# Phnom Penh....OR......Hanoi ?



## karinasf

Hi guys.

I am currently in Bangkok and would like to get out of here as i have 2-3 days to kill and i'm trying to decide between visiting Cambodia or Vietnam. I would be travelling to the respective capital cities..but trying to determine which of the two would be an exciting place to visit...the nature bit is good but since i am limited with time i would be in the city so exploring the city would be my plan..so basically need your tips about which of the two cities is preferrable for a budget traveller.

Cheers
K.


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## Guest

I know Phnom Penh pretty well, but the major cities in Vietnam are on my 'to visit' list. There's plenty to see in PP, for all tastes. From the royal palace - (imposing edifices aren't my thing, but the buildings and grounds are pretty impressive).... to the markets (the Russian market is a a particular favourite for tourists, sells pretty much everything), to the highly sobering and compulsory trip to the Toul Sleng S-21 genocide museum, where so many Khmer were tortured and killed. All were photographed by their torturers, and many hundreds of the enlarged photos are on display. It's hard to describe the effect that place had on me.

It's a quick tuk-tuk ride out of town, 10 miles or so, to the infamous Killing Fields at Choeung Ek... in the hubbub of city life, it's easy to forget that around 2 million died, tortured, murdered, starved, close to a quarter of the country's population, only a few short decades ago. I took a local guide around the place, whose father had been one of those killed at S-21. A very moving experience. The white pagoda full of dented skulls, some cracked open with bullets, but usually with tools such as spades to save the expense of a bullet... 

Somewhat ironically on my first trip to PP the tuk-tuk driver took me to a firing range on the way to the Killing Fields, where for a few dollars you can fire an aging AK-47 - possibly a Khmer Rouge weapon from the 70s... or hire a rocket launcher and take out a car wreck a few hundred metres away. All rather inappropriate in the context of a visit to the Choeung Ek site. I saw some tourists rather angrily saying en emphatic "no thanks" to their driver, who had made the mistake of taking them to the range after the Killing Fields trip. Doh.

There's a small but thriving night life area in the centre of town, where you'll find any number of expats at the likes of Sharkey's, the Shanghai, the Walkabout bars - all in the vicinity of Street 51. Watch your step at night though - I felt pretty safe wandering around, but there's still a lingering sense of anarchy in Phnom Penh, even compared to the likes of Bangkok. The clubs are places you have to be on guard - one place I went to with a French friend was crammed with rich Khmer kids who took a dislike to _barangs_ coming to their club accompanied by a couple of Khmer ladies. We didn't hang around. Another, the Heart of Darkness (again near Road 51) has a sign up outside - "no guns or explosives". Makes you think!

Daytime and evenings along the riverside are bustling, full of tourists but a fun place to be with countless restaurants. Motorcycle 'taxis' - many unlicensed, are always touting for business. On my first visit to the capital one of these (a licensed version) took me into the city centre for 3 or 4 dollars. It was a terrifying trip, though you get used to the amazing traffic eventually. Traffic lanes don't exist, they seem to drive against the flow sometimes. But I had struck lucky - my driver also had a tuk-tuk, spoke quite a bit of English, and wasn't a rip-off merchant. Used him every day during my stay, he was a great guide. One sobering moment towards the end of my trip when he took me to his 'house' in the slums, where his wife made us a meal. Great experience. He proudly announced when we'd finished eating that thanks to me they were going to be able to buy and install their first toilet...

There are some ancient temple sights in town that are worth a trip, and then there's the National Museum. I used a lovely elderly Khmer guide (there are relatively few old people around PP, you notice) for the latter, who spoke French - Felt sorry for her, because the tourists were nearly all English-speaking, and she probably hardly ever got any work. Bit of a mistake really because she was a walking encyclopaedia, and could (and did) talk for ten minutes about any object on display that my French mate and I showed a tiny amount of interest in. In the end we were only saved by the museum closing. Still no complaints, it was an interesting place, she was a mine of info, and was prepared to talk about her horrific experiences under the Khmer Rouge regime as well. Left us both speechless.

One other place I went to in his tuk-tuk was do-able in a day trip - Oudong. About an hour to an hour and a half of a bone-shaking ride in this form of transport, but I prefer it to the air-con taxi - you can really get a much better sense of the sights, smells and sounds along the road, than cocooned inside a car. Through the slums, along the riverside for some miles, the slums giving way to rural areas with houses on stilts, and happier faces, even if they looked just as poor. Oudong is an ancient capital (from the 17th to the 19th century, when it was moved to PP). A tip - if you go there, take plenty of very small (almost worthless) notes. And I mean plenty. The walk through the old buildings takes you past wizened little old ladies inside many of the ruins, who kind of expect you to 'donate' something. More recent and some very beautiful stupas/temples as you approach the crown of the hill, from which there is a beautiful view.

I've been there a couple of times. As you start the signposted walk, inevitably two or three local kids, some around 7/8 years old, attach themselves to you. Some of them really do speak good English, and their excuse is that they act as guides to earn a few dollars, without which they couldn't afford to go to school. I suppose you could tell them to go away, but I'm too soft-hearted . Always end up giving them a couple of dollars each.

There's a large area of permanent, clean and well-shaded empty 'shacks' at the bottom of the hill. You can rest here and a family of Khmer will appear out of nowhere to offer you everything from a can of Coke to a full multiple course Khmer meal, with barbecued chicken, fish, you name it. Delicious, peaceful when I've been there (some days it can get pretty busy I was told, but it was almost deserted on both occasions I was there). Great food, an hour or two's rest out of the sun swinging gently on a hammock, a couple of cold beers, and all for a few small dollars per head. 

Yes, Phnom Penh, love the place. Very cheap return flights via Air Asia too...


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## Serendipity2

karinasf said:


> Hi guys.
> 
> I am currently in Bangkok and would like to get out of here as i have 2-3 days to kill and i'm trying to decide between visiting Cambodia or Vietnam. I would be travelling to the respective capital cities..but trying to determine which of the two would be an exciting place to visit...the nature bit is good but since i am limited with time i would be in the city so exploring the city would be my plan..so basically need your tips about which of the two cities is preferrable for a budget traveller.
> 
> Cheers
> K.



Karin,

I've been to both countries - Phnom Pehn and Siem Reap in Cambodia, and several cities including Hanoi and Saigon [Ho Chi Minh City] in Vietnam and both are worth seeing. 

Vietnam was, for me, much nicer than Cambodia. A far more advanced society - I'm sure the atrocities in Cambodia are largely to blame for that. My favorites in Vietnam were the small fishing village of Hoi An, Hanoi and Halong Bay - all very lovely. Vietnam is a bit more expensive but I think on a par with Bangkok. A visa was a bit expensive but I would gladly do it again. If I could only do one city in Vietnam it would probably be Hanoi - not Saigon which is more like a Los Angeles or Bangkok whereas Hanoi is much older, grander and quieter - more the true Vietnam - and an easy day trip to Halong Bay to see some marvelous sights.

Serendipity2


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## karinasf

thanks heaps for the very helpful tips from both of you.
Cheers
K


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