Top Cambodia hotels
Cambodian People Phnom Penh
21 Reviews Cambodian people and culture are great. There is a big push for people to learn English, and for Cambodians knowing English is the difference between a crappy job and a good one. So they will love...
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Temple Entry Pass Angkor Wat
28 Reviews Passes are required to enter the Angkor area. They are on sale at the front gate, on the main road from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat, for 1-day ($20), 3-day ($40), or 7-day ($60) intervals. The 3-day pass...
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Tonle Sap River Phnom Penh
12 Reviews I liked sitting here in the evenings every day. I went out by myself or not, sat down and watched river of people in all moods and shapes moving here, selling something or talking. This is like center...
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Siem Riep Angkor Wat
22 Reviews Hi, Whatever the above 3 VT members said, are absolutely TRUE, believe me... You will just fall in love with the surroundings, and be lost in time. Singapore ? don't waste your time with places that...
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Street Life Phnom Penh
8 Reviews At any rate, we went back to this same stand every day of our stay in Phnom Penh, sometimes twice. The young girl that manned it got the biggest kick out of us as we ordered the same thing every time,...
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Tourist Stuff Phnom Penh
7 Reviews When I took the 6-hour Mekong Express bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap to see the countryside, little did I know how fortunate I would be. The Fancy Guesthouse got seat 1D for me. It turned out...
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Tuol Sleng Museum Phnom Penh
3 Reviews This former school was converted by the Khmer Rouge regime into a prison when they came to power in 1975. It was mainly used for purges within the Khmer Rouge. The Vietnamese Army 'liberated' it in...
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Royal Palace Phnom Penh
6 Reviews When visiting Palaces, museums, temples in Cambodia, remember to dress appropriately! You can wear a T-shirt accompanied by a pair of long pants or three-quarter Bermudas. The ticket office rents...
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Killing Fields Phnom Penh
2 Reviews For anyone thinking of taking a moto / tuk tuk to the Killing Fields, don't do it. I'm not trying to put the poor bastards out of business, but a recent trip there was the bumpiest, most crazy ride...
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Traditional Markets Phnom Penh
3 Reviews A trip to at least one traditional market (psah) is a must. If you visit only one or two markets, begin with the Russian Market and the Central Market. Both offer curios, souvenirs and a cultural...
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Silver Pagoda Phnom Penh
1 Review Silver Pagoda: Wat Preah Keo, Next to Royal Palace The Royal Palace tickets are valid here. 7:30-11, 14:30-17 Pagoda of Emerald Buddha. The floor is covered with over 5000 silver tiles.No photography...
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This itinerary is now easy to read except for what the VT title covers up. The table shows where I went and what I did in Cambodia on a 10 day visit in 2009. It also shows my hotels and mode of transportation. If you wish, I can e-mail a copy.
The itinerary is now readable but the VT title covers up part of this two page table showing where I went and what I did in Cambodia on a 29 day visit in 2010. The trip included popular and remote sites in the Northwest, Northeast and South. It also shows my hotels and mode of transportation. If you wish, I can e-mail a copy.
Actually I met Ms. Naram Kang through Ms. Nara. They are colleagues. When I returned to Cambodia in March 2010, Ms. Nara was busy and so was Ms. Naram (it is common during the dry season when most of the tourists come). Naram was so thoughtful that she convinced her friend, Ms. Leakkhena (an accountant), to guide me on the first weekend of my trip to the remote sites of Sambor Prei Kuk, Beng Mealea, and Koh Ker. Later Naram took me to such places as the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, National Museum, an evening riverboat ride on the Mekong, Phnom Tamao wildlife sanctuary, and Tonle Bati. She is very knowledgeable, speaks excellent English, and has extensive contacts since she is a busy, experienced guide. Besides that, she is a little crazy and fun to travel with! Her phone is +855-12-577-449 and her email is naramkang@yahoo.com. You will consider yourself very lucky to have had Naram as...
