Cambodia Thread 2

[Mr.Punch]

^ Ay oo nga pala, she mentioned nights, not days.  Sorry! 

[fruityp0p]

^it's ok Mr. Punch, thanks for the help/tip I really appreciate it!! Mukhang magtatagal kami sa Siem Reap since medyo mura naman ang accomodation namin, super excited na ako worth it ba yung Beng Melea and Bantay Srei? plan kasi namin magtuktuk lang

^^sis frozenToes, I thought yung Beng Melea yung "Tomb Raider" kaya sinama ko sa IT ko, Ta Phrom pala yun thanks sis!

[Frozen Toes]

^ Oo, sobrang worth it ang Banteay Srei and Beng Mealea (1 hour away from the Angkor complex). Top 3 favorites ko: Bayon (found in Angkor Thom), Banteay Srei and Beng Mealea. Gogogo!

Actually, magkasama kami ni Mr. Punch nagtour sa Siem Reap. Ang ginawa namin was Day 1: Sunrise sa Angkor W.a.t., breakfast then Kbal Spean, Banteay Srei, Pre Rup, Ta Phrom, Bayon (Angkor Thom), then balik sa Angkor W.a.t. Day 2: Beng Mealea and Koh Ker. Yung Beng Mealea, konti lang pumupunta don kaya peaceful. Maliit lang sya pero naenjoy ko walking sa mga hallways nya.

[barefoot_taka]

fruitypop if itong 2 lang ang target mo sa PP 1. Killing Fields 2. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum no need to stay there for 2 nights. day tour lang yan plus isama mo na all the other pasyalan in PP like the palace. kami half day lang nga sa PP tour (2pm yata yung bus to SR) and dami na namin napasyalan. 

[fruityp0p]

^^really sis? haha baka isama na nga lang namin din yun, madami nga din may favorite nun sa tripadvisor

^siguro nga sis kaya ng 1 night lang, nilagay ko kasi 2 nights dahil hindi ko alam what time departure ng bus to Siem Reap

grabe naeexcite na ako, accomodations naman namin ngayon ang iniisip ko, grabe laking tulong talaga ng mga inputs ninyo mga sis!! parang mas mageenjoy ako sa Cambodia at Vietnam kesa sa Thailand hehe

mga sis sino ng nakatawid ng border ng Cambodia-Thailand? safe ba? I heard may mga gulo-gulo daw, pero nung nagcross yung I-Witness from Thailand-Cambodia wala naman sinabing ganun so I think safe naman?

[Mr.Punch]

^ And sorry for repeating, but if the guide offers to insert Kbal Spean in the package, you must REFUSE.  It involves a 1.5 kilometer upward hike before you see the river floor carvings, which is quite underwhelming,

Now if you're still somehow interested to see it, then wear hiking shorts.  Don't wear long jeans! (unless your name is Frozen Toes   )

[southpaw]

^seriously? Refuse? Are the lingas and yonis not worth the hike? 

I guess stretchable long jeans are okay, but what we need to ensure is that we have a very good pair of walking shoes! 

Can you please help me with the pronunciation of all these places?  How do locals pronounce: Beng Melea, Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean, Phnom Bakheng?

[Mr.Punch]

^ Beng Mealea - Mea and Lea rhyme

Banteay Srei - Banteay sounds almost like "bantay" (and sometimes they spell it that way too)

Basically, if you pronounce all the letters you'll be understood, because Siem Reap is a city of tourists and even if the locals have their own intonations, they'll understand a place name if a tourist says it.

[Frozen Toes]

mga sis sino ng nakatawid ng border ng Cambodia-Thailand? safe ba? I heard may mga gulo-gulo daw, pero nung nagcross yung I-Witness from Thailand-Cambodia wala naman sinabing ganun so I think safe naman?

Me! Kaya lang Thailand-Cambodia yung ginawa namin. Check my kwento sa previous page na lang. Safe naman. Yung nga lang, I advise you to not speak to anyone habang nasa border town. Sa naexperience ko, puro kasinungalingan ang sasabihin nila.

