We plan to travel by car between these two - does anyone have suggestions on interesting stops or sights we might see on the way? I figure we%26#39;ll see plenty of temples etc. once we%26#39;re at Angkor, so I%26#39;m thinking more of villages, etc., to see the everyday life in Cambodia.
We%26#39;ll make sure to get a driver with good English, as I think this will be crucial.
Will appreciate any ideas you have to offer. We%26#39;re 2 adults traveling with 2 kids ages 11 and 13.
Thx!
what's to see between Phnom Penh and Siem Riep?
If you go on route 6 out of siem reap, you could stop at kompong thom, and take a diversion of to Sambor prei kuk, before continuing on the way down to PP
what's to see between Phnom Penh and Siem Riep?
A good idea would be to e-mail Mr Rasi , an honest , carefull taxi man whom I have known for 3 years . He will know good places to take you to add to the pleasure of your trip . Colin .
rasi_pang@yahoo.com
Hi Riley....We recently did this trip with our two kids aged 8 and 9. We found the journey from PP to SR one of the most interesting days of our three weeks in Asia. Lots of traditional villages, farming, buffalo, etc.
You can get a cheap taxi for $60 or so, but the journey is at least 5 hours without a stop. But what we did was arrange Sameth, a driver with a car, to take us in his 4WD Air Con Landcruiser. With the four of us, this was very comfortable. Sam is a lovely young man who is working hard to build a business. He knows Cambodia well. He charged us $220 for the trip, which we thought beforehand was on the high side, but in retrospect was worth it for his knowledge and a safe comfortable car on a road that is narrow and hairy at times.
See these links for his details. Highly recommend:
http://www.cathyandgarystravelpages.com/sam%26#39;s_taxi_service.htm
www.freewebs.com/samstaxiphnompenh/sam.htm
cheers
Geoff
Things to see between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap
Heading north from Phnom Penh 70kms you see the small town of Skun . It had fame for the spider eating habits of the locals. You can still see ladies selling trays of roasted tarantulas and they might even let you play with a live one!!
At just of 200 Kms from Phonm Penh is the small Khmer Pilgrimage centre of Santuk. A new road leads to it around 2kms from Route 6. You can walk up the 800+ steps to the top or get your driver to drive up. Views at sunset can be great and there is plenty to see up there with friendly monks to show you around. There are a lot of hawkers ; kids wanting to fan you on the way if you walk and people asking donations for the Buddha. Whether the cash actually goes to him upstairs is a matter of conjecture; but take plenty of reils to give you good Karma!
The Wat is modern and quite simple; surrounding it is a number of reclining Buddha’s and shrines; some are hundreds of years old. It’s fun to wander around here and kids will love the cute houses , animal figures caves and hidey holes. It’s well worth spending an hour or two here.
Kompong Thom is about half way to Siem Reap; If you can arrange it spend a night here and visit
Sambor Prei Kuk a hour away to the north. These are truly ancient sites 1400 years old brick temples; which survived fairly well until the war in Vietnam; when a few stray US bombs damaged some of the temples. The Arunas Hotel in Kompong Thom (the big place where the buses stop) is remarkably good for a non tourist hotel. It was rebuilt a couple of years ago so its rooms are first rate (I’ve stayed there many times).
A few Kms out of town is the Prey Pros River; it’s a rapidly expanding Khmer style resort with a nice thatched eating area by the lake. Its
Midway between Kompong Thom and Siem Reap is Kompong Kdei. It’s a small place with a massive and spectacular Angkorian bridge Spean Praptos it’s the largest of all the ancient bridges; spanning the Chikreng River . The main road used to cross this bridge but now it is bypassed . being only 100meters from the main road it’s a highlight.
You can see a few smaller bridges along the road east of here, the main road detours around them; so at almost every bend you will see a dusty track and small bridge.
The last place of interest is Roluos; the temples are 12 kms from Siem Reap. Unfortunately you cannot visit them without a Temple Pass
hi peaceofangkor,
is prey pros resort a good place for swimming for the kids? i was thinking it could break up a long drive.
I%26#39;ve not seen anyone swimming there as there is no proper access to the lake yet. Although it is called a resort; it is not yet like what Westerners would understand to be one.
The place is under development and a hotel is being built alongside the restaurant.
I don%26#39;t have much to add to the very comprehensive listing provided by peaceofangkor above, except to note that Prey Pros -- around 15-20 km north of Kampong Thom town -- is more like a very nice highway rest stop than a resort.
That%26#39;s not to say I don%26#39;t like it -- I do, very much: food is good and reasonably priced, toilets are decent and kept pretty clean, staff is friendly (and they love kids) and the views over the lake are nice.
I do agree that Prey Pros is hardly a resort in the Western sense; however it looks to be developing into one with the hotel under construction. As of last week (8th Feb 09) I note a pontoon is now in place which would make swimming possible. New toilets have also now opened.
Insects are on sale om the way.
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