Back to Phnom Penh and off to Vietnam
Trip Start
Oct 30, 2005
1
53
122
Trip End
Ongoing
Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
With the two main options to get back to Phnom Penh via boat or bus, the bus was a no-brainer option - half the time and 1/5 the cost, and comfortable air conditioning. We left quite early and arrived without hiccup at Phnom Penh. Again we were besieged with motorbike and tuk tuk drivers, but we had decided to stay at the same place as previously and it was an easy walk away, not that stopped the drivers persistence - a few of them even remembered us from last time.
Being a Friday afternoon were a little concerned that the Vietnamese consulate would be closed and that we'd have to wait until Monday to apply (oops - forward planning), but through our hotel we managed to get the visa application in that afternoon and it was cheaper than we could get it ourselves! We'd have our passports back the next day, but we decided to wait until Monday to cross.
Back in Phnom Penh, we had seen most of the sights we had wanted to, except some of the markets. So Saturday morning we spent wandering around the Russian Market, a popular market with tourists. Lots of tourist souvenirs, many items similar to Thailands markets, but it was a hot day and it wasn't too long before an air-conditioned cafe sounded more appealing... :)
The weekend passed quickly and we were off again via bus to Vietnam. Glenn was previously keen to take the boat down the Mekong to Vietnam, ending up near a border town further south of Ho Chi Minh City. But we had seen life on the river in Cambodia, and our recent boat trips were still too fresh in our minds. The bus option turned out to be quite simple, even though it meant a change of bus at the border.
We arrived at the border and after having lunch (to help the commissions of the bus company) we were walking through immigration. Through Cambodia immigration ok. No scams! But now at Vietnam immigration we needed the forms to fill out and they wanted US$1 to "help fill out the forms". Luckily there were some people before us who had just been stung and when they asked for our passports, we said no, forms please. They weren't keen to give us the forms (no scam money for them), but eventually after some pretty evil looks from the form-filler-outerers we got them. Through immigration and then... health form scam - 2000 dong for a health form. But now they had official receipts, and everyone was paying. Can't get out of this one... but as we didn't have Vietnamese dong yet they were able to have their own healthy exchange rate and so for 1000 reil each we got our "required" forms. (Nice exchange rate considering 500 riel = approx 2000 dong). Still, not too bad. Now through immigration, we had a nice walk in the sun with our packs to find our new bus. Off to Ho Chi Minh City!
We arrived right in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, a massive city by any standards with famous chaotic traffic that sent shivers down our spines actually seeing it. Having been forewarned of the touts in the city, we left our backpacks at the bus company's office and headed out to look at a few options. A few calls from touts landed on deaf ears, but while standing on a corner trying to get our bearings on a map, a lovely old lady came up and said she could help with accommodation. Yes a tout, and she even had sewn on an "official" looking badge on her blouse but Christie has a weak spot for the old lady touts, and pretty soon we were following her to check out a few options. Can't hurt to look. But to our surprise, the second place she showed us was perfect - a small family run place which we could have never found ourselves, very clean, with very friendly owners and cheaper than we had planned to spend. Seemed a good deal all around!
