Road Trip to Siem Reap

Day 3.

Another early wake up time, as we’re booked for the 7:30 AM trip. Luckily, Mekong Express Bus Station is just along Pham Ngu Lao, and a Mekong Express representative picked us up from the hotel. Talk about convenience. :)

We’re still able to have breakfast before leaving.

Bus left 7:40, and just few minutes after, we were greeted with a steward that’ll also be with us throughout the trip. Snacks were also served. (We're seated at the first row. :) )

2 hours after the trip, we reached the Moc Bai border. While on the trip, the bus steward already took our passports, and at the border, he brought it to the immigration counter. All you had to do was just wait for your name to be called. That’s it. There’s not much security check going on here. Goodbye Vietnam!

 

Back on the bus, and few minutes later, we’re at the Bavet border. Here we had to go the immigration counter ourselves, as there’s a need for fingerprint.

Hello Cambodia!

We’re back on the road again. An hour after, we’re on our first stopover. We loaded up with fried rice, as it’s another couple of hours before we reach Phnom Penh, for our next stop. 

Also along the way, the bus will be onboard a ferry to cross a river, it's the Mekong River i guess.

After 3 hours, we reached Mekong Express Bus Station in Phnom Penh. Here we will change our bus, to take us to Siem Reap. We had about a 30-minute break at the station. We were also able to grab lunch before we left for Siem Reap.

Another greeting from a new steward welcomed us as soon as the trip started. Snacks are again served in this second half of the journey. It’s another 6 hours from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. More time to catch up on sleep. :D Anticipation grows though, as hours of wait become shorter. There’s one stopover after about 3.5 hours on the road. 

Finally after 13 hours, we arrive Mekong Express bus station at Siem Reap. Our tuktuk pick-up from the hotel was already there when we arrived. We booked our stay with Bou Savy Guesthouse, and it’s about 15-20 minutes from the bus station. We had dinner in the hotel, and after settling in our room, we then headed to our first destination in Siem Reap – the Angkor Night Market. :) Shop away in this place! Don’t forget to haggle, and also don’t forget to try their $1 massages or the fish spa.

  

 

Oh by the way, here's a heads-up. Only one Hollywood movie was played in our entire bus trip. Prepare your ears for a 10-hour long Cambodian Videoke! You were warned. LSS alert! :)

Mekong Express bus fare - $24 per person 

Bou Savy Guesthouse - $16 per night

 -- free pick-up from airport / bus station

 -- free breakfast

 -- one free dinner 

Second (and last!) Day at Ho Chi Minh -- Mekong Delta : Cai Be – Vinh Long Tour

Day 2. 

It was an earlier pick-up time today, 7:30. It was raining all night til morning, so it got us bit worried if whether the tour will push through, or if it does, the rain might spoil it. Luckily, the 3-hour trip to Mekong Delta helped, as the rain calmed down while on the way. 

Midway through the trip, there will be a 15-minute stopover, there are hammocks if you’d like to lie down a bit, there are snacks/drinks that could be bought, and of course there’s a restroom for nature calls. :)

After the 3-hour road trip, we finally reached Cai Be.

The tour will start here. We hopped on a boat to tour Mekong River, and first on the itinerary is to view floating markets. 

Unfortunately, due to the rains throughout the night and early morning, we are not able to see much of them. Most of the boats we saw, unless the tour guide tells us what they sell, we can hardly identify them as they’re still covered.

We then headed to a local factory where rice paper, pop rice, and coconut candies are made. Rice wine and snake wine are also available here for free tasting. 

Then we walked to a nearby bee farm, where we get to try their honey tea. I personally loved the taste of the tea, and wanted another serving. Bee Honey and Royal Jelly can be bought from here. 

Next stop, Lunch! We went aboard the boat again, and headed to Orchard Garden for lunch. Lunch is free, and then there’s an option to try the Elephant Ear Fish which goes along with the spring rolls. We ended up eating it with rice though. :)  

 

There are hammocks which can be used for free if you’d like to take a nap, and bicycles that are also free of use, so you can explore the neighbourhood. 

 

Last course of the tour is the boat rowing along Mekong Delta Canal. You don’t get to row the boat though. Just sit and enjoy the view, with your Non Las (hats) that are free to use. 

The row boats will take you back to your boat, which will continue on passing through the Mekong River, and then will drop you off Vinh Long market where your bus that will take you back to Ho Chi Minh is waiting.

