Hi

My wife and I have just started thinking about an Easter vacation (beginning of April) and we like Asia as a vacation destination. We have already been to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand several times so maybe it is time to try something new. Does anyone here have any experience with Cambodia? At the moment I guess a trip would include stops in Siam Reap (for Ankor Wat), Phnom Phen and a beach destination. Are there nice hotels along the coast? What are the beaches like? Are there places where you can go snorkeling? Is it easy to get around in the country by bus/train etc? How about price level for food, hotels etc? Anyone got any trip reports/blogs that they can share with us?

Gard, I could have sworn I read a trip report on Cambodia, let me look ...Well I found one, but it wasn't the one I was thinking of. Anyway, here's Rachel's Around the World in 78 Days

Here is a thread with information about Cambodia. It has a link to Liz's blog which has some excellent photos and information about Siam Reap. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone has visited the beaches. I did see an interesting article on the beaches in the Guardian UK Travel Cambodia section.

Another country that is interesting in SE Asia is Laos. Liz also visited Luang Prabang which I found very intriguing but no beaches in Laos. If you are interested in beaches - two other areas to look at are Eastern Malaysia (Borneo Island) and Philippines. I'll be in Eastern Malaysia next month.

There is also a link to several recent article on SE Asia including Cambodia from the NYT in this thread.

Cambodia is definatly on the way up as far as tourism is concerned. But I think it still lacks many things that middle aged western travelers want.

I agree with Marta that Laos is most interesting, especially Luang Prabang. However the entire country is land-locked, which means no beach.
Also, anywhere I go, I think food first, sightseeing second (or last). -- My prejudice.
One can't help but compare Cambodia's cuisine with that of its neighbors - Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, - and be disappointed.
What about staying around beautiful Halong Bay in Vietnam and signing up for a short trip to Angkor Wat. That way you get good food, nice beaches, nice scenary and a visit of Angkor Wat.
Bon séjour.

Thanks for the feedback so far. Plans evolve as we get more info and the trip that I see in my head at the moment includes Ankor Wat, Phnom phen, Ho Chi Minh City and maybe a beach destination in Vietnam. Got any good Vietnam beach recommendations?

Check out the blog of a New Zealand family travelling with 8 children. They have just come through SE Asia - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. They are blogging through bootsnall, sorry don't have the address but google 'pilgrims progress blog' and you will find it.

Gard,
I have written a trip report on Angkor Wat for an airline so can't include it here. I could email it to you but you may not want your detail public.

Well worth seeing but allow 3 full days. The area is very large and Angkor Wat is only part of the temple complex. No problem with accommodation because this is a high tourist area. Some of the ruins are somewhat steep and not easy to navigate so a reasonable level of fitness is needed if you want to climb. Surf the net on Siem Reap area before you go.

I am also part way through my trip report on our last visit to Vietnam. You will eat better there. Don't miss the old quarter of Hanoi, there are some very good small hotels, forget the big dollar brand name hotels. Remember it is a long way from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh, two hour plane trip , so don't try and do too much.

A recent addition is the Mai Chau Lodge in the little town of Mai Chau. A beautifull spot and minimal tourists.

Beaches are not fantastic but the area South West of HCM called Phu Quoc could be worth a visit but only if you have plenty of time.

quote:

I could email it to you but you may not want your detail public.

Monty - if you click on Gard's name in this thread you will see that he has his email address in his profile.

Tourmama

Hi

Well, our plan is now set. We will first spend a few days in Ho Chi Minh City, from there take a flight to Siem Reap and spend 3 days there to see Angkor Wat, then we fly to Phnom Penh and spend 3 days there before going back to Bangkok. Hopefully I can make a nice trip report out of it :-)

Very nice Gard, but why the round robin?

quote:

Originally posted by SteveS:
Very nice Gard, but why the round robin?

Not sure I understand what you mean. Are you wondering why we are jumping around and ending up in Bangkok again?

Seems a bit out of order since Siem Reap is closer to Bangkok and HCMC is closer to Phnum Penh.

Yes, I guess so. But the route was also planned according to where flights go and we chose to use cheaper AirAsia tickets to get around :-)

AirAsia has some pretty incredible prices. We met several people in Kuching on Borneo who had flown over from Singapore and Malaysia for $0 + taxes.

It sounds like a great trip. Have a great time, Gard. Will you be spending any time in Malaysia? We want to go back and see the peninsula area. This month's National Geographic has a good article on Penang.

Penang is gorgeous. Stay at the funky E&O before it becomes a luxury reenactent à la Raffles.
A great 23-hour train ride goes from Bangkok to Butterworth (Penang). You pass by breathtaking scenery around Krabi.

quote:

Originally posted by Marta:
It sounds like a great trip. Have a great time, Gard. Will you be spending any time in Malaysia? We want to go back and see the peninsula area. This month's National Geographic has a good article on Penang.

Well, I'm just spending a week in Kuala Lumpur for work to start with. It is always fun to return to KL - I have been there a number of times now both on business and pleasure trips.

The New York Times is highlighting SE Asia again. There are several interesting articles. These two might be useful for your trip.

Banishing the Ghosts in Cambodia (nice looking beaches)

Searching Saigon for Boutique Comforts

More Articles. These are from the Wall Street Journal. The First is on a more adventurous area of Cambodia - Ratanakiri. The hiking and wildlife definitely got my attention.

Opening Asia's Hidden Wilderness

Second one is on an area called Battambang.

Off the Beaten Track - Battambang

Yes, Southeast Asia is an interesting place to visit.
For anyone who is interested in beaches in Vietnam, I recommend you to visit Vung Tau Beach, Nha Trang beach Phu Quoc beach or Hoian Beach from Ho Chi Minh City. In the north, you can relax at Cat Ba island with a small but beautiful beach, Tra Co Beach and also Quan Lan Island. These beaches are very beautiful.

Albert

Hi

Thanks for all the help and feedback guys. I'm in the process of making the trip report now and here are some of the photos that will be used in the trip report itself: http://gardkarlsen.com/Angkor_Wat_photos.htm

Thanks for posting the picture, Gard. Angkor Wat looks fascinating. I'm looking forward to reading more details. Was it crowded? Were there a lot of hawkers? Did you use a tour guide?

Hi

Yes, we did go for a guide as we had limited time there. So we had a guide for two days and got to see many of the temples in the complex. It was a bit crowded at Angkor Wat but at the other temples there were not that many people. There were lots of hawkers trying to sell everything from postcards and books to t-shirts and scarfs. And many of them were kids - our guide claimed that this was because there was a school holiday but I'm not quite sure about that.

Hi

I'm almost done with the Phnom Penh trip report now and here are the photos that I will use in the trip report http://gardkarlsen.com/Phnom_Penh_Cambodia_photos.htm . I think my favorite photo must be of these two girls celebrating New Years at Wat Phnom. Even with the tragic history that this country has it is good to see the smiles on people's faces as they played games around town.