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Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 1:16 pm
by SockPuppet
As most of long term Cambodian expats would agree you need some trips out of the country from time to time, because, as much as we all love Kingdom of Wonder, it tends to drive you a little crazy if you don't get out at least for a short period of time.

So I am looking at a few days (up to a week) getaway that wouldn't leave you broke and doesn't require exhausting 48 hour bus-ferry-taxi-tuk-tuk-hiking journey.

In general I suggest that we share our experiences with these kind of trips so we all can see our options.

So far I figured that there are 3 easiest ways out of Phnom Penh at reasonable price and duration:
Bangkok by plane
Kuala Lumpur by plane
Ho Chi Min by bus

Everything else is either unreasonably expensive or hard to get to - I would be happy to be corrected on this statement.

Is there an easy way to get to Phu Quoc, for example? How far is it from HCM?

Where do you guys go to for a relaxing weekend or a few days getaway?

Re: Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 1:45 pm
by Satiated Parrot
Singapore isn't too pricey if you book in advance. The hotels aren't cheap, though.

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Re: Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 2:24 pm
by phuketrichard
Bit longer but exciting;
up to laos by road via the 4,000 islands

You can also fly direct to Yangoon or Mandalay and get a visa on arrival

Re: Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 2:28 pm
by Satiated Parrot
I enjoyed Burma. Sort of Thailand with strong British and Indian influences. The people weren't (yet) money-hungry, either.

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Re: Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 10:02 am
by phuketrichard
heading up there soon as i have friends in Mandaly and Yangoon so wont be hit with high hotel rates :-)

Last trip was in 1988 when u were only allowed 7 days and you could finance the trip with cigs and a bottle of Johnny walker

Re: Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 1:37 pm
by russel spiers
Ha tien/ phu quoc, sorry koh trall now easier to access from Kampot. I went to the border two days ago, now the two access roads are sealed. It was a goat track three years ago.

Re: Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 4:17 pm
by OrangeDragon
Despite all the negativity i heard about KL, we really had fun there. Lots of cool shops (malls... i spent like 2 hours in an ace hardware drooling over tools and bbq grills), some terrible fast foods that i miss from home (krispy kreme... dear god i forgot how wonderful they were!), a fun water park/amusement park with a waveride pool for kneeboarding and some cool waterslides, a science center with some neat hands on experiments (and lots of petroleum propaganda from the oil company that pays for it to be there), a couple of fun dance clubs and bars... all in all a really fun full trip.

$75/person each way when we flew via airasia.

Re: Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 4:28 pm
by Digg3r
King's landing?

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Re: Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 9:58 pm
by thePeck
OrangeDragon wrote:...(krispy kreme... dear god i forgot how wonderful they were!)...
You bastard! Didn't bring any for me?! Please god tell me they were fresh off the rack?! Is a 4 hour layover enough time to run out and grab some?

You know the sad part I'm dead serious lol

Re: Easy trips from Cambodia to...

Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 12:15 am
by sigmoid
Bit longer but exciting;
up to laos by road via the 4,000 islands
Not sure I would use the word 'exciting' but yeah Southern Laos is worth a visit. It's a hell of a road trip from PP though.
Ho Chi Min by bus
The problem with going to Viet Nam is the price of the visa. Last time I checked around Xmas, it was around US$60 in PP. That's for 30 days which you probably don't need, plus you need to get it in advance and you have to specify your date of entry. Then you can't enter before that, but if you arrive later than that date you lose those days.

If you do go to VN and have the time, you might consider going to Central Vietnam (Danang, Hue, Hoi An, etc).