jiejie

Listen to this man. Definitely Kampot and Kep. ^

JayhawkCO

My boat was just fine that I took and I bought it as part of a bus package from Snooky (Sihanoukville).

Chris

dsquared37

A huge plate of 4 crabs for $7.50. And beers to wash it back at $1 per can. I can think of worse places to be.

walterj

Kampot and Kep sur mer sound like great suggestions. It looks like I won't have trouble filling out my 7 weeks.

lavag

Kep is fantastic. There are also some nearby islands for an even more remote/beachy feel. But it gets pretty rustic pretty quickly...

A380 Flyer

As somebody who is terrified of spiders, and to a lesser extent snakes and scorpions, how bad is this problem in Cambodia?

And the snakes I am most scared of are the ones you find in Indonesia/Malaysia such as the pythons and boas. Poisonous snakes at least we have a chance of being treated. However, being constricted deep in the jungle is a grizzly death with little chance of survival.

jiejie

Well, if you take the bus between Phnom Penh and Siem Riep, you'll usually stop at Skuon. Where you'll see any number of big furry spiders bucketed and ready to purchase for your snacking pleasure. They must be crawling around Cambodia somewhere.

All of SE Asia is covered with crawling and slithering things, many of them lethally poisonous. But it's unlikely you will be hacking your way through jungles, therefore unlikely you will encounter much poisonous wildlife outside of a zoo. Mosquitoes, however, are another story and carry stuff far more likely to land a visitor in a clinic or hospital than spiders or snakes.

CrazyInteg

A380, your posts always blow my mind.

If you wandering off into the jungle in Cambodia you would probably want to worry more about landmines than creatures. Also don't forget about wandering into the wrong place at the wrong time where humans with guns may be lurking.

Seriously man, just go. Plan out your cities and method of travel and dont think too much about these silly things such as scorpions, pitch of seat, XYZ airline doesn't fly to that city. Thousands of people make these trips every day and have no problems.

I remember you have already been to Asia around April/May of 2012. And you arrived home safely I assume?

dsquared37

Damn politicians.

Which in Cambodia happens on a daily basis. Even in the middle of Phnom Penh.

But seriously, the chances of any tourist wandering into an armed insurgent/smuggling/other criminal group is about as likely as Hun Sen allowing the UN Commission prosecuting Khmer Rouge members from going after the mid-level cadres that comprise most of his current government.

dsquared37

Your trip is taking you to Indo.... so you must not be too scared. Further, a snake big enough to constrict an adult would have been eaten long ago in Cambodia. Not to put fear into you but it's the small poisonous snakes that you need to be concerned about. And you're very unlikely to encounter them.

Oddly your desire to seek adventure isn't going to happen if you let your phobias get the best of you.

A380 Flyer

Dubai 1 night
Delhi 3 nights
Beijing/Tokyo/Seoul 14 nights
Bali 7 nights
Yogya/Jakarta 7 nights
Bangkok 7 nights
Krabi 7 nights
Kuala Lumpur 7 nights
Siem Reap 7 nights

My local GP practice has no appointments available in the near future for vaccinations, so I am going to have to go private. Seeing as jabs will likely cost me around £30 each, which vaccinations would you recommend for the itiniery above?

I am thinking Hep A, Typhoid, Diptheria, with Malarone for Cambodia. Possibly Hep B and Tetanus, too.

All of these are ok 2-4 weeks before departure according to the info I have, so I still have time.

But normally there is little risk in city and urban areas, especially with my kind of travel (never eat 'local' food, never stay out after dusk etc).

jiejie

This itinerary is hardly "backpacking", despite the thread title. I'd get Hep A series and Tetanus/Diptheria (normally given together in a combined vaccine for adults) and be done with it. Wouldn't even bother with antimalarials for this sort of trip. If ultra-cautious, just get a malarone prescription for a week or so and take for Siem Reap only.

Bolded part: I'm sad for you. So much wasted opportunity.

A380 Flyer

Not a fan of Indian food or seafood. Just the way it is, I'm afraid. However, I love a good Korean BBQ, or even Malay/Indo rice dish.

And yeah, looking at my OP I was going to do the whole of Japan on the Shinkansen. Wish I did have that money left available.

Anyway with the people I meet in the hostels it will be the highlights of my trips, not the food. But you never know, I may even get persuaded to try sushi or chili crab at some point...

glennaa11

Pretty sure Hep A requires 2 shots spaced several weeks apart.

Never staying out after dusk is a bit odd, especially in the boiling hot parts of the world when night time is the only comfortable time to be outside.

But, to each their own I suppose. It will be interesting to hear how it all goes.

dsquared37

I'm with jiejie on this. That's just sad.

Why bother traveling at all if you restrict yourself so much?