VIETNAM CAMBODIA TOUR

[oktoberfest22]

WOULD you guys recommend a vacay in Siem Reap with kids?

Gusto kasi ng 9-year-old daughter ko na makita ang Angkor [textspeak!] (she chose it over HK Disneyland), kaya lang we also have a two-year-old boy na super likot.

From the comments here kasi, baka di nya kayanin ang tagal ng travel from HCM? Ano pa ba ang pwedeng modes of transport or route na budget friendly pa rin?

 

[barefoot_taka]

^i answered in the other thread where you asked the same question. dagdag ko na lang sis na bring toys to keep them busy na lang din. kasi ang haba naman talaga ng byahe. kung adult nga naiinip mas lalo siguro for kids. 

[yby2476]

if you will ask me, pwede sana...kaso, i remember, 2 of my students before went to angkor, ages nila at that time was mga ganyan 9 and 8, with their little brother pa na around 5, and i asked them, how was it, ang sabi nila, boring and tiring daw...:-) ang sabi ni mommy nila, pero its very educational naman...:-)   

[oktoberfest22]

Thanks so much for the insights.

sis yby2476, in that case baka i-postpone na lang namin ng ilang years pa yung trip sa SR kasi kung yung mga 9 and 5 years olds na students mo na-bore, lalo na siguro yung 2 yr old ko.

Pero yung 9 year old ko hindi mabo-bore. Nerd yun e. He he. She actually chose going to SR than going to HK Disneyland. 

[yby2476]

^sis i guess kung 12 yrs old na lang siya...eh too think na yung mga students ko from ateneo pa ha? i have a student naman na from proveda,alala ko, when they went naman to vietnam, ang sabi lang niya, nahirapan sila sa pagtawid...and she was around 8 yrs old when they went to saigon...

pero atleast your daughter would rather see angkor than disneyland diba? :-) i mean for a 9 yr old, that's something sis...:-)

[oktoberfest22]

^ onga, nagulat din ako nung Angkor ang pinili over Disneyland.

Palipas muna nga kami ng 3 years para 12 y.o. na sya. By then, yung bunso is 5 y.o. na, mas madali nang isama rin.

Hanap muna ng ibang mapupuntahan before then. Thanks again sa lahat ng advice. 

[mchristine519]

Sis, which is the best way to get to Siem Reap, through Hanoi or HCMC?

[freelancer517]

through HCMC since Hanoi is in the northern part of Vietnam 

[Frozen Toes]

Last week, I did Bangkok - Siem Reap - Ho Chi Minh overland. It was easier than I expected. The 14-hour trip from SR to HCMC was not that bad. Actually, hindi ko namalayan yung oras and hindi naman ako nainip. We used Mekong Express, USD 22 per passenger. This includes free pick up from the hotel. Nagpabili kami dun sa guide/driver namin sa SR ng bus tickets. May toilet yung bus and I was so happy that it was not as filthy as the toilet nung bus namin from Bangkok to Siem Reap.

Sinundo kami at 6:30 AM from our hotel in Siem Reap. We arrived sa bus terminal about half an hour later. May iba pa kasing sinundo. The bus left the terminal at 7:30 AM. They handed out snacks (empanada & chocolate muffin), bottle of water, and wet wipes. After about two hours, we stopped for 30 minutes sa isang resto. Tapos, diretso na sa Phnom Penh.

We arrived at the Phnom Penh bus terminal at 1:30PM, they checked our passports and transferred us to another bus. We left the terminal at 2 PM. Again, we got snacks (empanada & white pastry that looks like a mini siopao), bottle of water, and wet wipes. Our next stop was at the Cambodia border na. Madilim na nito so I'm guessing around 6:00 PM na non. Si kuya conductor took our passports and pinababa kami sa isang resto. This restaurant accepts USD, riel, and dong. And pwede ka mamili kung anong currency ang isusukli sa'yo. We paid in USD and chose na dong yung isukli samin.

After 30 minutes, we got on the bus again and our passports were returned to us. May stamp na from the Cambodian side. A very short drive (5 minutes) later, pinababa kami para magpascan ng fingerprints. Tapos, sakay ulit sa bus and dinala kami sa immigration sa Vietnam side naman. Binaba lahat ng luggage kasi kailangan ipa-scan. So after magpastamp ng passport and magpascan ng bags, diretso na kami sa Ho Chi Minh. Around 7:30 PM na siguro non.

We got off sa District 1 in Ho Chi Minh at 9:30 PM. We took a cab to our hotel, which is right across the Independence Palace.

[southpaw]

^thanks for sharing this, sis! very detailed!

Funny, pero sa mind ko kasi whenever our sisses talk about the Vietnam-Cambodia border, eh iisang border lang napicture ko na andun na lahat - Cambodia exit stamp and Vietnam entry stamp will all take place in one stop. Oo nga naman, syempre dapat magkahiwalay yun. Haha! Pero bakit nakahiwalay pa the place where the fingerprints were taken?

