Who's been to Sihanoukville, Cambodia before??

[Kiwi_cruiser]

I was wondering has anyone here been to Sihanoukville, Cambodia before??

 

If you have been to Sihanoukville before, what did you do there for the day?

 

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome :)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I was wondering has anyone here been to Sihanoukville, Cambodia before??

 

If you have been to Sihanoukville before, what did you do there for the day?

 

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome :)

 

I have been there for a day.

 

What did I do for the day?

 

I looked around and cried .

 

It would have to be the saddest country I have ever visited. You pass street after street with big gaps where the bombs obliterated the houses. There are only young children and old people to be seen. The old people look away or hang their heads. The children smile , like children anywhere , as they have no idea of what went on.

We took a ships tour and visited a school , a rural village , a market and a very newly rebuilt temple . The tour finished up at a Resort Hotel where they are trying to build up a tourist industry .

 

Edited July 6, 2014 by Kiwi Kruzer

[aussienellie]

I was wondering has anyone here been to Sihanoukville, Cambodia before??

 

If you have been to Sihanoukville before, what did you do there for the day?

 

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome :)

 

Our cruise ship called there at the end of last year. The ship did a free shuttle into the main town, but if you are energetic, you could easily walk the distance.

 

There is not much to do there. There is a big market which is primarily for the locals, and appeared to be where they bought their food. They also sell cheap clothing, handbags, etc. which were similar to those in Vietnam. There are lots of taxi drivers vying for business, who offer to take you for a ride to the beach. The taxi is basically a double seat on the back of a motor bike, and no helmet.

 

It is a very sad place and there is lots of evidence of land mines and numerous people, both adults and children with missing limbs. They are trying hard to make an income out of tourism, and one has to admire them for that, but the country has a long way to go in that respect. Many of us were left wondering why the cruise ship even bothered calling there.

[Possie]

We were there in January this year and had did a tour to the Don Bosco Hotel School - this is an inspiring place and the best way to spend a day in Sihounanukville. Joined a tour group which we found on the roll call for that particular cruise. Well worth looking into.

[J-D]

It would have to be the saddest country I have ever visited. You pass street after street with big gaps where the bombs obliterated the houses. There are only young children and old people to be seen. The old people look away or hang their heads. The children smile , like children anywhere , as they have no idea of what went on.

We took a ships tour and visited a school , a rural village , a market and a very newly rebuilt temple . The tour finished up at a Resort Hotel where they are trying to build up a tourist industry .

 

 

We did much the same tour as Kiwi Kruzer a few years ago, and had some of the same impressions. The visit was sobering but also interesting. It was not the typical upbeat experience that cruise lines and local tourism authorities strive for at most ports. However, it was good to see this small part of Cambodia, and to see the efforts being made by the local inhabitants to improve their situation. As for most places we visit, no matter how much we read up on an area and its history before arriving, seeing the "real thing" is very enlightening and worthwhile.

 

John

Edited July 6, 2014 by J-D

[rkacruiser]

My visit was in 2002 aboard the Volendam. I took the ship's tour to the Capital, Phom Pen (spelling is probably incorrect). Interesting tour, the city had a distinctly Asian colonial French feel to it. The museum was quite interesting, but did see, as others have said, Cambodian citizens who had beem maimed by the war; some begging, not to be surprised.

 

Sihanoukville, I saw little of. The roads leading into and out of the port area were pot-holed, often nothing more than a mud road. The road between the two communities was "normal"; I recall nothing unusual.

 

We returned to the Volendam from our city visit after dark. What sticks out in my mind that riding through the darkness, one could see homes along the route where the flickering light of televisions could be seen. A curiosity, I thought, where hardships and poverty were so wide-spread.

 

After we had sailed, our Captain in his "Voice from the Bridge" address the next day said that the port authorities had to keep patrolling the channel out to sea while the ship was there. There were lights along the channel that needed to be seen in order to safely navigate the ship out to sea. Fishermen would often steal the lights, thus the patrols that day to keep that from happening.

 

I am glad I had the chance of visiting Cambodia and would like a return visit just to see what changes I note from 2002.

Edited July 6, 2014 by rkacruiser

[Kiwi_cruiser]

I just realised that we will be in Sihanoukville on Christmas Day, will that make a difference??

[rkacruiser]

I just realised that we will be in Sihanoukville on Christmas Day, will that make a difference??

 

I doubt that it will make any difference. Cambodia is not a Christian nation as far as I know.

 

If you choose to be one who would wish to give a Christmas gift to the good people of Cambodia, be very careful how you do this.

 

When I was in India, our guide warned us not to give anything to anyone, no matter how desperate they appeared to be. Doing so is like attracting insects to honey. You can become swamped quickly and be put into a very dangerous situation. I have no doubt that one might experience such a situation in Cambodia.

[GCHAN]

We were there March 2013 and made the most of our day there.

 

We caught the shuttle bus into the market areas which was very basic. We then caught a taxi with 2 other family members. I am pretty sure it was 4 people on the one Taxi which was a bike with a carriage behind.

 

We all felt safe as there is very little traffic.

 

The taxi took us to beaches which were beautiful and then to an esplanade in a bay with restaurants where we had a massage, a meal and enjoyed ourselves.

 

I don't remember any of the bombing sites because we didn't do a tour as such as when researching i wasn't able to identify anything that suited us.

 

It did seem like a very poor place but somehow we managed to have a good day although it seemed to be in the very early stages of tourist development.