When I took the 6-hour Mekong Express bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap to see the countryside, little did I know how fortunate I would be. The Fancy Guesthouse got seat 1D for me. It turned out to be on the aisle in the front row on the right hand side. Not only did I have the best seat for seeing things and taking pictures, but I also happened to be sitting next to Ms. Nara, a professional guide taking a 3-day holiday to visit her aunt in Kompong Thom. She is a very nice lady who really knows the local history and customs, and is happy to share her knowledge. I learned so much during that three hours to Kompong Thom. Awkun choeun (thank you very much) to her! She is not licensed to guide in Siem Reap but can do Phnom Penh and basically the rest of the country. Her phone number is (+855) 12580089. I highly recommend Ms. Nara. However, Nara sometimes recommends her friend, Heak, as a...
Cambodia uses 230V, 50HzNice hotels may have British 3-pin rectangular blade plug:http://electricaloutlet.org/type-gHowever, most will be a combination outlet that accept either USA/Japan 2-pin (type A) or European 2-pin:http://electricaloutlet.org/type-ahttp://electricaloutlet.org/type-c
Cambodia has a big production of palm sugar and it is often a small family business where daddy clims up the trees to get the palm juice while mummy is busy cooking it in to palm sugar.The se people can often be seen doing their business by the side of the road and i have found that you can usually stop by and visit them and get a taste of their home made sugar while seeing them working.
As far as changing money, almost all prices are quoted in US$. Sometimes the price will include a fraction of a dollar. When this is the case, the change that is a fraction of a dollar is returned in riel at an exchange rate of 4000:1. It is less than the official rate but close enough. I got enough riel this way to make all of my small purchases. In Siem Reap, I did all my "banking" at the small Canadia Bank on Street 11 across from the Old Market. It was in a convenient location, never busy, and the service was quite good. There was a 2% fee for cashing travelers' checks. I had no problems using US$20 and even a US$100 when paying a 5-night, US$98 hotel bill; the dollar value just needs to be close to what you owe. The tuk tuk drivers will want US$1-2 for each short ride, if not more (I walked). I did have one occasion where a US$20 was not accepted because it had a crease from being...
Most people planning a trip to Cambodia are aware that the US Dollar is the "common currency" there - but there is one important thing that you should also know ...... THEY DO NOT DEAL IN COINS. This means that if you pay in dollars there will not be one single thing costing less than a whole dollar. That´s right, not even "the time of day". Definitely bring and save your "one-dollar bills" but get yourself some Riel quick-quick.
In addition to a licensed guide for Angkor, you will need transportation. My guide, Peng Thai, booked our tuk tuk driver through the travel desk at the Mandalay Inn where I was staying in Siem Reap. BTW, I prefer tuk tuk's because it is easy to take pictures even when you are moving and because it is easier to stop anywhere you want. Sophen was my tuk tuk driver for 3 of the 4 days that I toured the Siem Reap area and he also took me to the airport. He got very good at anticipating where I would want to take pictures and would intentionally slow down.Sophen could not make it one day. His replacement that day was okay but drove too fast and went past some places where I wanted to stop (he could not hear me, I guess). Sophen charged the going rate ($12/day) for the Angkor temples. Banteay Srei is another $5, if you wish to go there, which I did. It was $4 to go to the airport. He was very...
VT member, Eithwe, helped me find an English speaking guide for the Angkor temples and Siem Reap area. So Peng Thai is a free lance, licensed guide for the Angkor temples. Not only is he very well educated and knowledgeable, but he is also just a nice person to be around. In Mar 09 the typical rate for licensed guides in the hotels was $25/day. Peng Thai (So is his surname) charged $20, probably because he was self-employed and did not have company overhead. He met me at my hotel each morning and was always early. I thoroughly enjoyed all four days that he was my guide. He was flexible about what and when to see things, so that we could avoid the crowds. When convenient, we would also take a mid-afternoon break while it was hot and then go back to touring when it started to cool off. Peng Thai was also very patient with all my picture taking and often volunteered to take pictures of me...
Raffles Hotel Le Royal Phnom Penh
9 Reviews and 367 Opinions Raffles Hotel Le Royal is the premier hotel in Phnom Penh. The hotel was first established in 1929...
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La Residence d'Angkor Siem Reap
1 Review and 371 Opinions The hotel is simply splendid. The spa is the ideal manner for relaxing after a long sightseeing of...
Au Cabaret Vert Battambang
56 Opinions
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Q: Hi, we will be in Siem Reap and Phnom penh for about seven days in total in March. What is the best currency to take. Many...
A: The best foreign currency to take is US dollars. You can use that in most places and easily exchange a few of them to riels.
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