Cruise Review - Tonle Sap , Cambodia

[SouthAussie100]

Hi all,

as promised I will try to give you a bit of a run down on our "cruisish" holiday but admittedly land based so if you don't want to read by all means leave now ;)

 

As a lot of you know, we left on the day after the plane crash into Phuket airport - 19th Sept (feels like months ago now !!). Our flight into Phuket via Singaport wasn't delayed at all. The workers in Phuket airport must have done a fabulous job to clear the wreckage in record pace. Apparently there are 300 flights into Phuket every day from all over the world.....amazing. We flew Singapore Airlines (no Geoff not Business....in cattle with the rest of the peasants:p ).

 

I travelled with hubby and 3 children - big boy 20yrs (yes he suddenly is very interested in the family holiday when a passport is involved), little girl 17yrs and little boy 13yrs. They have travelled overseas with us a number of times and are actually quite a joy to travel with now. They take delays and turbulence in their stride now. We had a delay coming home in Denang for an hour and a half (sitting in the plane on the ground) and my 3 treasures just read their magazines with no complaints. Better than a lot of 'grown ups' on the plane I might add !!......I digress....as usual !

 

We have been to Phuket before so have done the usual zoo, parasailing, gun range, elephant riding, diving, snorkelling stuff and with the children being older this time they all just wanted to relax and do some power shopping when they felt like it. DH was keen to 'do some tours' but the rest of the family voted and he lost 4 to 1 to sit down, be quiet and just enjoy the beautiful pool of the Novitel Resort and what was the cocktail of the day again !!!?

 

Our big boy basically only had to cover his alcohol and souvenier (sp) expenses everthing else was covered. He ran out of money about 3 days into the 2nd week so suddenly felt the need to spend a fair bit of time in the resort bars as this was charged back to the room which he knew mum and dad were paying for :cool: We ate out most nights on Bangla road or the surrounding streets - I LOVE Thai food. So fresh and tasty !! We ate a lot of lunches in the resort at the hottest part of the day around the pool. Even with the children's late night nibbles room service, our 'considerable' bar bill and other internet costs etc all charged to the rooms we only managed to spend $1200 total !!

 

We bought the usual mandatory 15 t-shirts.....each ! Plus a healthy number of boardies, photo albums, lucky elephants (not wooden of course) and other Thai memorabilia. So, a family of 5 basically adults away for 15 days I think overall, we took $3000 with us and bought back change. Amazing !! We didn't skimp at all !

 

We did go to a snake show. Bloody disgusting creatures in my opinion but amazing how the snake handler does it. I'll put some pics up soon so you can share in my horror ! Also educational though. They showed us the different decorations of the hoods of the cobra. The handler asked me what I would do if I saw a snake. Of course, I said RUN....wrong. Must stand still, snake will lose interest in you and slither away in that disgusting way they do. Then he showed us the King Cobra. He asked me again what to do if I come across this snake in the jungle...I said "stand still" ...he said NO RUN !!!:confused:

 

All in all, we found the Thai people friendly and fabulously helpful. The big boy and DH had suits made for $140 each which included an Egyptian cotton tailored shirt and Thai silk Tie. They both look quite stunning !

 

We left Thailand after 10 fantastic relaxing days for Siem Reap, Cambodia via Bangkok. We didn't have anytime in Bangkok just a transit through. Of course DH wasn't impressed with the 'crop duster' with propellors that took us from Bangkok to Siem Reap. Only about a 100 seater but very comfy and no incidents at all.

 

Got into Siem Reap about 9.30pm and were met by our tour guide Borin. He proved to be such a friendly and knowledgeable young man. Very good English and his knowledge of the temples and Cambodia history in general was very impressive and interesting. Highly recommend him. Borin and our driver delivered us to the magnificent Angkor Palace Resort. If ever you get to this part of the world you really must stay here. It is without doubt the BEST resort we have ever stayed in. Just fantastic. Again, I'll put up some pics soon.

