Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Tuk Tuk's: An Adventure into Cambodia 2013

[TotallyOz]

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[TotallyOz]

Day 4: Back to Bangkok - Or NOT

 

A very long day!

 

We woke up today and had breakfast at the hotel and packed our bags to travel.

 

We were headed back to Thailand today but since it rained a bit, we decided we would head to Phnom Penh and fly out.

 

We had a few choices of transportation to get from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. We could have chosen to fly. They had direct flights from about 84 USD. We could have taken a boat (which is what we wanted to do) for about 35 USD but when we asked to book this, we were told it was not open until October. So, if you plan to try a river boat ride, be sure you come at a time when it is open.

 

We could have taken a variety of bus services that ranged from about 8 USD to 14 USD.

 

However, we decided to take a taxi as we thought the rate of 60 USD was reasonable and were told it would be more comfortable than a bus. The hotel tried to get us to book with them for 90USD but we just called a local travel agent who told us 65 and we said 60 and she said OK.

 

As we needed to check out, I went downstairs and started the process. We had 2 rooms as I wanted the boys to have a room of their own on the trip and at 45 USD a night, I thought very reasonable. Plus, if we had added a 3rd person to our room, they would going to charge 20 USD anyway.

 

At checkout, I saw a bill for 187 USD. It was for the minibar in the boys room. I was shocked but I guess I didn't want to argue and I paid it. When we were in the taxi, I asked the boys if they had drinks from the minibar and they said they drank everything each day. I asked why they just didn't get something from the mini mart and they said, "you told us mini bar was free." LOL I did tell them that when we stay at the Intercontinental. At a Royal Ambassador, I get free mini bar privileges and I tell them to drink anything they want each day as it is free. Since we have not stayed at this hotel before, they thought the same was for this hotel. I didn't tell them that things weren't free here and I didn't tell them the total cost of the bill. But, I had a big chuckle on my own for not being more clear. It won't happen again!

 

The taxi ride was Hell on Wheels! Literally, the road is horrible. The way the people drive the road is dangerous and I was relieved to get to my room. The ride really was horrendous and I wish I had taken either a plane or a bus. The car hit 10,000 major bumps and we felt like we were riding a roller coaster each moment.

 

Once we got settled in the hotel, I was not feeling well. Perhaps it was getting drenched for 3 days so I asked the boys to go out and get me some gatorade. I gave them 100 USD. They came back and gave me my change. I had 57 USD. I asked why so little and the BF said, that was what they gave him from the 100. I asked how much the bill was and he didn't know but said 20. In other words, they don't speak the language and the guy at the store short changed them. I told them they try this with me in Thailand from time to time and that is why I always count things very carefully. For those of you unbelievers, let me say the boys have never short changed me. They have access to my ATM's, CC, etc. I trust them totally and as they have their own money, it would not behove them to make up the story. They were both surprised at this and now know to be more careful. I guess the guy saw a few gold necklaces and their watches and said, "here comes my payday."

 

We did eat dinner tonight near the River front. It was just OK and nothing special.

 

We chose to stay at the Intercontinental Hotel as I needed some nights before the end of the year. The rate is 190 USD per night.

 

It is late at night here and I have a fever so I am off to bed.

 

Long day. Raining again on us in Phnom Penh.

[Rogie]

Michael I am confused as you say you were 'back to Bangkok - or NOT' and then promptly head the other way. Phnom Penh is a lot farther from Bkk than Siem Reap! And although I haven't travelled between Siem Rap and PP by road (I used the boat) a quick glance at a map looks to me like a similar length of journey as say Bkk into Isarn, and roads in Thailand may not be the best but they're ok. Why didn't you fly back to Bkk from Angkor?

 

Ok, so you did it your way and the beauty of doing that is it made for an interesting day. Fraught with mishap, from the mini-bar saga onwards. Had you flown straight back to Bkk, when you look back on this day's events in future years you wouldn't remember it. But you will certainly remember the taxi ride and the over-priced gatorade.

[vinapu]

Great and very informative post about day 4. Hope you feel better tomorrow and will have a chance to do some sightseeing in Phnom Penh, I would not miss Silver pagoda in Royal Place compound.

 

You are right about taking blame for mini-bar miscalculation, how they supposed to know, treat this as non-deductible tuition fee for lesson learned and thank you for sharing this with us so we can have free tutorial on the subject too.