[lizzy77]

We too were there in 2009 as part of a CC tour group we went to the Don Bosco school .I totally agree with David. We have travelled the world with lots of Asia and that port was the most depressing ever. The only people who smiled were the little children and the orphans there made us so sad.

I would recommend you do a tour of some sorts and not just get the shuttle into town as there is very little to see there. The market is a very local one and had nothing of any interest.

[fishtaco]

Sihanoukville is a backpackers party mecca look it up! It has different beaches along its coastline and is a very busy tourist destination just a few hours from Cambodia.s capital Phnom Penn, not sure where the cruise tours went too?

 

Known to Visitors as "Shnooky"

 

We will be spending 8 nights there after my next RCI cruise in April.

 

Cambodia is quite sad though, when you visit Phnom Penn and go to Tolslang school which was converted into a torture prison during Pol Pot dictatorship and then The Killing fields then realise these atrocities continued right up through into the late 1980,s you have to wonder why there was no humanity help from us? No Oil No Gas no use!

 

[Seadog & Sea Hag]

I just returned from a cruise which included Sihanoukville.

Interesting place. I caught the shuttle bus into the markets.

The Tuk Tuk drivers surrounded the bus so it couldn't move.

Once off the bus you didn't make eye contact with them or you would be surrounded. The market was pretty standard for an Asian market with plenty of good bargains. Don't go to far to the rear of the markets or you will wind up in the fish markets. They are not so pleasant and i'm not sure that my family has recovered fully from the experience.:eek:

Beer was cheap :D fifty cents ea.

[GCHAN]

The bus trip and markets were the ordinary part. We had fun on our tuk tuk trip around the area. There were beautiful beaches and we had a very good meal by the seaside and enjoyed ourselves while contributing a bit to the local economy.

[Seadog & Sea Hag]

I never said the markets were ordinary actually. I said interesting.

Sihanoukville may well be the NEW Bali in 10 years or so but its not there yet!

I will be going back again for further exploration on another trip but as mentioned by GCHAN, Be sure to explore further afield than just the markets.

[kunnocat]

We too were there in 2009 as part of a CC tour group we went to the Don Bosco school .I totally agree with David. We have travelled the world with lots of Asia and that port was the most depressing ever. The only people who smiled were the little children and the orphans there made us so sad.

I would recommend you do a tour of some sorts and not just get the shuttle into town as there is very little to see there. The market is a very local one and had nothing of any interest.

 

I'll Second this. Don Bosco School staff and volunteers are inspiring. The whole tour of the town and lunch is done by students at the school. The city is very poor, and sad, don't expect much. The morning tea and lunch were something else. The school is actually an hotel with guests, run to train the students in hospitality from front desk, housekeeping, to the kitchen, and everything in between. K

[rkacruiser]

I'll Second this. Don Bosco School staff and volunteers are inspiring. The whole tour of the town and lunch is done by students at the school. The city is very poor, and sad, don't expect much. The morning tea and lunch were something else. The school is actually an hotel with guests, run to train the students in hospitality from front desk, housekeeping, to the kitchen, and everything in between. K

 

How did you arrange a tour with the Don Bosco School students? The Salesian Missions is a charity that I support, so I am aware of the good work that these folks do. It would be very interesting to me to visit one of the facilities that I have supported over the years.

[kunnocat]

How did you arrange a tour with the Don Bosco School students? The Salesian Missions is a charity that I support, so I am aware of the good work that these folks do. It would be very interesting to me to visit one of the facilities that I have supported over the years.

 

http://www.donboscohotelschool.com/ send them an email and they will reply. I can't find anything on the website, but they welcome visitors. As you will see from the web it is a hotel school. Enjoy your visit. K

[JohnPaulla]

About 6 years ago, we did a singapore to HK cruise on RH and visited SV. In my blog, I wrote about the port. There are links to photos with a map, I think. There are a few things you can do…..go to the beach or go visit a "home/orphanage" (they do great works there) or if time permit (overnight) go visit Angkor Wat (one of the bucket list)……anyway, go with an open mind…

 

http://daddytravel.blogspot.sg/2008/02/2008-janfeb-cruise-singapore-to.html

[retire20]

Just returned from a cruise stopping there. We contacted Don Bosco Hotel School via their website. They sent 3 adult students to meet us at the port gate. We travelled in an air-conditioned van. We went to the fish markets, Wat Leu pagoda, coffee break at their Italian Icecream shop (with five plates of food) ,Kabal Chhay waterfall, beach drive and then to the hotel school for lunch. We felt like the king and queen with more than 20 students welcoming us and serving a 5 star menu. As our cruise ship had cut the amount of time in port, we didnt have time for the Central Market. The school trains orphans and children of large families in the hospitality industry so your money is going to a worthy cause.

[retire20]

I have written a reply about Don Bosco on this thread. We were there last month. Contact them through their website.

[Cruisin-Geezer]

I just realised that we will be in Sihanoukville on Christmas Day, will that make a difference??

 

Hi Kiwi_cruiser

 

I recall you were earlier on the Roll Call for the Sapphire H452, 18 Dec, but then resigned out of it, saying you might sign back in later.

 

I've just seen your enquiry re Sihanoukville and thought you might be interested in the Christmas Day tour I have organised with Don Bosco. We still have a few places available. You can view the itinerary on my dropbox:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9383753/SihanoukTour-DBHS.pdf

 

If you want to join us, simply sign back onto the Roll Call and let me know.

 

Regards

.