2 - 6 September 2000
Cambodia Photo
Gallery
Some of the posts I made in the
rec.travel.asia
newsgroup immediately after coming back from Cambodia in September
2000:
07.09.2000,
Bangkok - Angkor Wat overland... We're back (brief trip report)
Well, we just came back from
Siem
Reap, we're still alive and nobody robbed us (we made the trip with
expensive
equipment by the way - high end camera, subnotebook, mobile phones). In
BKK we paid 200 Baht each for the ticket to Siem Reap. At the border
we paid additional 200 Baht each for the privilege to sit inside the
cabin
of the pick up truck. A good idea, since initially the sun was very
strong
and later it started raining like hell. On the way back the ticket was
considerably more expensive. The Cambodian part of the road
was in terrible conditions. The pickup truck needed seven hours from
Poipet
to Siem Reap (same on the way back). There were some (big) trucks
stuck in the mud, blocking the traffic. The notebook's hard disk
has
survived a total of 14 hours of very bumpy ride.
We spent three days visiting the
temples, taking over 800 pictures. It didn't rain much (only a bit on
the
second day) in Siem Reap, but the sky was covered with clouds most of
the
time - no sunset pictures of Angkor Wat...
Unless they repair the road on the
Cambodian side I'll take the plane next time.
Ah... one last thing. GSM roaming
works in Cambodia (I'm subscribed to the German D1 network). There are
a total of three networks of which Mobitel KH was available to us.
There
is coverage in the major towns (Poipet, Sisophon, Siem Reap) - but
strangely
not in Angkor. There are also prepaid cards from Mobitel for sale,
although
I don't know if they are available to foreigners.
Internet access cost 2 US $ for 15
minutes, 3,50 US $ for 30 minutes and so on (very slow).
12.09.2000
We just came back from Cambodia
where
we spent three full days visiting Angkor. We stayed in Siem
Reap and took no malaria pills. Surprise, surprise there were no
mosquitoes
in Siem Reap and surroundings. I can't remember having been stung by a
mosquito in Cambodia at all (we travelled overland from/to Bangkok).
And
this during the rainy season. Iwas really surprised, because usually I
always get stung by mosquitoes everywhere.
16.09.2000,
Thailand-Cambodia overland
Hi, I travelled overland from
Bangkok
to Siem Reap ten days ago. From Buriram you'll have to make it to
Aranya
Prathet (don't know if there is a bus. From there to the border is just
a few kilometers. At the border the visa is available
for 1000 Baht (at the embassy in Bangkok it costs 800 Baht).
Once you cross the border you'll
travel to Siem Reap on the back of a pickup truck (sitting on your
bag).
To sit inside the cabin, pay 200 Baht.
Better stay inside the cabin,
as the sun is unforgiving and it might start raining. Get a plastic bag
for your luggage, as it might get wet and full of mud.
The road is in a terrible
condition,
with very huge
holes.
I
payed 200 Baht for the whole trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap + another
200
Baht at the border to be allowed to sit inside the cabin. On the way
back
it's more expensive, 15 US $ (600 Baht).
Concerning safety I had no
problems,
in spite of the fact that I was travelling with some very expensive
gear
(high end camera, notebook, mobile phone). Unlike Phnom Penh, in Siem
Reap
you can walk around in town at night. You don't have to rent a guide.
But
there is no bus to the ruins, so you'll have to rent bycicles
(available
at some guesthouses) or a motorbike (but foreigners are not allowed to
do so). If you take a motorbike + guide (you sit on the back), that
will
cost you only 6-8 US $ for the whole day (a car + driver is 20 US $).
Near Angkor there is the Roulos temple
complex.
Cheap accomodation starts at 3
US
$ for a simple room with fan, goes up to 10 - 20 US $ for a room with
A/C
and more if you stay in a "real" hotel.
20.10.2000
Flights from Bangkok to Siem Reap
are 155 US $ one way. The VISA costs 20 US $ (both in Bangkok and on
arrival
in Siem Reap).
Copyright (c)
Alfred
Molon 2002
|
|
|