 

Borin was available to guide us for 3 days. He said there are 299 temples around Siem Reap, where did we want to start......without wanting to offend him that we didn't really want to spend 3 full days temple climbing he offered us the top 3 temples that you simply must visit and a CRUISE on the floating village on Tonle Sap Lake. The temples....what can I say. I'll put up some pics but they just don't do any justice to the enormity and grandness of these old structures. The intricate carvings and the sheer work that was required to build these amazing temples by hand....just mind blowing ! We started off with the biggest temple "Ankor Wat" built between the 8th and 12th century. Then Bayon, which was the first Buddhist temple built. (I didn't know Cambodia used to be largely Hindu). Then Tha Phrom - apparently Tomb Raiders was filmed there and we stood where Angelina Jolie stood...the boys were impressed ! A 3 day temple pass cost $40US each and was well worth it. Borin told us that unfortunately, the Govt takes all this money and the only money being spent to restore and maintain the temples is being provided by other countries such as South Korea, China, Japan, Netherlands and Germany. It was pitiful to see how stupid people can be climbing over these beautiful ancient relics just to get a bloody photo !! Then Again, I was so proud of my 3 children who conducted themselves with absolute respect and interest for the culture and were very sensitive to the fact of not to touch.

 

The surrounding countryside in Siem Reap (which is about 5 hours drive from Phonm Phen) is largely rice paddies and shanty type woven buildings with dirt floors. No electricity or running water but these people are so friendly and happy to help to make our holiday a happy one. Especially when we tried our few Khymer words out to say hullo and thankyou we were greeted with huge smiles and some giggles !

 

There are quite a few begging children around the temples or trying to sell t-shirts or postcards. I'm sure I paid far too much for everything we bought and DH was quite disappointed that I didn't try to barter but they were so cute. I know, I also think used car sales men are friendly too :o I still think, so what....I paid $2 too much for a t-shirt !!

 

The Tonle Sap cruise was certainly an eye opener. The lake floods at the end of the monsoon season as water runs out to the Mekong river to the sea. This makes the river and lake fresh water. The banks of the Mekong can vary 30kms each way...how the hell do you engineer a village around that ??? As the monsoonal waters recede the sea flows back in, the current switches around (!!!!) and the river / lake become salty again. The whole village including houses, school, church and various shops are towed along as the water shifts depending on the current ! The inhabitants are largely vietnamese refugees. We were re-assured that they are very happy to be living there as they are free and safe. What a simple life.......

 

I'm sure there is lots I have forgotten to tell you about but if you ever get the chance to go to Siem Reap, or are planning a trip to Thailand, save a few days for this amazing place. It is definitely worth a visit. I was worried that the family would be disappointed leaving the familiar comfy resort in Phuket for the unknown Cambodia but I was so happy that they absolutely loved it. I have since heard from friends how much the children have raved about Cambodia and the holiday in general.

 

I know it's not cruisey but so many of you asked me to put down something about the trip I thought I better do the review !!

cheers

nessie

[aussie down under]

Hi Nessie,

Great review, thankyou. Looking forward to seeing your photos.

We are cruising from sydney to bangkok, then plan to stay on in bangkok for a few days then go on to phuket for a few relaxing days before flying back to melbourne.

Any suggestions where to stay?

Cheers,

Michele:)

[cheznandy]

Thanks Ness, appreciate the time you took to tell us about your trip:)

Cambodia and Vietnam are on our list:rolleyes: amongst all the others.

 

Michelle, we did 4 weeks in Thailand this year, email me and I can give some accommodation recommendations and some private tour guides:) (cheap)

 

Would love to do a cruise to/from Asia or perhaps fly to Singapore and cruise from there, will add that to the "list"

 

Chez

xx

[kaseyoz]

I posted on here last night but strangely doesnt show.

anyway i am always happy to read any review cruise or not so thanks for taking the time to write this. sounds like you had a lovely family break.

we did the snake park too, did they have the "jumping" snake. lucky it wasnt me that caught it i would have had a heart attack..(It was a piece of hosing!!)

[SouthAussie100]

Hi Nessie,

Great review, thankyou. Looking forward to seeing your photos.

We are cruising from sydney to bangkok, then plan to stay on in bangkok for a few days then go on to phuket for a few relaxing days before flying back to melbourne.

Any suggestions where to stay?

Cheers,

Michele:)

 

Hi Michelle,

if you've only got a few days in Phuket I would definitely stick to one of the main beaches like Patong or one of the others along the coast. You can hire a tuk-tuk for a whole day for 500Baht which at the moment is about $16Au and the driver and sometimes a guide will take you to the main places of interest / fun depending on what you are looking to do. Be careful though sometimes they want to take you to specific places where the guide / driver get 'kick backs' such as petrol vouchers for bringing in the tourists. We got taken to the same gem selling place about 3 times !!! Plenty of nightlife or just relaxing. There is little or no evidence of the devestation of the tsunami in 2004. In fact the toilets along the Patong beach foreshore are much improved !! If you make it to Patong, make sure you have a cold beer in the "Sailor Bar". They love aussies there.....the girls there all wanted to marry my boys...even the 13 year old (much to his delight :eek: ). You can check out a lot on the internet too. Just google Phuket accommodation and it will bury you with ideas. Have a fantastic time :D

cheers

nessie

[SouthAussie100]

I posted on here last night but strangely doesnt show.

anyway i am always happy to read any review cruise or not so thanks for taking the time to write this. sounds like you had a lovely family break.

we did the snake park too, did they have the "jumping" snake. lucky it wasnt me that caught it i would have had a heart attack..(It was a piece of hosing!!)

