Khett Siem Reab Travel Forum

Hello everyone,

We are in Sien Reap on 4th of Apri, 2009 we need to get down to Phnom Penh. I have been trying to find out whether it would be better to go by boat or bus. I have read some pretty bad write ups on the boat trip. People stating the boats over sell their tickets and the trip being tedious with very little to see, boat or bus. I would be grateful for advice before making a decision.
Also accommodation in both Sien REap and Phnom Penh. I would like a place with a little swimming pool if possible and reasonable. Thanks in anticipation.
Vicki

Can't help with the first part of your question. With regards accommodation in Siem Reap, I can recommend Auberge Mont Royal - tip on my Siem Reap page.

The boat trip is a lot of fun; the bus trip is tedious. These are some of the amazing sights you will see if you take the boat:

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/63297/#TL

Vanakam, I visited both Siem Reap & Pnhom Penh last April, for the first time.

I wouldn't recommend either the boat or the bus; the boat trip is overly long, boring & increasingly unsafe.

The bus trip is slightly shorter than the boat, around 8 hrs & I wouldn't want to be cooped up in a bus that long.

I recomend you do what I did, i.e. get your guide to drive you from SR to PP in his vehicle. It takes 4 hrs, & you can do this after a leisurely breakfast.

We left SR around 9.30 a.m., & reached PP around 1.30 p.m., just in time for a light lunch & refreshing G&Ts :)

It cost us US$ 85/- for this trip, & no doubt, this time, you'll probably have to pay around US$ 100/-.

Now I'd recommend you stay @ Prince D'Angkor in SR, & Pnhom Pemh hotel, in PP. Both are very comfortable, safe & have good swimming pools with poolside bars that can serve you light refreshments while you do a few leisurely laps.

I have very fond memories of enjoying chilled Angkor beer & freshly ground beef burger at the Prince D'Angkor poolside, after doing around 10 leisurely laps.

When you are at PP, whatever you do, please please please please have at least 1 dinner at the FCC. Its a wonderful place overlooking the Tonle Sap & they serve an excellent variety of Franco-Asian fusion food, & they've got a lovely bar there, as well.

Also, while at SR, you must have at least 1 dinner at "Le Malraux", a superb French restaurant along Sivatha Boulevard.

Let me know if you need any assistance, of if you want to use the guide we did. He speaks very good English, is completely trustworthy & reliable, & has his own comfortable big air-conditioned Toyota Corolla to drive you around SR.

You know what, I think I'll go back to Cambodia again, maybe in end-April or early May '09.

Cheers.

"the boat trip is overly long, boring & increasingly unsafe." Your experience of the boat trip sounds very different to mine. What happened to make you feel that it was unsafe?

Hello,
I would be interested in hearing about your experience of the boat trip, is there just one boat? One person said that they were in the middle of the lake and didn't see any sights....would you take the boat again?
Best wishes, Vicki
Thanks for your time

Hello,
I would be interested in hearing about your experience of the boat trip, is there just one boat? One person said that they were in the middle of the lake and didn't see any sights....would you take the boat again?
Best wishes, Vicki
Thanks for your time

Hello,
I would be interested in hearing about your experience of the boat trip, is there just one boat? One person said that they were in the middle of the lake and didn't see any sights....would you take the boat again?
Best wishes, Vicki
Thanks for your time

The bus is a 5 hr trip with Mekong Express which leaves early in the morning from Sisowath Quay in PP and has a rest stop around halfway. Cost around $10. I intend to do this trip next month. Boat is not my thing really. I have heard the bus is a good trip and you are likely to meet other travellers which is not a bad thing :)

Good Luck

Eggboy

I enjoyed the boat trip. It was a comfortable, modern boat. You can sit inside if you want, but I chose to sit on the roof with other travellers. The most photogenic parts are at the beginning and end, when you are closest to shore. I saw riverside villages and a floating market. I even saw a floating church! There is a long middle stretch when you cross the lake. For me, it was a memorable experience, which a bus trip wouldn't have been, but that's just my opinion.

The only thing that I had heard about the boat being "unsafe" was in the dry season, when the water levels are low, and there may be a small chance of the boat running aground. The boats do look a little old, and the roof might be a bit hot, if you do the boat trip, make sure that you have a hat & sunscreen. You might not see too much sitting inside, as the perspex windows on the boat were crazed (cloudy).
You might be better off seing the Tonle Sap as a day trip from Siem Reap, after a while I guess the scenery would all be the same, muddy water, floating villages etc.
The OP that mentioned the bus taking 8 hours must have been on a very old, slow bus. As eggboy mentioned, the Mekong Express takes 5 hours, and a very comfortable ride, as the road is now in pretty good shape. They have a host/ess who points out places of interest along the way, they hand out a box with some little pastries and bottled water, and of course, air-con.
Another high-light of the bus trip that we found, was the half-way stop (at Kompong Thom, I think) where you can test your bravery by eating some deep-fried tarantulas, or other assorted bugs!
$100 for a taxi may be OK for some to pay. Budget-wise I would never pay that much!
Betska