Friday, October 2, 2015

QUICK TIPS - Cambodia

QUICK TIPS - CAMBODIA

2 people
TIME
Sep 6 2015 - Sep 17 2015 (11 days low season)
TOTAL COST
$15,473NT, or $473US
COST OF GETTING IN
$3153NT (visas+ bus from Bangkok) or  $96US
TOTAL COST OF LIVING
$12,320NT, or $377US
COST OF FOOD
$3199NT, or $98US
Recommend
anything with Kampot pepper, mangosteens, Korean restaurant, Battambang restaurant
COST OF ACCOMODATION
$2967NT, or $91US
Recommend
CHHAYA Hotel in Battambang, LAKESIDE Guesthouse in Phnom Penh
COST OF ENTERTAINMENT
$2329NT, or $71US
COST OF TRANSPORTATION
$2671NT, or $82US
VISA
Canada & Taiwan $30US +100 Baht each, or 1200 Baht each, 30 days single entry on arrival
ITINERARY
Poipet, Siem Reap, Battambang, Phnom Penh, Kampot, Kep, Bokor, Kampot
CUT COSTS BY
not letting a monkey steal your Angkor day-pass! Taking night buses.
RECOMMEND
     Capitol Tours Bus Company: cheapest, fastest
     Angkor with a guide
     Bokor National Park
     Shopping: there are some amazing things at great prices
     Nary’s Kitchen Cooking Class: cheapest in SEA, great market tour, great food

LANGUAGE
English is widely spoken, especially in Siem Reap. Embarrassingly, we only learned “arkun” which is thank you.
ETIQUETTE
Be prepared to take off your shoes before entering someone’s home (or hotels) and temples. Cover up in temples, and don't point your feet in the Buddha's direction. Never raise a foot over someone's head.
Smile as often as possible.
Be prepared to haggle. 

TIPPING
Tipping is expected. For more.

TUK TUKS, TOUTS, CHILDREN
You may find tuk tuks and touts annoying. Remember that they only want to work. You can’t blame them for that. Your heart may go out to the children who are begging or selling or trying to be your guide. Don’t encourage them. Find other ways to help them, but giving them money will only make school appear less of a priority. I talk about this more in depth here.

DO YOUR RESEARCH
That’s standard advice for any country, but it helps even more in Cambodia. Prices are often swollen but not always. It helps to know beforehand if you need to haggle or if the price is right. You don’t want to end up underpaying (people are poor enough) or overpaying for services.

BRING EARPLUGS
If you’re like us, you’ll find that 1 hour of Cambodian music on a bus is plenty. 6 hours makes Jack a dull boy.

No comments:

Post a Comment