 

Oh God Karon, I would have joined the heart attack line too ! The snake handler did this thing where he had hold of the snake by it's tail and was sort of letting it wriggle around on the floor and then he made this loud noise and swung it around his head and felt like it only just missed our heads. bloody awful !! Made me move up the 'grandstand' steps a bit more I tell you :eek:

cheers

nessie

[MsMinx]

Hi Vanessa! Thanks for the review! It was awesome :D I was imagining myself there......ahhhh lovely :D

 

I'm with you on the snakes too! Horrid things! Twice in my life i've come across them in my travels, and both times I ran like I had rockets on my feet LOL! Good thing they didn't chase me :D

[SouthAussie100]

Hi all,

here's the link to the photos

http://community.webshots.com/album/561156923oYMPSg?vhost=community&start=12

 

I took about 300 photos but as I said, no amount of photos can describe the real life splendour of those amazing temples Don't worry, I've only put about 20ish up !

 

cheers

nessie

[arxcards]

Thanks Nessie, I luv a good review!

 

Cheers

Geoff

[aussie down under]

Hi All,

Thanks for your suggestions nessie.

Chez, thankyou, I will email you, but what is it? he he:D

My email is michelegaye65@hotmail.com

Not sure I am too keen about the snakes either!

Cheers,

Michele:)

[Clozzie]

Thanks for the review, and your lovely photos. We went to Phuket 2 years ago, while they were still recovering from the tsunami, and absolutely loved it. Such friendly people, delicious food, and of course it is fantastic value!

[S&D]

Hi from Adelaide..

 

thanks for your beautiful photos, we especially liked the Cambodia ones, we are visiting there on our Sun Princess cruise next May. We are hoping to get to that wonderful temple..looks amazing!

 

Glad you had a wonderful cruise, sure looked like you all enjoyed yourselves!!

 

We did say hi to you on another thread...we live at Onkaparinga Hills, and cruise with our good friends at McLaren Vale..yes..cruise addicts like ourselves...

 

Best wishes

S&D

[SouthAussie100]

Hi from Adelaide..

 

thanks for your beautiful photos, we especially liked the Cambodia ones, we are visiting there on our Sun Princess cruise next May. We are hoping to get to that wonderful temple..looks amazing!

 

Glad you had a wonderful cruise, sure looked like you all enjoyed yourselves!!

 

We did say hi to you on another thread...we live at Onkaparinga Hills, and cruise with our good friends at McLaren Vale..yes..cruise addicts like ourselves...

 

Best wishes

S&D

 

Hi S&D

if you have a chance to go to Ankor jump at it !! Wow, we're nearly neighbours :D Beautiful part of the world to live for sure.

Do you know what port you go to in Cambodia ?

cheers

nessie

[SouthAussie100]

Hi again S&D

I just looked up Sihanoukville Port in Cambodia. Apparently it's the only deep sea commercial port there. It is a fair way from Siem Reap. I know it's about a 6-7 hour drive from Phnom Penh and from the looks on the map it would be another 1 or 2 hours or more to the port. The road system in Cambodia is bloody awful so I think that trip might be out unless you want to fly from Phnom Penh into Siem Reap...now that's getting complicated ! How long are you in port ?

 

This is the link to the map of Cambodia.

http://www.pas.gov.kh/location-geographical.html

 

cheers

nessie

[S&D]

Thanks for looking that up, yes...that's the port we are at...now we are SAD..:( ...it does not look like we will get to that lovely place. Oh well, we will have to find something else to do/see ...something to look into anyway.

 

We love Asia, we have done this trip 3 times now with Princess..and had a wonderful cruise each time..we love the shopping too!!

 

We are off to a curry night at our friends at McLaren Vale tonight ..to talk cruising..what else ????:D ... I work some weekends at one of the wineries locally ...and we just love living here, near to all these great places...a lovely spot indeed.

 

Regards

S&D