Phnom Penh - first time to Cambodia
Jul 15, 2013, 9:01 pm
#76
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Riverside, CA
Programs: *wood, UA, HHonors
Posts: 1,581
I just landed yesterday, first visit ever - biz trip. Got advanced eVisa, well worth the $20. http:/mfaic.gov.kh/evisa/
Staying at White Mansions Boutique Hotel, the old US embassy. Can't say enough for service, rooms, location...^
Had dinner at Sugar Palm, local food recommended by hotel, $2 tuk tuk ride, food not bad, a little sweet for my taste. POV
Staying at White Mansions Boutique Hotel, the old US embassy. Can't say enough for service, rooms, location...^
Had dinner at Sugar Palm, local food recommended by hotel, $2 tuk tuk ride, food not bad, a little sweet for my taste. POV
FWIW: I recommend getting a business visa for anyone going to KH who might want to extend their stay. A regular visa can be extended 30 days at any travel shop, but the business visa can be converted to longer stays, if needed.
Not something many people are concerned with, just sort of an FYI ...
$2 Tuk-tuk from 51 & 240 to 19 & 240?!? Someone owes you a $1! Long term expats are cursing you ...
Enjoy your stay!
Jul 16, 2013, 2:36 am
#77
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: body: A stone's throw from SFO, mind: SE Asia
Programs: Some of this 'n some of that
Posts: 17,263
I wasn't aware a tourist visa could be extended. Been operating on the business visa I received in 2009.
Oh ain't that the truth!!! I'll drown my sorrows in honor of that $1 this evening on a few margharitas.
dtsm how long are you in PNH for?
NB: With the election coming up on July 28 and Sam Rainsy supposedly re-entering Cambodia this coming Friday I'd recommend tourists to 1) stay away or 2) keep a vigilant eye on proximal people and your stuff over the next few weeks. Much more so than usual.
dtsm how long are you in PNH for?
NB: With the election coming up on July 28 and Sam Rainsy supposedly re-entering Cambodia this coming Friday I'd recommend tourists to 1) stay away or 2) keep a vigilant eye on proximal people and your stuff over the next few weeks. Much more so than usual.
Jul 16, 2013, 4:09 am
#78
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tri-State Area
Posts: 4,728
$2 was what hotel said it should cost
I'm embarrassed to tell you what I am paying daily for a driver with Lexus SUV, from 8 am to 5 pm...again recommended by local agent. But I did the old Chinese mini-mini van taxis with the fan and almost no a/c the first day!
Tomorrow morning doing the killing fields and then back to work after lunch.
LOL
Jul 16, 2013, 5:09 am
#79
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 42
Visa on arrival actually costs less than getting it beforehand, $25 I think. Just need some photos and $US.
If you aren't into the The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda are cool. If you want a bit of a temple experience you could go to Wat Phnom, right in the middle of town.
Riverside has some excellent food. If you want to try some local get an Angkor Curry, usually comes with fish. Otherwise the Foreign Correspondence Club has some nice western food and a great view.
If you aren't into the The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda are cool. If you want a bit of a temple experience you could go to Wat Phnom, right in the middle of town.
Riverside has some excellent food. If you want to try some local get an Angkor Curry, usually comes with fish. Otherwise the Foreign Correspondence Club has some nice western food and a great view.
Jul 16, 2013, 6:29 am
#80
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: body: A stone's throw from SFO, mind: SE Asia
Programs: Some of this 'n some of that
Posts: 17,263
Jul 16, 2013, 7:08 am
#81
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Riverside, CA
Programs: *wood, UA, HHonors
Posts: 1,581
Tourist visa
$2 was what hotel said it should cost
I'm embarrassed to tell you what I am paying daily for a driver with Lexus SUV, from 8 am to 5 pm...again recommended by local agent. But I did the old Chinese mini-mini van taxis with the fan and almost no a/c the first day!
Tomorrow morning doing the killing fields and then back to work after lunch.
LOL
$2 was what hotel said it should cost
I'm embarrassed to tell you what I am paying daily for a driver with Lexus SUV, from 8 am to 5 pm...again recommended by local agent. But I did the old Chinese mini-mini van taxis with the fan and almost no a/c the first day!
Tomorrow morning doing the killing fields and then back to work after lunch.
LOL
This was for a planned trip seeing nothing more than Wat Phnom, Tuol Sleng and the Riverside attractions (Palace, Natural Museum, pagoda, etc.).
Looking back on it - the driver took as distant a trip as he could, zig zagging across the area to make it seem like he was taking me further than I could walk. For example, see the Palace, then go to Wat Phnom, then come back to the Natural Museum (which is right behind the Palace.)
Point being: even in an upmarket hotel, you have to be careful. Not that $1 means much to anyone, the long-term expats I know do get testy and go into a long-winded math problem showing that tourist tuk-tuk inflation can cost them up to $1000 every year ...
Hope you have a great trip, business and otherwise. Consider writing a trip report if you have the time and the inclination.
Jul 16, 2013, 7:55 am
#82
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tri-State Area
Posts: 4,728
And so far enjoy the country so much more than my 3 days in Yangon last week!
Jul 16, 2013, 11:10 am
#83
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Riverside, CA
Programs: *wood, UA, HHonors
Posts: 1,581
FWIW: I think it is important to go to Tuol Sleng before going to the Killing Fields. (1) it follows the workflow, for lack of a better term, of those poor souls and (2) the killing fields can otherwise seem less than overwhelming.
You won't need much time at the killing fields, so if you have time, go to the Tuol Sleng first, it can be done in 30 minutes - but, be warned, it can leave a mark.
When you appreciate what the people went through and then ended up out at the killing field, it makes the bucolic nature of the field seem overwhelmingly perverse.
Hope that makes sense.
Aug 4, 2013, 5:29 am
#86
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: usually somewhere between 30000 and 40000 feet...but actually the English countryside
Programs: BA GGL/Lifetime Gold, EK Gold, Lowly M&M, Marriott tit, Hhonors Diamond, numerous others
Posts: 1,156
Aug 4, 2013, 5:52 am
#87
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: usually somewhere between 30000 and 40000 feet...but actually the English countryside
Programs: BA GGL/Lifetime Gold, EK Gold, Lowly M&M, Marriott tit, Hhonors Diamond, numerous others
Posts: 1,156
I originally was looking at going through BKK on PG but couldn't get the flights I wanted with CX hence the routing. What I did notice in particular is that K6 were about $57 e / way per person cheaper.
Whilst I have plenty of time between connections including an overnight in PP, for the return, does anyone know if K6 interline with CX? I guess maybe not, but cant seem to find the answer anywhere, but I guess its no major dramas to pick up the bags off the domestic belts and check in for the International sector.
Aug 4, 2013, 8:03 am
#88
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: body: A stone's throw from SFO, mind: SE Asia
Programs: Some of this 'n some of that
Posts: 17,263
Whilst I have plenty of time between connections including an overnight in PP, for the return, does anyone know if K6 interline with CX? I guess maybe not, but cant seem to find the answer anywhere, but I guess its no major dramas to pick up the bags off the domestic belts and check in for the International sector.
Code:
CARRIER DOES NOT PARTICIPATE IN E-TICKET INTERLINE AGREEMENTS