Holiday in Cambodia

[Josquius]

A guy I knew in Japan spent a year in Phnom Penh and he says it was pretty nice.
However he was there several years ago and googling about it I see a lot of comments about how much it has changed and how dangerous it is now....
Searching a bit more it seems local flights are quite plentiful so maybe I will fly up to the Luang Prabang instead and then from there head to Vietenne and back into Thailand

I had thought the place near Bangkok was the really bad one. But Phuket too ey. Thought it sounded too famous.
Beach holidays aren't really my thing at all but I figure it would be pretty nice to have a few days to just chill on the sand in a place with at least some people for a few days.

And yeah. I could ask on special travel sites. Probably will before I go.

[Josquius]

Sorted it with my boss so I'm finally planning to get it booked this weekend.
Its looking like late November.
Plan right now is to take 2 1/2 weeks and fly into Bangkok -> Siem Reap -> Hanoi -> Hong Kong, then fly out of HK. Sadly the airlines add quite a bit onto the price for multi destination vs a standard return (gits) but it saves having to loop back to Bangkok again.

[jimmy olsen]

I'm going to be arriving in Hanoi next Saturday.

[The Larch]

Funnily enough I recently met a girl who used to live in Cambodia working for an NGO at the Koh Rong island. If you want to check what they do:

http://friendsofkohrong.org/

She was not exactly kind about backpackers there.

[Josquius]

Because they spoil her lovely private third world country by clogging it up with other white people?
Back packers > voluntourists.

[Syt]

I guess it has more to do with the fact that many backpackers are obnoxious assholes with no regard for the local culture.

[Josquius]

I guess it has more to do with the fact that many backpackers are obnoxious assholes with no regard for the local culture.

They're usually the best with local cultures I find.
Often they take it a bit too far and go into douchebaggery with their interest in spiritualism and all that bollocks but they're better than tourists; the entire reason back packers travel is for different cultures, they don't expect part of their home country to be transplanted only with nicer weather.

[Eddie Teach]

voluntourists.

Did you coin that?

[Zanza]

Because they spoil her lovely private third world country by clogging it up with other white people?
Back packers > voluntourists.

This. The fishing villages on Koh Rong looked extremely poor. I am sure the party tourists leave a lot of money on Koh Rong. Unless you really put effort into it, you'll not be able to get from the resort areas to the fishing villages - at least not on the smaller Koh Rong island - as there was no path through the jungle. You had to hire a boat.

[Josquius]

voluntourists.

Did you coin that?

No. There was a big spree of articles a few months ago complaining about voluntourism (though I guess voluntourist as a word wasn't mentioned, seems logical though).

[The Larch]

Because they spoil her lovely private third world country by clogging it up with other white people?
Back packers > voluntourists.

She doesn't like those either. :p

[Zanza]

Plan right now is to take 2 1/2 weeks and fly into Bangkok -> Siem Reap -> Hanoi -> Hong Kong, then fly out of HK. Sadly the airlines add quite a bit onto the price for multi destination vs a standard return (gits) but it saves having to loop back to Bangkok again.

2 1/2 weeks for that? I am usually a "fast" traveller, but what's the point in spending so much time at the airport or on planes when there is so much to see in each of these places (except Hong Kong, sorry, Mono).

[Josquius]

Plan right now is to take 2 1/2 weeks and fly into Bangkok -> Siem Reap -> Hanoi -> Hong Kong, then fly out of HK. Sadly the airlines add quite a bit onto the price for multi destination vs a standard return (gits) but it saves having to loop back to Bangkok again.

2 1/2 weeks for that? I am usually a "fast" traveller, but what's the point in spending so much time at the airport or on planes when there is so much to see in each of these places (except Hong Kong, sorry, Mono).

Hong Kong is a tagged on stop over, not a main place itself.
I figure 4 or 5 days for a city is fine.

[Zanza]

Why would you stay in the cities only?

[Monoriu]

Plan right now is to take 2 1/2 weeks and fly into Bangkok -> Siem Reap -> Hanoi -> Hong Kong, then fly out of HK. Sadly the airlines add quite a bit onto the price for multi destination vs a standard return (gits) but it saves having to loop back to Bangkok again.

2 1/2 weeks for that? I am usually a "fast" traveller, but what's the point in spending so much time at the airport or on planes when there is so much to see in each of these places (except Hong Kong, sorry, Mono).

Hong Kong is a tagged on stop over, not a main place itself.
I figure 4 or 5 days for a city is fine.

You don't want to see the Victoria Harbour?



Or how densely packed our buildings are?



Or our wet markets?



Or this?



Not even the giant buddha?



And most important of all, you don't want to come mock my pathetic life to my face?