GENERAL INFO
Visas: A one-month visa, available on arrival at Pochentong and Siem Reap airports, costs 20.00 for a tourist visa and 25.00 for a business visa.
Health risks: cholera, hepatitis, malaria, typhoid, rabies, Japanese B encephalitis
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +7
Dialling Code: 855
Electricity: 230V ,50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric
WHEN TO GO
The ideal months to be in Cambodia are December and January, when humidity is bearable, temperatures are cooler and it's unlikely to rain. From February onwards it starts getting pretty hot, and April is unbearably so. The wet season (from May to October), though very soggy, can be a good time to visit Angkor, as the moats will be full and the foliage lush - but steer clear of the northeast regions during those months, as the going gets pretty tough when the tracks are waterlogged. The country's biggest festival, Bon Om Tuk, is held in early November, and is well worth catching.
EVENTS
Lunar New Year is celebrated by ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese in late January or early February. The Khmer New Year celebrations bring the country to a standstill for three days in mid-April - a fair amount of water and talcum powder gets thrown around at this time, so it's a lively but noncontemplative time to visit. Chat Preah Nengkal, the Royal Ploughing Festival, takes place near the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh in early May. The Khmer calendar's most important festival is Bon Om Tuk, celebrating the end of the wet season in early November - it's the best time to visit Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. Banks, ministries and embassies are closed during all public holidays and festivals.
Public Holidays:
January 1 - New Year's Day
March 8 - Women's Day
April 13 - Khmer New Year
May 1 - Labour Day
June 1 - International Children's Day
September 24 - Constitution Day
October 23 - Paris Peace Agreement
October 30 - King's Birthda
November 9 - Independence Day
December 10 - UN Human Rights Day
MONEY & COSTS
Currency: Riel
Meals
- Budget: US$2-5
- Mid-range: US$5-8
- High: US$8-15
- Deluxe: US$15+
Lodging
- Budget: US$2-10
- Mid-range: US$10-45
- High: US$50-70
- Deluxe: US$70+
For the most part, Cambodia is a pretty cheap place to travel. Rock-bottom budgeters can probably get by in Phnom Penh on US$10 a day - accommodation can be as cheap as US$2-3 in the capital, though you'll pay about US$5 elsewhere, and you can feed yourself for US$2-3. If you want to travel around you'll need to spend more - transport is a major expense. Entrance fees (particularly for Angkor Wat - around US$20 a day) can also set you back a fair bit. Mid-range travel is very reasonable, with excellent accommodation from US$15-25 and good meals for around US$5.
If you've got cash US dollars, you won't need to change money in Cambodia and you'll pay much the same as you would with riel. Thai baht are also widely accepted. Both of these are easy to change, as are most other major currencies. It can be difficult to change travellers cheques outside Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Battambang and Kompong Cham. Cash advances on credit cards are available in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville and Battambang, but charges are high. Otherwise, there are no ATMs and credit cards are rarely accepted.
Tipping is not expected in Cambodia, but salaries are very low and any gratuities for good service will be gratefully accepted. Bargaining is the rule in markets, when hiring vehicles and sometimes even when taking a room, but you won't need to be as forceful as you would in Thailand or Vietnam.
Top-end accomodation is available in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap only.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Bangkok is the easiest place to pick up a flight to Phnom
Penh or Siem Reap. Flights to the capital also fly out of Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Vientiane and Guangzhou. The major airport
is Pochentong, 7km (4mi) west of Phnom Penh. A taxi to the centre costs around
8.00, and motos charge 1.00 or so per passenger; departure tax is 20.00. The
land route will be vastly improved when the road linking Phnom Penh with the
Thai border at Poipet is upgraded, but there are no firm plans to improve the
diabolical road to Siem Reap. A combination of boats and buses will eventually
ferry you from Thailand's Trat Province to the coastal town of Krong Koh Kong.
Buses and shared taxis will get you to Vietnam's entry point at Moc Bai. The
land border with Laos opened briefly but has since closed.
GETTING AROUND
Flying is the quickest (and of course most expensive) way of getting to places like Angkor, Ratanakiri, Koh Kong, Stung Treng and Mondulkiri. Road travel is safer than it's been for years, but your body is still going to suffer for travelling by bus - the country's highways are in truly pathetic shape. Train travel is back on the agenda for visitors - and it's ludicrously cheap - but the journey will take much longer than by bus. Trucks and jeeps tackle the dreadful roads to Siem Reap, Battambang and Kratie, and share-taxis scoot around the south coast. With some 1900km (1180mi) of navigable waterways to utilise, boats play a major role in getting around. The most popular services operate between the capital and Siem Reap - the express service cuts the journey time down to a mere four hours. Fast boats also head up the Mekong to Kompong Cham, Kratie and Stung Treng. An effective local bus network makes travel to sights around Phnom Penh much easier than driving, particularly as cars
can only be hired with a driver - and when you look at the country's highways from hell, perhaps that's all for the best. Taxis are more common in the cities these days, and cyclos and motos (small motorcycles) can be flagged down for short hops.
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