Holiday in Cambodia

[Josquius]

The big trip I want to make this year is to see Angkor in Cambodia.
It has been top of my list for a while and I finally want to do it. My mother's paranoia be damned.
I'm hoping to do a full 2 weeks trip and might visit some neighbouring countries at the time too.

I think to get there I will have to first go to either Bangkok or Hong Kong-  HK interests me more but Bangkok is the most convenient. Plane prices seem comparable. When I travel I mostly do so for culture and nice sights. Not drinking and shagging. So Thailand...I'm sure it does have nice stuff but its image is iffy.

Vietnam I think is probably big enough for a future trip of its own and to be missed out here. Laos and Burma however are under consideration.

Anyone ever travelled in the area? Any advice of where to go?

[Valmy]

I would suggest not commenting on Pol Pot's cameltoe.

But other than that, I have always wanted to see that as well and I look forward to your AAR.

[The Larch]

Don't forget to pack a wife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rm-Fu8rBms

[Norgy]

Gary Glitter is: Envious.

[Admiral Yi]

When you're in Japan you take a vacation in Italy.  When you're in Switzerland you travel to Cambodia.

Are you trying to rack up miles, or do you enjoy jet lag?

[alfred russel]

The big trip I want to make this year is to see Angkor in Cambodia.
It has been top of my list for a while and I finally want to do it. My mother's paranoia be damned.
I'm hoping to do a full 2 weeks trip and might visit some neighbouring countries at the time too.

I think to get there I will have to first go to either Bangkok or Hong Kong-  HK interests me more but Bangkok is the most convenient. Plane prices seem comparable. When I travel I mostly do so for culture and nice sights. Not drinking and shagging. So Thailand...I'm sure it does have nice stuff but its image is iffy.

Vietnam I think is probably big enough for a future trip of its own and to be missed out here. Laos and Burma however are under consideration.

Anyone ever travelled in the area? Any advice of where to go?

Last year a friend went to Cambodia for work and I could have visited her, but thought I'd use my vacation for something more cool and wound up getting nothing planned and just went to Israel solo to burn the vacation. I should have gone to Cambodia.

So I've never been--but for two weeks, with some time spent in Bangkok or Hong Kong, I don't think there will be time for Burma. Laos is closer by and doesn't have so much to see so you could spend a couple in Luang Prabang or wherever and probably not feel a need to go back. In Cambodia I was thinking about spending a few days in the capital and then a boat up to Siem Reap, and then going to Angkor Wat plus a few random temples in the area. They have one that is right on the border with Thailand that is a world heritage site and major military zone that I thought would be cool to visit.

[lustindarkness]

I like neither of those cities. Asia has better.

[The Brain]

Don't forget to pack a wife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rm-Fu8rBms

So much better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T2VizbQAwY

Kim.

[Syt]

I saw her live a few years ago. Right before Billy Idol.

[Zanza]

I'm hoping to do a full 2 weeks trip and might visit some neighbouring countries at the time too.

I think to get there I will have to first go to either Bangkok or Hong Kong-  HK interests me more but Bangkok is the most convenient. Plane prices seem comparable. When I travel I mostly do so for culture and nice sights. Not drinking and shagging. So Thailand...I'm sure it does have nice stuff but its image is iffy.

Vietnam I think is probably big enough for a future trip of its own and to be missed out here. Laos and Burma however are under consideration.

Anyone ever travelled in the area? Any advice of where to go?

Siem Reap/Angkor Wat is really nice. You need a day for the big temple tour. Don't do more as it gets repetitive. You can do a tour of the Tonle Sap on the next day. I did an extremely nice cooking class in Siem Reap last year (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297390-d1918751-Reviews-Cambodian_Cooking_Class-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html) which I recommend.

Phnom Penh is not really that interesting, one day max for the Killing Fields and that prison. Sihanoukville is so-so (stayed at the beach furthest from town), Korong Samolean (or however it is spelled) is fanastic, the bigger island didn't look that great.

In Laos, Vientiane is not that interesting, but Vang Vieng is great for outdoor sports (kayak, climbing, mountainbike, zip-lining) and Luang Prabang has a really nice atmosphere and some nice trip options (hiking, waterfalls etc.). Vang Vieng no longer has the infamous backpacker excessive drinking and tubing. But you can still buy opium in normal cafes there. The slow boat trip from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang is nice when you come from Chiang Mai in Thailand.
I missed out on the Gibbon Experience out of Huay Xai in Laos, but that's supposed to be really awesome.

Two weeks is tough for all of these places though.