 

It is shocking how hotels are milking their clients, 50 % mark-up for just calling taxi for you is gross. I know that they are milking  motorcycle drivers arranged for  tourists through reception the same way. Another great lesson for others , this at least not  at your expense !

 

Shortchanging  could happen everywhere, I feel sorry for boys as they may feel bad they were taken for a ride by asshole Gatorade peddler .

But to be fair it could be honest mistake on his part, I doubt it though. So this is lesson three-ask for piece and count your change.

By the way, why the hell somebody needs gold necklace while travelling ? This is always an invitation for crooks.

 

And lesson 4 is that between Phnom and Siem Reap to road condition bus option may be cheaper and more comfortable if there are few travelers and for one flying for 30 $ more is viable option.

 

I know somebody who is going there with his son  in 10 days  and  your post happened to be very timely with is information I could share with them. They were planning to go by car to Reap  from Phnom Penh  to see scenery , now I can tell them to forget that.  And boy is extremely happy he will be able to climb to the top of Angkor Wat as you told us it's possible, he was told by somebody it was closed few years ago. 

 

Hope you will wake up without fever to continues your adventure, too bad that seemed over budget on day 4.

[vinapu]

Michael I am confused as you say you were 'back to Bangkok - or NOT' and then promptly head the other way. Phnom Penh is a lot farther from Bkk than Siem Reap! And although I haven't travelled between Siem Rap and PP by road (I used the boat) a quick glance at a map looks to me like a similar length of journey as say Bkk into Isarn, and roads in Thailand may not be the best but they're ok. Why didn't you fly back to Bkk from Angkor?

 

 

Travelling by land has advantage of seeing scenery  and meeting local people and in case bumpy road as one Michael just described , added bonus of chance of loosing one's kidney stones.

[Guest anonone]

Hope you feel better Michael.

Great story about the mini-bar.  I am a Marriott guy and have often been envious of the RA mini-bar perk.  Very cool, though this time it bit you back.  LOL

 

Thanks also for the feedback about the boys interest in temple.  I am like you in that I don't want to travel to someplace with BF where he doesn't want to be there.

 

Safe (and healthy) travels.

[TotallyOz]

Michael I am confused as you say you were 'back to Bangkok - or NOT' and then promptly head the other way. Phnom Penh is a lot farther from Bkk than Siem Reap! And although I haven't travelled between Siem Rap and PP by road (I used the boat) a quick glance at a map looks to me like a similar length of journey as say Bkk into Isarn, and roads in Thailand may not be the best but they're ok. Why didn't you fly back to Bkk from Angkor?

 

Ok, so you did it your way and the beauty of doing that is it made for an interesting day. Fraught with mishap, from the mini-bar saga onwards. Had you flown straight back to Bkk, when you look back on this day's events in future years you wouldn't remember it. But you will certainly remember the taxi ride and the over-priced gatorade.

We were only going to Angkor Wat and Siem Reap but the more we talked about the country and the wars here, I decided I wanted the boys to see the "Killing Fields." Thais often look down on their neighboring countries and I wanted them to see this to make them understand a bit more of the history of the people here. Instead of just going in and out, I wanted to be sure they were able to see the other places if the had an interest. They both wanted to see Phnom Penh and so we headed in that direction.

 

To be honest, the gatorade saga will soon be lost in my memory as shit like that happens all the time to me. But, I'll never forget the mini bar. Not that I was upset with them at all as I was not. But, it just goes to show what happens when one steps out of their what they know. The BF has traveled with me before and knows that I don't mind him drinking from the mini bar and when we were in India for 6 weeks last year we also had free drinks at the hotels but it was because we were on a club floor at the JW Marriott and the lounge was next to us and we would go in and get drinks there several times a day. I can't really blame him for this.

 

 

It is shocking how hotels are milking their clients, 50 % mark-up for just calling taxi for you is gross. I know that they are milking  motorcycle drivers arranged for  tourists through reception the same way. Another great lesson for others , this at least not  at your expense !

This always makes me angry. I don't get it but it is the way it is. I had asked the hotel for the name of another company to save money and they refused to give me the name of one. They said, they could not be liable should there be an issue. So, I asked where I would go to find this and they said to go to any travel agent. I then asked if they could give me the name of one to call and they said they could not. So, I said, OK I may want to fly out and could they give me the name of a travel agent in town and they gave it to me directly. I then called and booked a car. LOL A PITA just to get one phone number.

