3 weeks in Cambodia

Hi guys

Excuse my ignorance but I have a few Cambodia related questions...

Here we go...

1. The plan is to head to Cambodia (flying Airasia ) arriving Feb 08 2009. What will the weather be like?

2. We arrive into PP with 2 x 25 kg backpacks.. whats the best and cheapest ways to get into PP Town?

3. Can anyone recommend a nice hotel (air conditioning cable tv, equivalent of an Aussie 3-4 star hotel? Just need this one in PP for the first two nights (as we adjust into Cambodian stylings)

4. We are there for 3 weeks, if we want to stay in ';nice'; hotels (ie. bedbug free, lockable doors, aircon absolutely necessary, optional extras cable tv, mini bar etc) the whole time, what kind of accommodation budget should we set? They don%26#39;t need to be la-dee-da hotels, even a room in a guesthouse, as long as they fit in with the above criteria. (These hotels will be needed all throughout PP, SR and Sihanoukville. When in Sihanoukville I want to go to Lazy Beach, can anyone recommend this or give feedback on their experiences?

5. I would love to climb a mountain (or a big hill dependent on fitness) and propose to my girlfriend over sunset. Would anyone have a recommendation (as far as picturesque scenery etc) on the best place to do this?

6. That%26#39;s all. Any help anyone give me would be much appreciated. I will be forever in debt and if anyone from Brisbane, AUS helps out I will even shout you a beer.

Thanks guys.

John.

3 weeks in Cambodia

1. It will be transitioning from ';hot'; to ';really hot';. But no rain.

2. Taxi. Negotiate the price before getting in. It will be cheap.

3. I like the Bougainvillier and lots of people like the FCC for a ';familiar'; place to land.

4. If you don%26#39;t require a pool, your options open up widely. You can get all the things you require inside a $30-60/night range, maybe less since you coming in shoulder season. Many guest houses are just as lovely as hotels and much cheaper, getting down into the $20-30 a night range. Been to Sihanoukville but not to Lazy Beach. Can%26#39;t help with that.

5. You%26#39;re pretty ambitious if you want to climb a mountain in that heat. Maybe google the Bokor Hill Station and see if it%26#39;s passable now. Maybe someone on LP could answer that for you. There are lovely places to see sunsets, sunrises at the temples but you won%26#39;t be alone! Too bad you can%26#39;t journey to Preah Vihear!

3 weeks in Cambodia

Hi Johnny

I%26#39;ve got a mate in Sihanoukville who will meet me and my wife in PP. Hes been there for two years, and were going for the first time for 3 weeks from Jan 20-Feb 5. Pitty were just miss each other, maybe we could have met for a beer or two, but anyway hes going to put us in an area called Victory bay. I%26#39;ve been hearing some good reports about Sihanoukville(Snooky), he loves it there and no doubt were see alot, Once I%26#39;ve been there and If I find that you can connect easy with Internet maybe I could send another reply to this thread on tips,etc when we get back so you could read it just as you arrive, especially on Snooky. R u going to Angkor Wat and Siem Riep? They reckon its unbelievable scenery there. Still dont know what to do about Anti-Malarial tabs also. Perhaps one day you could give me some good tips on Brisbane, thats another place on my list? Have a good trip and congratulations.

Thanks Ellenem and Phil, much appreciated.

I have checked out the FCC in PP, looks wonderful and exactly what I want. Thanks so much.

Its good to know I%26#39;ll be missing the rain as well.

Thanks for the help as well Phil. I would suggest (from personal experience in Viet Nam) not to bother with the anti-malarials. We took them over there, and they made us quite ill in the stomach, and in the whole month we were there we saw but one mosquito, which came nowhere near us anyhow (thanks to mozzie repellent).

Coming from the land of the mosquito (QLD) i would recommend a good mozzie repellent and long sleeves/trousers if/when hiking.

Hope this helps. When you get to Brisbane eventually, let me know. If I%26#39;m around I%26#39;ll show you what this town has to offer!!!

Thanks guys..

1) weather will be fine - hot, but I%26#39;ve felt worse when i%26#39;ve been in brisbane!

2) some accomodations will collect you, otherwise taxi

your luggage it quite weighty though, air asia%26#39;s limit is 15kg and their excess charges can be quite heafty (sometimes if the flight is booked late, and inc the luggage charges, it can be cheaper to fly with bangkok airways)

3)FCC or somewhere like the billabong - has a lovely pool

4) hotels fitting that spec can be had for around 35$ in SR, PP a little more. So I%26#39;d allow around 40-45$ and you%26#39;ll have a great time - in SR palm village - my personal fav, fits the spec, and is just a little special

5) proposal places, hmmmmm, everyone has different ideas! lol. Anyway, bokor national park has great views - bokor mountain lodge may suit; helicoter trip - above angkor? ; http://www.phnompenhtours.com - has some destinations that some may see as romantic - waterfalls in rattanakiri (not sure if you%26#39;re heading that way)

6) hope that gives you a few ideas!!

forgot to add, that if you do go to bokor hill station, it has to be with a guide atm - development work is going on up there, although the situation is best checked with your accomodation

http://www.rikitikitavi-kampot.com/

also looks a lovely place to stay there!

canbypublications.com/cambodia/kampot-cambod鈥?/a> gives you lots of things to see/do in the area - you may find something suitably romantic!

Thanks pal.

I didnt quite take into consideration the Air Asia baggage costs. Might have to rethink that one.

Everyone have a great weekend!!

Hey Johnny,

We went into Cambodia (a month ago) with 15k between us in one suitcase. Left Cambodia still with one suitcase so 2x25k backbacks is probably overdoing it just a tad.

I bought velcor/beachcomber sandals in the market for $7, you really don%26#39;t need that much stuff but make sure it is cotton so you don%26#39;t drown in a pool of your own sweat!

You don%26#39;t mention Siem Reap and the Angkor temples - you simply can%26#39;t go to Cambodia without seeing them - unless you have seen them previously

Gee.. I hope your girlfriend doesn%26#39;t decide to get on TA and do some research for herself of your surprise could be spolt - how about at one of the Angkor temples - historic, beautiful etc though I would not recomment sunset at Phnom Bakheng (where everyone goes to watch sunset over Angkor WAt)- way way too crowded.

the helicopter ride mentioned in one of the posts above sounds like it might be a very different way to propose.

good luck

Helen

Thanks for the advice Helen!

The tickets are a birthday present/valentines day present so hopefully she wont have time to troll on TA!!!

But it makes sense to buy most things over there.

And I have all intentions of visiting Angkor Wat, I left it off the OP by accident!

Thanks so much!

Hi Johnnie

How your trip going mate?? As mentioned before we just got back as you arrived and if I could give you a couple of tips that would be on no account miss Siem Riep and the temples, we done it in one full day, thats the three main ones; Ankgor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm, and that town is quite a good theme of pubs, eaterys, markets and alot of farang! In PP countless hotels, we stayed at Happiness 2, pretty basic but close to everything, I suppose your do most of the sights there. We done 17 days in Sihanoukville at the White House Guest House, close to the Grand Palace Casino and Victory beach is quite cozy and took a boat trip there on Robert the Germans three tier old sailor, had a good party theme to it and at 20 dollars for most of the day, Lucky me the missus is Filipina so she got on for 5 dollars. Beach bars and beach nice, all you have to do is buy a minimum can of drink there and you can use all their beds, toilets, etc. Only one other beach we tried Hawaii beach but as it was Chinese New Year was too packed, as we heard Ochheutal and Seradipitty are too plaqued by hawkers,etc. Anyway I hope you and your fiancee are enjoying it all, and enjoy the Ankgor beer!