Bangkok is fantastic by the way. Definitely worth a trip. Lots to see, extremely good food, shopping etc.

[Josquius]

Thanks. Sounds good.
Interesting you mention the tubing thing. A friend of mine here is always going on about that. No interest in drugs here!
Two weeks is tough? I guess travelling is slow but...a lot to see between places?

When you're in Japan you take a vacation in Italy.  When you're in Switzerland you travel to Cambodia.

Are you trying to rack up miles, or do you enjoy jet lag?

For Italy my trip back to Europe was free anyway and I didn't want to spend it all just sitting at home. Guessed I was to be in Japan longer so should take advantage of being back in Europe.

[Zanza]

Thanks. Sounds good.
Interesting you mention the tubing thing. A friend of mine here is always going on about that. No interest in drugs here!
Two weeks is tough? I guess travelling is slow but...a lot to see between places?

Travel in Laos and Cambodia is rather slow, in Thailand it is very professional and fast. You can usually take overnight buses from one place to the next to save you time, but that can also leave you stranded in some bus station in the middle of nowhere at an inopportune time. The interesting part of Laos (north of Vientiane) is really far away from Siem Reap though. That's a distance for aircraft, not buses. I took an aircraft from Siem Reap to Luang Prabang (Vietnam Air).

[Josquius]

Any idea on time of year to go?
I was thinking summer is the time I'm most likely to be free but....it seems a terrible idea to visit the jungle in the hottest and wettest time of the year.

A quick browse of maps and wiki voyage tells me I should fly to Bangkok and as a rough idea:
3 days Bangkok and area
3 days Siem Reap/Angkor (get there by bus or plane or?....)
3 days Phonm Pehn (by...bus?)
3 days....Phuket? Or is there a nicer beach place I should be going?

Laos sounds pretty intriguing (not so touristy) but I fear since I don't have months to burn idly travelling to go there would be a bit too much of a 'tick a country off the list' flying voyage. Flights to Vientiane seem sparse.

[Zanza]

I was in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand during August last year - by necessity as my travel companion could only take off in August. It is the wet season, but I think I only lost two days completely from rain. The other days you might have a brief period of rainfall or sometimes an hour or two, but there were lots of days without rainfall as well.

3 days Bangkok and area
3 days Siem Reap/Angkor (get there by bus or plane or?....)

Both fine. Fly from Bangkok to Siem Reap with something cheap such as Nok Air or so.

3 days Phonm Pehn (by...bus?)

You can take an overnight bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. What do you want to do with three days in Phnom Penh though?

3 days....Phuket? Or is there a nicer beach place I should be going?

Phuket must have nice spots. But I fear I haven't seen those. Full of drunk Russians and Australians, really run down, cheap, sometimes outright nasty. The islands south of Phuket are nice (Koh Lantau, Koh Phi Phi).
If you want to focus on Cambodia, go from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and spend some time there (Otres Beach is nice enough) or on the two Koh Rong islands (small one is pristine and relaxing, big one is more party).

Laos sounds pretty intriguing (not so touristy) but I fear since I don't have months to burn idly travelling to go there would be a bit too much of a 'tick a country off the list' flying voyage. Flights to Vientiane seem sparse.

You could take an overnight bus from Bangkok to Vientiane, but then there is not much to do in Vientiane. The interesting parts of Laos are a day or two by car further north (Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang).

[Jacob]

Any idea on time of year to go?
I was thinking summer is the time I'm most likely to be free but....it seems a terrible idea to visit the jungle in the hottest and wettest time of the year.

A quick browse of maps and wiki voyage tells me I should fly to Bangkok and as a rough idea:
3 days Bangkok and area
3 days Siem Reap/Angkor (get there by bus or plane or?....)
3 days Phonm Pehn (by...bus?)
3 days....Phuket? Or is there a nicer beach place I should be going?

Laos sounds pretty intriguing (not so touristy) but I fear since I don't have months to burn idly travelling to go there would be a bit too much of a 'tick a country off the list' flying voyage. Flights to Vientiane seem sparse.

Don't go to Phuket. You'll run into hordes of the same type of tourists you get at the cheap holiday resorts in the Med. The place is overflowing with shitty German and British bars and restaurants for the tourists who need a little taste of home on their two week getaway to sleep with Thai bar-girls and get piss drunk on the beach.

... at least, that's what it was like when I was there quite a while ago. I doubt it's gotten any better.

Browse through the Lonely Planet or Let's Go book for Thailand to get better suggestions, or ask on Thorntree (or just browse there, I'm sure the question's already been asked a million times).