We’re back in the city around 6:45PM. The drop-off is at Pham Ngu Lao so we headed back to our hotel first to leave the stuffs we bought, then went out to try their iced coffee w/ milk at Trung Nguyen Coffee. 

 

Not yet in the mood for dinner, we decided to go to Saigon Square for our North Face bags. It’s a good thing we decided to shop first, as Saigon Square closes at 9 PM, and some of the stalls are closed already. After we got our bags at Saigon Square, we then walked across the street towards Ben Thanh Market -- our last take at shopping for ourselves, and for pasalubong.

Last stop, dinner at Nha Hang Ngon restaurant. Nice ambience and experience, just right to end our Vietnam trip. 

 

  

Here’s a summary of our expenses in our 4d/3n stay at Vietnam.

Accommodation (Nguyen Khang hotel) - $22/night

Taxi pick-up from the airport - $15

Cu Chi Tunnel tour - $6 per person

Cu Chi entrance fee – 90000 VND ($4.5) per person

War Remnants Museum – 15000 VND ($0.75) per person

Mekong Delta tour – $17 per person

Meals - $3-$4 average per person

Vinasun cabs – starts at 10000-12000VND flag down rate

Day 1 in Ho Chi Minh : Cu Chi Tunnel and City Tour

Day 1. 

A good benefit of staying at the backpackers’ area is that tour arrangements include picking you up at your hotel. It’s one less worry of having to find the meet-up point. :)  The tour guide arrived around 8:15 AM. Aside from us, there were other tourists from the other hotels in the backpackers’ area that he picked up for the tour. We then hopped on the bus, and got around several other hotels to pick-up other tourists.

By 9AM, we are already en route to our tour destination. Midway through, we had a 15-minute stopover at a Handicapped Handicrafts shop. Not only you will be able to see handmade handicrafts being sold, but you also get a chance to see how they’re done. It’s my first time to see how these glossy stuffs were made, so I’m really amazed and impressed with what I saw. 

After about an hour, we finally reach our destination. Here you will pay an entrance fee of 90,000VND. Note that this is not part of the $6 charge for the tour. On the way, the tour guide will collect the fees, and he will take care of paying for the entrance fee once you’re there.

The tour will start with a film showing of the Vietnam War. After the video, there will also be a few minute discussion of the war, and how the Viet Cong people built and lived in the tunnels. 

Then the tour will go around showing how Viet Cong people lived, and what they built to protect/defend themselves during war time.

Here below is an actual size of the tunnel that was previously built. They said it was built this small so only Viet Cong people could fit, as Western people has a larger build and could not fit in.

I was the first in our group to try the tunnel and luckily, i fit in. :)

You also have the option to try out firearm shooting;  this has to be paid separately.  I opted not to try and instead had a snack while waiting.

Then came our time to try going in the tunnel. It’s a 100M long journey, with an exit in every 20M, so anyone who get tired easily or does not enjoy being in the tunnel has the option to go out. It’s not easy being in there, knowing you can only duck-walk or crawl to be able to go through. But i still managed to complete the 100M. :)

As the last stop, we will be served with tapioca, to experience what Viet Cong people ate during the war. It’s not anything unique for us Filipinos, as it very much just tasted like camote. :)

The tour ended around 2:30PM. We were back in the city about 4PM. The drop-off was at Ben Thanh Market, just right as we planned to have lunch at Pho2000. After lunch, we then decided to take a tour of the city. 

In Vietnam, motorcycle is their basic mode of transportation so you’ll really be amazed with the motorcycle traffic, and how they battle with cars and buses on the roads. Walking around the city, be careful in crossing streets as motorcycles appear everywhere. :) Even if you’re already walking in the sidewalk, they still pass by, so you still have to be watchful.

Not much pictures were taken during our city tour, as it was already starting to rain. First stop, War Remnants Museum. It was an eye opener on how Vietnam fought and suffered during the war.

Next, Reunification Palace. It was closed already at the time we arrived, so we did not have a chance to tour around. Then we headed to Notre Dame Cathedral and Post Office. We were not able to get in the Cathedral as mass is already ongoing. Inside the Post Office, there are shops where you can buy souvenirs or trinkets.  

We also managed to pass by some malls along the way. Diamond Plaza is just across the Post Office, then few blocks away is the Vincom Centre and Parkson. The rain went harder during our walkabout, so we just passed by City Hall and Opera House. After dinner, the rain stopped so we decided to end our tour with pasalubong shopping at Ben Thanh Market.