ginger50

Our 5 week trip is coming together. Thanks for all the help so far. At this point we need to decide between spending more time in Vietnam vs. going to Phnom Penh for a few days. Right now, we look like this:

3.5 days in HCMC
Overnight in Can Tho for purpose of floating market,
2 5 days in Chau Doc

At this point we had planned to travel to PP for 3 total days, then on to Siem Reap. We defiantely want to keep Siem Reap as we have Air Asia tickets from there to Thailand, so we need to be in Siem Reap for that.

Question: is Phnom Penh worth 3 days of our trip at the expense of somewhere like Battambang? Or somewhere else in. Vietnam? We can reconfigure everything past HCMC, but want to be on the ground in Siem Reap on day 11.

Thanks,

Gin

crellston

That is a really difficult question! Can Tho only needs the time you have allocated. Two full days in Chau Doc is enough to see the main sights in and around the town and further afield to the submerged forest, Sam mountain etc.

The boat leaves CD at 7am and hopefully arrive in PP around 1pm which would enable you to see a couple of sights that afternoon - maybe the silver palace, Russian and central markets. Another full day would enable you to visit Tuol Sleng, the killing fields etc. PP is one of my favourite Asian capitals so I would be happy to stay awhile - a great place for food and just to chill and wander the streets.

Battambang is much smaller and IMO the town itself is no great shakes, it is really all about getting out into the countryside. Again, two full days would be sufficient to see many of the sights around the city.

Bearing in mind that two full days requires 3 nights staying in a place, would it be possible for you to do maybe 2 nights in PP where the sights are closer together and 3 nts in Battambang the later is equidistant between PP and SR and takes around 5 hrs for each leg. The journey is not especially inspiring by minibus or taxi but I think the boat just takes too long.

julies

We were pleasantly surprised that we liked Phnom Penh (we had three nights there), and I'd strongly suggest adding it to your itinerary. Frankly, of all the places we visited during our six week Laos and Cambodia trip last year, Battambang is the one place we agreed we could easily have eliminated from the mix if a destination needed to be cut out.

VietWill

I have been to PP several times. It's an interesting city, but not much to see after a day or two. I worked there as a journalist and found it to be a little crazy and very unsafe. If you like chaos, PP is for you. Enjoy the river-walk area and some excellent architecture. Currently, the city is on a political edge. Find a good tuk-tuk (taxi) driver and have him be your guide. Give him a good tip and he'll watch out for you. Don't trust anyone that appears to be too friendly. The place is crazy - be careful.

ginger50

Okay, you had me at great food and chill and wander. Phnom Penh stays and we will heed the warning of being careful.

LancasterLad

A lot of accommodation in PP have reliable tuk tuk drivers 'assigned' to that particular hotel/guesthouse.

An excellent full day in PP by tuk tuk is...

- Leave hotel at 0830 to 0900.

- Tuk tuk to Killing Field memorial site. It's a little out of town, and took us about 50 minutes to get there. Have a face mask with you to protect from the dust and traffic fumes.

- Allow at least 2 hours for the KF. The admission price includes an audio guide, which takes you around the 19 points[I think] in the park. As soon as you put the headphones on you'll be totally immeressed in the place, which considering it's violent history is very tastefull present. There's also a museum, and places outside the park to have a drink/snack.

- Tuk Tuk back into PP to visit the S21 Genocide Museum. This is a very raw experience. Allow 90 minutes.

- Lunch

- Visit the Russian Market. It's not far from S21.

- Mid afternoon. Return to accommodation, pay off the tuk tuk driver. Rest up for an hour, swim, shower or whatever.

- 1700 to 1900. Visit the Foreign Correspondents Clu [FCC] on Sisowath Quay, and enjoy their Happy Hour. Get there early and bag a seat on the outside balcony overlooking the river and traffic chaos on the Quay road. There'll be plenty of like-minded people there, so you might pick up an idea or two.

- 1900. Find somewhere for dinner along or close to Sisowath Quay. Loads of options.

It's a memorable day out.

ginger50

Thanks so much for that excellent recommendation for a day in PP!