Nung naglalakad kami from Thailand immigration to Cambodia immigration, may lalaki na lumapit samin and tinuro kung saan kami magpapastamp ng passport and kung ano mga kailangan i-fill up. Since he showed us his ID, kampante kami kasi dun sya nagwowork talaga sa border. Anyway, sinabayan nya kami maglakad para di kami mawala.

Pag labas namin ng Cambodia immigration, dinumog kami ng mga cab and tuktuk drivers. Parang pinagkalat yata nung lalaki na sumama samin na tourists kami and di namin kabisado yung process and yung lugar.

Tinatanong namin sya kung saan yung Ly Hout Hotel (dun kasi kami yung pick up point nung prearranged cab namin from the border to Siem Reap). Sabi nya malayo daw yun. Kailangan daw namin kumuha ng tuktuk at magpahatid sa bus terminal. Yung mga kasama nya na drivers, all agreed to what he said.

Nainis na ko nung point na yun kasi according to our tour guide in Siem Reap, 60meters away lang ang Ly Hout Hotel from the immigration. We knew na gusto nila kami i-scam. So di na namin sila pinansin and naglakad na lang kami. True enough, andun lang sa gilid ng immigration yung Ly Hout Hotel.

Nakakainis, di ba? We were supposed to give him a tip for helping us, pero dahil sinungaling sya, never mind na lang. So, ang advice ko, just research kung saan pupunta and kung saan sasakay. Don't take the advice of anyone. They will only try to mislead you para makakuha ng commission. Also, since Philippine passport holder tayo, wala tayong kailangang bayaran sa immigration/VISA. So, pag may nagsabi sayo na you need to pay for something, make it clear to that person na alam mo ang procedure sa pagcross ng border.

Now if you're still somehow interested to see it, then wear hiking shorts.  Don't wear long jeans! (unless your name is Frozen Toes   )

Hahahaha.

[southpaw]

Basically, if you pronounce all the letters you'll be understood..

I see! So parang Tagalog way of pronunciation din.
Thanks!

^sis Frozen Toes, naka-ID pa that guy, but instead of guiding tourists, seems like he's acting more of a tuktuk dispatcher! Kainis nga ha! 

[barefoot_taka]

fruitypop kami pagkadating ng PP we checked the time na for the next day trip to SR. konti lang naman kasi ang attractions dun. check nyo na lang din if 2pm nga yung bus not sure eh.

frozen toes scam nila talaga yan sa thailand-cambodia border. nabasa ko sa lonely planet. buti deadma nyo sila.

[yby2476]

ngayon ko lang nabasa yung mga kwentos, oo, maraming mga manloloko diyan sa cambodia...i mean, pagbaba mo...kasi kami rin, naganyan dati...dinumog ng mga tuktuk drivers nung hinde kami sinundo ng aming hotel...buti na lang may kasama kaming isang filipino family na kasabay namin from vietnam,sumabay kami sa kanilang sundo at dun na rin kami sa hotel nila...sabi nung driver nila, talagang puputuktakin ka ng mga tuktuk drivers tapos sasabihin na malayo and all, ayaw pa ngang payagan ng mga tuktuk drivers yung driver ng hotel ng family na nakasabay namin, kasi para daw siyang nanulot or something, eh no choice sila kasi pinili namin yung hotel driver kaysa sa kanila and besides mas marami kami...

[odessa17]

sis planning to go to cambodia kahit 1 1/2 day lang. anong recommended the bus company from thailand to cambodia siem reap? dating kasi namin madaling araw ng jan 26. first time ko din magstay na lang sa airport hangang morning. at mag first trip na lang sa bus going to cambodia. gusto ko lang makita un angkor [textspeak!] at un ibang temple tapos balik na din thailand.share naman po 2 girls lang kami okay lang ba magtravel ng ganon? o kuha na lang ako ng tuktuk driver like un recommended ni sis frozen toes

[Frozen Toes]

^ Kung mangagaling ka sa Suvarnabhumi Airport, first bus leaves at around 8AM. Estimated time of arrival nyo sa Siem Reap nyan is around 3PM. Other option nyo naman is to catch the first bus leaving Mor Chit Station (about 45 mins away from Suvarnabhumi) at around 5:00 AM. Dadating kayo ng Siem Reap at around 1PM.

