Cambodia 2014
Route
- Days: 11 days
- Period: from the 5th of November until the 16th of November
- Weather: Climate was very warm (around 32 degrees) and very humid. On several days it rained at the end of the afternoon.
General information:
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Currency: Local currency is Riel and it is used for most small purchases. Hotels, restaurants and touristic activities are all charged in US Dollars.
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Internet: Wi-fi is available in many hotels, restaurants and bars
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ATM's: ATM's for Visa are available is all cities. If you withdraw money with a foreign creditcard you can only get US Dollars from the machine.
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Creditcards: Widely accepted in hotels and restaurants. We always paid fuel with cash.
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Safety: Cambodia is a safe country to travel in.
Prices (per November 2014)
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Value Money: €1 = 5000 Riel, 1 USD = 4000 Riel
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Fuel: diesel is USD 1,05 per liter (about € 0,85 per liter)
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Camping: Due to the very humid and hot climate we bushcamped only once, which was for free, and the rest of the nights we slept in hotels. Prices for a night in a hotel vary between 15 to 30 USD per room per night for two persons. Most expensive where the hotels in Siem Reap.
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Prices: In general Cambodia is more expensive than Laos or even Thailand.
Visa
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valid for 30 days single entry
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Visa can be obtained at the border. You need one photo for your application.
- Price for the visa is 35 USD
per person.
Border crossing
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Entry: We entered the country at TKP borderpost (coming from Laos). Entry was quick and easy. We got our visa on this border and whole procedure was done in about half an hour. Extra costs = 2 USD or 20000 Kip for desinfection of the car. Our Carnet was stamped on entry.
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Exit: We left Cambodia at O'smach (going to Thailand). Exit procedures were quick and easy. Maximum 15 minutes and all was done. No costs.
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Insurance: We had no insurance an nobody ever checked it
Roads
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Most roads are sealed and despite some potholes here and there, general in reasonable state. Some parts however are really bad. The worst road we drove in Cambodia was the stretch between the Lao border and Kratie. In some parts it looked like a war zone.
Fees for Toll roads, briges, tunnels and ferries
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There were no costs for this
Highlights or not
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Kratie, boat trip to the Irrawaddy dolphins: Costs = 9 USD per person. Although it is not likely to see more than some dorsal fins here and there we really liked this. Boat trips takes about one hour.
- Choeung Ek, killing fields: Entry fee = 6 USD per person. One of the largest kiling fields about 15 km outside Phnom Penh. The place is impressive and the Audio tour which is available is many languages makes the visit extra special. While walking around you can listen to some to many stories.
- Battambang, bamboo train: Crazy but fun train ride. Including a break the whole trip is about one hour. Costs = 5 USD per person.
- Battambang, Killing Cave and temple: Entry fee = 3 USD per person. Another place where the Red Khmer murdered a lot of people. Nearby is a temple with monkeys.
- Siem Reap, War Museum: Entry fee = 5 USD per person. The museum has a huge collection of weapons and former soldiers are guiding you around telling first hand stories. It was nice to visit. You can camp om the quiet parking if you want to. There is a toilet and shower.
- Phnom Penh: Nice city to visit. The city has very luxery restaurants but quite expensive.
- Siem Reap, Angkor Temples: Entry fee = 40 USD per person (for 1 day). There are also tickets for more days available. The temples are the most important highlight of the country and as amazing as we expected. Must sees are the Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm. The last one is the one that is overgrown with huge roots. For us that was the most special one.
Tips
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In Cambodia they make great fruit shakes and most restaurants have good vegetarian choices.
GPS-waypoints
Grid: Lat/Lon hddd°mm.mmm"
N13°24.638 E103°51.528 Siem Reap Angkor wat temple, parking N13°26.414 E103°51.489 Siem reap Bayon temple in Angkor, parking N12°29.505 E106°00.937 Kratie Mekong Dolphin Hotel in Kratie, luxury hotel with good parking. They have cheaper rooms at the back. 15 USD per room per night with wifi and airco. N11°33.328 E104°55.511 Phnom Penh Golden Gate Hotel in Phnom Penh, basic hotel with guarded parking in the centre of town, airco and wifi on the room (20 USD per night per room) N12°31.610 E103°58.068 Bushcamp on the way between Phnom Penh and Battambang, at the back of a restaurant, toilet available. No costs N13°06.169 E103°11.747 Battambang Holiday hotel in Battambang. Good hotel with airco and wifi on the room. Within walking distance of the market. Price 14 USD per room per night N13°21.273 E103°51.548 Siem Reap Shadow hotel in Siem Reap. Very nice hotel with small parking. Hotel serves breakfast, has a swimming pool and airco and wifi on the room. Price 28 USD per room per night including breakfast. N12°36.410 E106°01.361 Kratie From here you can hire boats to see the Irrawaddy dolphins of the Mekong (near Kratie) N13°16.186 E103°49.359 Near Siem Reap Floating village N13°01.237 E103°05.870 Battambang Killing Cave outside Battambang N11°29.035 E104°54.064 Phnom Penh Choeung Ek, Killing Fields memorial N13°17.717 E103°49.995 Lotus Field N13°01.433 E103°05.920 Battambang Temple and monkeys near killing cave N13°21.669 E103°51.217 Siem Reap Sugar Palm, not the cheapest but very good restaurant. Serves great Khmer curries N13°26.058 E103°53.053 Siem Reap Ta Prohm temple of Angkor. "jungle temple" N12°46.270 E103°27.056 Just a temple on the way. Very nice N14°25.766 E103°41.870 Chongchom border. Border between Cambodia and Thailand N13°05.352 E103°12.786 Battambang Toyota garage Battambang. Did a good oil change N13°04.133 E103°13.052 Battambang Bamboo train Battambang N13°18.598 E103°50.884 Nice village N13°23.299 E103°49.909 Phnom Penh War Museum in Phnom Penh. Ex soldiers are doing the tour |