Cambodia/Laos anyone?

ebowdia

Anyone backpacked in Cambodia or Laos? Hoping to do so later in the year, and was just looking for some advice....

whiteshadow

this time last year i was there.

had to leave laos earlier as there was an attack on a bus
on the main road from Luang Prabang down to Vang Vieng.
Military sealed off the road and all communications were shut down.
internet/phones etc... was gutted because after spending 2 days on a boat
going down the mekong and we decided to fly back to bangkok
(laos airlines are a force to be reckoned with... dont' fly them if you can help it!)
and to spend more time (4 weeks) in cambodia.

Amazing countries, ravaged by civil and international war.

cant reccommend them highly enough.

Angkor is an expensive tourist attraction so be prepared to throw your
budget out the window. the one day pass is not nearly long enough. incredible place.

Lovely beaches in southern cambodia, sihanoukaville, kampot and kep are also stunning... Look out for spiderville where they cook giant spiders and sell them on the side of the road.

You have to go to see the killing fields in phnom penh.
terrible place that is definitely haunted.

how long are you planning to go for?
if you can you should definitely try and get to vietnam.
It's really is the most amazing place ive ever been.

any more queries giz a pm or also a good resource is the lonelyplanet thorntree forum... (although it has it's fair share of tie-dye dreadlocked backpacker snobs who are soooo deep man..etc!)

cardigan

I travelled through Laos in December last year - fabulous place well worth a visit. I had heard about trouble, like the last poster said, but was lucky and didn't experience anything like it.
I flew to Bangkok and got an overnight train from the main station in Bangok to Udon Thani in the North of Thailan and from there crossed the friendship bridge into Laos for about $10 (or maybe it was $30 US I actually can't remember) by taxi. That's the only place I'm aware of that you can buy your visa on arrival, it takes about 30 mins and other than that you can get someone in Bangkok to get it for you but it takes a couple of days and it's more expensive.

Bring US dollars with you if you go to Laos, you can pay for accomodation and visa stuff with them - they also accept baht and their own currency kip but it can be easier to hire a local with US dollars to take you somewhere. The people are wonderful. The food isn't great, not as good as Thailand but it's getting there. There is a string French influence depending on where you go in Laos which is amazing.

I went from Vientiane to Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang too, it's very well travelled and there are a lot of places to stay ranging from $2 to $30. It's easy enough to get around, though the trips take time....sometimes you have to wait until a bus is full for the driver to start driving so always allow a couple of hours if you have a plane to catch or anything. Don't fly with the Laos airline, as the other poster said, the trains are really handy and cheap or fly Thai airways - they fly into Vientiane and Luang Prabang too.

The rough guide for Laos is good, I found it better than the Lonely planet.