Something to to check: what time nagsasara ang Angkor Complex (which I think is after sunset), Angkor Pass ticket booth, and surrounding temples.

Napapagod ako iniisip ko pa lang yang gagawin nyo. Wala kayong maayos na tulog since pagdating nyo ng Bangkok, go na agad sa Siem Reap. Tapos haharapin nyo ang napakahassle na border town. Then, pag dating nyo sa Siem Reap, tour agad. The following day, balik ng Bangkok. USD 20 yung day pass sa Angkor, di nyo masusulit.

Ako kasi, nung pumunta ko ng Thailand last February, natempt din ako puntahan ang Angkor, kahit overnight lang sa Siem Reap. But after doing research, I decided against it. Parang masakit sa katawan eh. Hehe. Bumalik na lang ako last November ng Thailand tapos spent 3 nights in Siem Reap.

[phurple0515]

tama, dapat when you go temple hopping, better wear hiking shorts/shoes kasi me iba talaga na matarik.  at mainit kaya di ko maimagine if you are wearing pants, hhehe...

I miss SR na.  Sana makabalik kami ulit ni hubby.

[odessa17]

thanks sis Frozen Toes kahit saglit lang so dapat talaga pagkadating namin airport derecho na lang kami ng mochit para atleast kahit 1pm -2pm andun na kami sa cambodia... gusto ko pa din pumunta kahit overnight lang tapos balik na lang next time. lam ko pagudaan nga pero gusto ko talaga makapunta.
ano ba ok na It sa ganon kabilis na alis? ngayn lang ata ako aalis na hindi gaano nakapg research... hindi pa ko pinayagan mag leave sa office kaya ka stress tuloy.

[Frozen Toes]

^ You can try contacting yung kinuha naming driver. Mabait yun and helpful. Speaks english well din. Sabihin mo na lang na around 2PM pa kayo makakapagtour sa Siem Reap so pakiayos ng itinerary nyo. Mabilis naman sya magreply sa messages. Di ko rin kasi kabisado kung anong oras nagsasara mga temples dun.

[sarsingkit]

Hi sis odessa17, if you just wanna catch a few glimpses on the Angkor Temple, at least have a look ng sunset and sunrise. hapon din kasi kami dumating ng siem reap at i think mga 4pm na kami nakapunta ng Angkor Complex. so we paid the 20usd fee na good for the following day, pero since andun na rin kami and we paid na rin pinapasok na kami kasi magsasara na rin naman at yung angkor ng mga 6 or 7ish. not sure on the exact time. pero parang madilim na nun eh nung nagsara (that was April). tapos gising kami ng super aga the next day to see the sunrise. kayo na ang bahala kung until what time nyo gusto magstay. you can leave by lunch time na since gusto nyo lang naman "ma-browse through" yung angkor 

 

[yby2476]

naku sis odessa, mukhang nakakapagod yung gagawin niyo ha? although mas maiksi lang yata ang byahe ng thailand to cambodia, compared mo from vietnam to cambodia na 12 hrs...

familiar sa akin ang mo chit, sa thailand ito diba? ito yung may malaking bus terminal...dito kasi kami bumaba nung pumunta naman kami ng ayutthaya to bangkok...

na-miss ko rin bigla yung angkor [textspeak!]...pero next time, sa phnom phen naman kami...

ang simple ng buhay sa cambodia no? :-)

[odessa17]

sis salamat sapagsagot ng questions ko... oo nga pagod pagod ang balak ko and 2 lang kami na pupunta dun. kaso iniisip ko pag naging okay yun IT namin tuloy ko pa din. gaya nga ng sinabi ni sis sarsingkit parang " ma browse through " lang ang angkor e okay na din... para siguro meron ako i look forward this year na bumalik dun.

iniisip ko na lang kasali ako sa amazing race
thanks mga sis ha =)
thanks din frozen toes sa pm =)