 

 

 

And lesson 4 is that between Phnom and Siem Reap to road condition bus option may be cheaper and more comfortable if there are few travelers and for one flying for 30 $ more is viable option.

The taxi was 60 USD total. The plane would have been hear 300 for the 3 of us. It was a savings of over 240 USD and thus worth it IMHO.

 

Now, to be honest, the drive was supposed to be 5-6 hours. It is not that it is a long way as much as the roads are really bad. Our driver was bad and thus part of the reason I said the trip was horrible. He passed every car we encountered and often there was not much room to pass. And, he was weaving in and out of traffic. In the end, we were at the hotel in about 4 hours. Thus, I think he was driving way too fast. At one point, I saw the speed of 90 MPH. I would not do this if driving in US on Interstate. But, he wanted to get there quick. His average speed was around 70 the majority of the time.

 

Also, I did love seeing the countryside. The houses were all built up high on stilts. There were more cows on this one road than I have ever seen in Thailand. We saw lots of water buffalo. The passed by some great little villages and we got to see what the real people here live like. I found the ride fascinating. Just the speed we were going made it impossible to take photos and enjoy the scenery as much as I wanted to.

[vinapu]

I'm glad you feel better  this morning.

 

Trip to Killing Fields will not be nice one but you are right you want to give boys an exposure to recent Khmer history . Tuol Sleng prison in PP is even more moving with it's map of  Cambodia made from the human sculls.

 

Considering distance taxi to PP would be good deal even at quoted 90$ for three of you but for one person I think flying or taking bus is better option than lunatic driver. Boats between PP and SR have very mixed reviews in travelling community .

 

After  reading recent post  advised my friend to take a bus since you liked scenery , thank you again.

[TotallyOz]

Today started out at the hotel with breakfast. The breakfast buffet was to die for! Absolutely fabulous! They had a variety of everything. I love this place.

 

After I ate, I went for a swim and while the water was cold, it was nice to lounge around and wait for the boys to wake up.

 

We hired a Tuk Tuk driver today for 8 hours. His rate was 20USD. He agreed to take us everywhere we wanted to go.

 

We started out by going to lunch. I had asked the hotel to recommend a place that most Cambodians would eat. I thought we would get a market area. But, instead, we ended up at Malis. It is an upscale restaurant. I almost left but thought we drove out of the way to get here and I should try it. I am so glad I did. The food was delicious! We had Crab Fried Rice, Scallop with peppercorn, Cambodia Kabobs with chili sauce, Morning Glory, Honey BBQ Pork, and Cambodia Tiger Prawns. We all thought this was the best meal we had experienced in Cambodia!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we headed to the "Killing Fields." This is the area where there are mass graves from the Po Pot regime. It was a very dark time in Cambodian history and to this day, I don't understand why the International community did not get involved.

 

see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Fields

 

The area is very somber and causes many emotions. The cost is 8USD and that comes with an audio tour guide. I got one for English and the boys got one for Thai. This was a great help as they didn't have to translate into another language. My two guys are rarely quite but they listened and they didn't speak the entire timer. It was such an interesting experience. At the end (about 1 hour) they looked at me and said, "so sad." And, then they asked why America didn't help like they want to do in Syria. I didn't have an answer for them other than after Vietnam and Korean Wars, the American people didn't want to get involved in anything. Very similar to now when the public is tired of wars in the Middle East. Shame on us for letting any people get treated this way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, we went to the King's Palace but the whole area was closed for a celebration and police and guards blocked us off.

 

We tried a few other places and they were closed too.

 

We ended up at Wat Phnom. It was built in 1373, and stands 27 metres above the ground. It is the tallest religious structure in the city.

 

From Wiki: "The sanctuary itself was rebuilt several times in the 19th century and again in 1926. The interior has a central altar complex with a large bronze seated Buddha surrounded by other statues, flowers, candles and items of devotion and worship. The walls are covered with murals, especially of Jataka stories of the Buddha's earlier reincarnations before his enlightenment. There are also murals depicting stories from the Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana. The newer murals in the bottom tiers are somewhat balanced, traditional and modern.