And how far is the Vietnam's immigration from there? So from Vietnam border, another 2 hours to Saigon's district 1?

Grabe, 14 hours long talaga ang byahe? Akala ko mga 7:30 or 8pm makakarating na ng Hotel sa Saigon. Gusto ko na sana magstart ng gala nun, pero goodluck kung may energy pa ako. But how's the byahe? Matagtag ba or smooth naman ang roads? Iniisip ko pa lang talaga, nababato na ako.  I'll bring a book with me na lang siguro.

[Frozen Toes]

^ Magkahiwalay yung immigration ng Cambodia and Vietnam pero super lapit lang. Pwede lakarin. Yung sa fingerprints, di ko rin maintindihan eh. Basta after namin kumain, may stamp na passport namin. Tapos bumaba lang kami ng bus para magfingerprints sa booths (mukhang toll fee booths).

From Vietnam immigration, yeah, around 2 hours pa bago dumating District 1. At that point lang ako medyo nainip. Atat na kasi ako bumaba. And mas nakakainip pag alam mong malapit ka na sa destination mo, di ba? Puro mga Vietnamese music videos na yung palabas sa TV ng bus kaya pinagtyagaan ko na lang din panoorin. They were entertaining naman.

Sementado yung roads na dadaanan. Di naman ako natagtag. Kala ko rin nung una, super mabobore ako sa byahe. Di naman pala. May TV kasi. Okay din yung seats. Tulog ako lagi. Nagulat nga ako na madilim na bigla. Di ko namalayan na gabi na pala. Mas malala pa yung experience ko ng byahe from Puerto Princesa to El Nido (6 hrs lang 'to pero nilagnat ako dahil sa pagod).

[yby2476]

yes the mekong express is really very nice...namiss ko tuloy bigla yung mga cambodian music...sis frozen toes, cambodian music yun, di yung vietnamese...sorry, need to correct you about that..pinag-aralan ko kasi yung mga yun...

nways, nung pumunta kami, walang scan ng finger print? ngayon meron na? well...mga 5 mins walk lang talaga siya sis southpaw yung vietnam and cambodian border...kaloka nga yun eh, kasi papasakayin ka pa, eh sabi ko nga, sa conductor nun, kung pwedeng lakarin na lang...:-)

yung mekong express yata ang pinaka-mahal na bus, para siya kasi victory liner natin...yun lang nga wala pa siyang wi-fi...:-)

[southpaw]

^^True! Nakakainip talaga lalo when you know na you're almost there na. Haha! Aba, suki siguro si Mekong dun sa Resto na pinag-stop-an nyo? How's the food there? Madami options?

sis yby2476, lapit lang pala nun 2, pero kaya siguro di pinaglakad kasi kailangan pala ibaba yun luggages for scanning.

[Frozen Toes]

^ Yung resto sa Cambodia border, di masarap. We ordered beef fried noodles. Walang lasa. Pero carry na rin because I was hungry na. May options naman kaya lang hindi mukhang appetizing.

^^ Okay, thanks.

[yby2476]

2 kasi yung resto na stop-over diba? yung isa yung parang carinderia, i mean, mini resto lang, dun masarap yung pagkain dun...pag nagbayad ka dun, pwede kahit US dollar pero ang sukli mo yata ang dong...yung second resto eh yung medyo malaki na resto, di kami kumain dun, kasi parang busog pa kami...paano before bumaba for the second resto, nagbigay sila ng meryenda...

[southpaw]

sis, if you got off the bus at 9:30 p.m. sa District 1, may mapupuntahan pa ba nun? The restos there close early right? What if I want a quick bite or konting gala before heading off to Bich Duyen?

[Mr.Punch]

^ Meron pang bukas.  I was on the same bus as Frozen Toes.  I think we got to Saigon earlier than 9:30 naman, and even at that hour, there are still a lot of eating places.  I just walked around Saigon after checking in to Bich Duyen and got to this Pho place in a side street parallel to Pham Ngu Lao.  By the way, in some ways, Saigon is more alive at night than daytime. 

[southpaw]

^Happy to know that! Thanks!

I wish Quan An Ngon is still open at that time. I want to try Bun Cha.

[althea_ge]

sis ano marecommend nyo na hotel yung malapit lang sana sa night market resto etc...
and ano pwede gawin sa Phnom Penh, like anong tour and must see.. hanggang PP lang kami kasi 4 days lang kami sa Ho Chih Minh pero isingit namin yung PP

[subzero]

Sisses im excited to go to cambodia and vietnam. Solo travel. Im afraid and nervous but im up fr the challenge

Wala ba akong makakasabay? I will be there on 22 nd 1am in hcm.