I am planning a trip to Hanoi and Cambodia. Can I take a bus or train from Hanoi to Cambodia?

Question

How long does it take? What are my other travel options? I would also appreciate any travel guides you may give.

Answer 1

It depends on where you want to go in Cambodia. Phnom Penh?

Answer 2

Take the bus, its really inexpensive and they help you with your visa at the border.  I have done this trip a couple of times, Saigon to Phonm Phen.  And its easy and painless.

Here is a Cambodia cheat sheet that was made up for the boys.  Its a little raw but can save your a**!

IN PHONM PHEN

Accommodation: #9 Guest House right on the lake, noisy but great atmosphere. I tell you the rooms are not great here but the location is outstanding. Sunsets smoking pot on the floating dock are stunning in more ways than one. Actually, most of the rooms are on floating docks.  This is not a fancy place but very cool. The owner is Sohkeng, his wife Leah is beautiful and a great Cambodian cook. If it drives you too crazy, head towards the central market.  There are loads of guest houses and cheap hotels between the market and the Riverside.  Lots of pricey stuff as well.  No worries here.

U. S. Embassy: one of the most fortified embassies in the world, right off the circle at Wat Phonm.  Real spooky inside.  A true fortress!!!

Drinking: Rory’s Irish Pub, (he also has a half dozen rooms above the bar.)

The Cantina on the riverfront (great Mexican food and the best selection of Tequila in Cambodia)

Riverside Bar, (great for People watching)

The Magic Sponge at Lake Side, Tell Dan that Randy said Hi.

Snowys, across the river, the only bar on the other side,  take a ferry right in front of the Riverside Bar then its 200 meters north, Hanging out on stilts over the water. Or… just get a ride over the bridge.  Watch the movie “City of Ghosts”.  Snowy is the drunken Aussy wanting a fight in the brothel.

Late night drinking: Heart of Darkness, Walkabout, Shanghai.  All on the same strip, In fact all the bars along there are great little scenes.

And the riverfront has dozens of bars including The Foreign Correspondents Club. A combination hotel, restaurant and bar with a great river view.

Womanizing; Sharky’s (as the name suggests),  Sophies (******** bar), Le Cyrcee, the secret place, (great girls that display their wares),  Martini’s the girls are like flies at a B.B.Q. The millionaire club, more of a fashion show.

Dancing: Heart of Darkness, Sparks,  Beware, Rich Cambodians and their body guards can be extremely dangerous! Stay away and never drink with them or get in a car with them.  

Eating: Samdoo (I love this place_ try the sweet and sour deep fried grouper fish) on 128TH St. between central Market and Monivong St., 222 or 224th St. on the corner of Monivong, you’ll see fish tanks and live swimming edibles ( a great late night seafood place) always packed, recommend the soft shelled crabs and seafood noodles.

Garden Central Café, (there are two of these, go to the big one, cool and good food and drinks, a little oasis) Java Café of Sihanouk boulevard near the independence monument, a smaller version of Cargo in Hoi An. The Tell Restaurant, German bratwurst and Pork Roasts, Yummy.   The Cantina, Mexican food and just down the street, California 2, great tacos and a good place to stay on the river.  Usually booked up!

Shopping: The Central Market and the Suraya market next door, DVD on the third floor and at the Russian market, you can buy just about anything you can name!

In Siem Reap:

Accommodation: Enjoy Guest House, 2 blocks from Bar Street,  Craig and Lexy own the place and will take care of you.  Molly Malone’s costs a little more but has 4 poster beds and is quite nice. Of course there are all kinds of hotels here from$1000 a night to $5 a night.  

Drinking:  Dead Fish Bar; great architecture and crocodiles to feed.  Bar Street of course with about 20 clubs offering everything and nothing.  Try the Funky Monkey or the bar at the Enjoy for good company and fewer tourists.

Food:  The Funky Monkey has the best western food in town and don’t miss their Quiz night on Thursday.  It’s a blast.  Viva, Mexican food that is good but not great has a good selection of Tequila.  Dead Fish Café; Good food and as their sign say’s “We don’t serve no dog, cat or worm”

In the Afternoon hang out at Aqua.  Its out toward the bus stop.  Great music and a large pool for cooling off.  Foods OK as well.  This is in case your hotel does not have a pool.

In both Phonm Phen and Siem Reap there are pizza bars that use Weed as a seasoning and it will knock you down if you are not careful.  

Drugs; Stay away from all powders.  They are usually really pure heroin and can kill you with a small dose.  This happens often as the sellers say its cocaine and one California sized line will bring back memories of Pulp Fiction with no good guy there with a bottle of Adrenalin and a heart needle.   The smoke is Ok and occasionally really good.  The Pharmacies have just about any thing you can think about and no hassles.

There are a couple of Markets in Siem Reap but nothing spectacular.  Many of the Small shops have great Knock off Cambodian artifacts and there might even be some real stuff once in a while.  Remember, The government will not let you take most stuff out of the country.  Be careful or somebody will be reselling your purchases the next day!

Angkor Wat is wonderful and not just one temple site.  You can get away from the tourists by visiting any of the hundreds of temples that are not the tourist norm. Angkor and Bayon are the standards and Ta Prohm is where they filmed the Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie.  Very picturesque.  Most people go to Angkor for sunrise then Bayon then Ta prohm .  Switch that around and go to Ta Prohm first and you will miss the mass of tourists.  By 8:00 or so Angkor has cleared out and is still wonderful. Also, lots of the Halls and galleries do not have artificial lighting so its better later in the morning.

Depending on where you are in Cambodia the prices vary from similar to Thailand to a little higher. I have found very inexpensive lodging in Phnom Phen and prices to be somewhat higher in Siem Reap. Probably because of the popularity of Angkor Wat.

Remember everything, and I mean everything is for sale in Cambodia. Most of the serious grifters in the world end up there at some point in time so hold tight to your wallet.

Keep a small amount of local currency in one pocket and the bulk of your pocket money in the other. If stopped by one of the three police agency's pull out the small denomination cash when they want the bribe and you might even be able to argue them down a little. If you pull out the big bucks it’s gone. I have a friend who takes a book everywhere he goes. If he gets stopped by the cops he just sits down and pulls out the book and starts reading. Waits them out! He usually gets off scott free. Don't ever run or try to dodge the military police. They would just as soon shoot you as look at you. You are safer to hire a driver than renting a bike. Just trust me on this. It’s worth it.

We do have some heavy weight connections for extreme emergency’s but it will cost you big bucks!  So try to stay out of trouble and remember the man with the quiet voice is the man that is respected in Cambodia!

I have more if you need it and check out this site for some inside expat info.

www.asia-expatsforum.com/phpBB... -

Randy’s Book Xchange

To 5 Thon Xuyen Trung

Cam Nam,  Hoi An,  Vietnam

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Tele# 0936089483  

Country code 84

Answer 3

You should take the bus. You must go to the South, and from there you take the bus. I dodn't think there is any train connection between Hanoi and Phnom Penh. If you don't have much time, you may take flight from Hanoi to Siem Reap or PP.

Enjoy your trip!