Sunday, September 9, 2012

Travel Tips Cambodia 2012 - Phnom Penh

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                               JOTARO'S TRAVEL TIPS -                             
CAMBODIA 2013 : PHNOM PENH
This page provides : useful net sites, hand-phone apps, maps and a simple discourse on interacting with the Khmer  people. Hope this is helpful.

Useful Net Sites:

For Travel Spots

Wikitravel                                    - Tripadvisor
Virtual Tourist                            - Lonely Planet
Tripadvisor - Restaurants       Footsteps YummY - Cambodian Food


For Transportation & Hotels

Phnom Penh Sorya Transport
Wikitravel : Getting In To Phnom Penh
Yellow Pages Taxi
Cambodia Angkor Air (for Air Travel)
Air Asia (for Air Travel)
- Malaysian Airline System (for Air Travel)
Booking.com (Hotel bookings - this site is good as no deposits required, pay at counter)
Agoda.com (Hotel bookings)
Tripadvisor (Travel Sites, Food & Hotel users' reviews)

Useful Apps:

Android Zoom (for Android Khmer Language apps)
WorldNomads (i-Phone Khmer Language app)
i-Phone Phnom Penh Offline Travel Guide (i-Phone offline travel guide)
TravelGuide Phnom Penh (Android)


Interacting With The Khmer People:

The Khmer are peaceful, warm and hospitable. The following tips may be useful when interacting with them:
Bargaining - When buying in markets, ask the vendor for the price and start bargaining from 20% of the quoted price. They tend to quote high prices. The agreed price should be about 30-40% of the quoted price. If not happy with the price, just walk away - they will call you back if they can reduce the price some more.
Giving Alms  - Many beggars abound! If you feel like giving then get change for lots of 100 riel notes. Look around when you give, ensure that not too many beggars are around when you give or else you will be suddenly surrounded by beggars. Give to veterans, pregnant women. Do not give to children as they tend to use the money given for gambling at night. It is better to buy some extra food and give to the children.
Dressing Code  - When visiting temples or palaces, ensure that you dress decently with cover legs. No low cut or bare-back dresses. Also conduct yourself in a quiet and polite manner.
Mobile Phones  - Carry a spare phone for using a local Cambodian number. Upon arrival at the airport, buy a local SIM card; they will be many stalls selling them once you leave the Custom checkpoint. Making local calls, overseas calls are cheap using the local numbers. But for mobile data services, check the rates first before buying.
Hygiene               - Most restaurant are hygienic, but if you do eat at market place it will be good to observe the cleanliness of the vendor before ordering. Do not be surprised if the area surrounding the tables are littered with tissues and scraps. Most Cambodians have the habit of throwing things or even spitting out scraps on the floor - do not follow this habit, just maintain your own cleanliness when you travel.
Tuk-tuks & Motodops - Tuk-tuks normally charge USD2-00 & motodops (motor-cylce taxs) charges 2000riel each way for short two way travel (i.e. approx. up to twenty minutes each way). 


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