 

The southwest corner of the vihear and stupa, is a small shrine dedicated to Lady Penh. The front is often crowded with the faithful bringing their prayers and food offerings to the woman deemed responsible for the founding of the wat."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last stop of the day was the Russian Market. If you have been to JJ Market in Bangkok, think the same thing! It is a large market with copy goods galore!

 

The fun part of the day was seeing the street scenes in and around the city! Beautiful people and beautiful city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PattayaMale]

This I didn't know. Thanks. Do you do this on the site or inside your folder?

Either way. Just click "new album"

[TotallyOz]

 

Within a few hours of that fabulous lunch I had, I started feeling nauseous and my body started aching. I had food poisoning and it was most likely related to the seafood. In all honestly, I knew I should not have eaten it as I had had this happened many times over the years and it is one of the worst feelings you can imagine. For over 48 hours, either my mouth or my butt was making movements toward the toilet.

 

We had planned to leave on Sunday but I knew I was not up to the flight. We had booked Air Asia for 84 USD a ticket. But, it was non refundable and after we missed the flight I knew nothing I could do.

 

I talked to the Intercontinental Hotel Concierge and he extended my stay for the same rate (190 USD) and he also booked a flight for me for Cambodian Angkor Airway for 112 USD. Still, a flight back to Bangkok for this rate was great IMHO. And, it was refundable should I need another day or two to recover.

 

I did need more time but I also wanted to get back to my place as I knew I would be able to recover faster there and I knew my doctors there would be great should I need them.

 

We did make the flight and got back into Thailand. We took a taxi from the airport. I was exhausted and could barely walk. The flight was at 12:05PM and we were in the taxi at 1:30 PM. I had not eaten all day as I didn't want to be rushing to the bathroom or even worst. When we hit Sathorn, I put in a call to McDelivery for a cheeseburger as I wanted to eat. As we got to the hotel about 5 minutes later, the delivery boy was already there.

 

I recovered again yesterday and last night and have slept for about 3 days now. I am not over it yet but this morning I felt I could type on the computer so I thought I'd conclude my adventures.

 

Don't fret. The boys were not sick and most likely you would not get sick either. I have a very sensitive stomach and I knew better than to eat seafood. I love it but every doctor tells me never to eat in Asia. I was not upset at the restaurant as it was 100% my fault and my issue.

 

The Intercontinental Hotels was fabulous for the last leg of the journey. They upgraded me to a 1 bedroom suite and gave us lounge access. As I didn't leave the room after the first day, I ordered in every meal. The boys roamed around the city in the day and took care of me at night. They would never leave me alone for more than an hour or two but they would Tuk Tuk here and there and then return. I honestly don't know what all they ended up doing there or where they ate or where they went. I'll find out in a few days when I feel 100%.

 

The trip was still great and I am still so very happy I went and that I took the boys with me. They had a great time and the photos they took of themselves will be great memories for the rest of their lives and for their families.

 

All in all, minus the illness, the trip was amazing!

[vinapu]

Thanks God  you are alive ! Was worried when all of the sudden you fell silent for couple days.

 

Joy of travelling-and so called Montezuma revenge unfortunately. If you can eat cheeseburger obviously you are better now.

 

I'd stay away from meat and sugar for few days until you recover. Most important -you still have a good trip

[firecat69]

The absolute #1 rule I have in Thailand is do not eat seafood.  It has served me well!!!

[TotallyOz]

No recovery from the food poisoning so I want to Bumrungrad today. I had one of the boys go with me as I really had zero energy. I got there and they took my temp and it was 104.5 also elevated blood pressure.

 

My body really took a beating from this!

 

They gave me 2 bags of liquid as I was very dehydrated as well as some other meds like anti bacteria and antibiotics. We spent almost 5 hours there today and the cost was 11,500 baht. A decent price for all the meds they put into my system.

[Guest shamahan]

Michael, is it possible that you have some kind of allergy to sea food? It looks like you have this problem permanently.

[Moses]

I order cars from http://www.angkorcars.com/ to travel from Thai border to Siem Reap and for tours inside of Cambodia.

[Guest]

Firstly thank you for the excellent reports Michael. 

 

Regarding food, I've been to Cambodia 3 times and had no hint of food poisoning on any of the trips. 

I have had problems in Thailand twice & Laos once. 

 

Angkor cars seem to offer a good deal.