organised in other countries. We're reasonably experienced travellers. What do you think?

no need to shovel cash into the hands of travel companies. i always much prefer to do things at my own pace.

Originally Posted by Bruce

Can you recommend hotels in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap which are OK, clean, comfortable and safe, but we don't need actual luxury?

Gordon Sharpless runs a great little guesthouse in SR...rooms are big and clean and he's one of the soundest lads you'll meet. he runs the talesofasia.com website

for PP rooms have a look on Khmer440 ... those boys know the scene better than i do.