April 20, 2014

Cambodia : Siem Reap to Phnom Penh by bus

There are a number of bus companies offering service between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and you can purchase the ticket at nearly any guesthouse in both cities. So we asked our hostel manager to help us book the overnight bus ticket to Phnom Penh.

The price was USD 9 per person so we agreed right away.

On the way back from the Old Market, we saw a few buses parked by the road side. We were told that a shuttle would come to pick us up and took us to the bus. Apparently, there's no centralized bus station here. Or there is but maybe our bus doesn't stop there. So we peeked into the bus, thinking it might be our bus later that evening. I saw mattresses. It's gonna be a comfortable ride, I thought.

Little did we know the bus would be like this.



Cehhh.

Our seats were supposed to be the top bunk but when we got on the bus, it was already occupied by a couple of locals. I told the bus drivers but he just asked us to fill in the available bunks at the bottom. Fine! But I hate the bottom bunks cos there were no windows! Moreover, the 45 degrees vinyl seats were too close to the next person, I couldn't really move. Luckily I travelled with my girlfriend. Can't imagine if I travelled alone and had to sleep next to a pervert guy.

The bus left around midnight. I wasn't sure if the bus made any stops along the way cos I was asleep all the way to Phnom Penh. Too tired I guess.



We arrived in Phnom Penh at 6.30 am. The bus dropped us off nearby the Phnom Penh riverside.

our bus

the travel company

As soon as we got off the bus, we were swarmed by taxi and tuk-tuk drivers wanting to give us a ride. I told one of the drivers our hostel name and he didn't seem to know the location. He then turned to ask his friends and I saw some of them looking amused and smiled suspiciously. He came back to us later and offered to give us a ride for USD 3.

I didn't trust him so I google-mapped our hostel name. Turned out the hostel was just about 500 meters from where we stood. No wonder they looked amused. WTF.

Anyway, I googled the company after coming back to KL. They seem to be getting pretty bad reviews from travellers. Well.. lesson learnt for next trip. See what bus you are getting into before you book the ticket. Check out better buses like Giant Ibis or Mekong Express and you should get better service.
 

5 comments:

Jea Mohamad said...

Haha memang takut kalau kena share ngn stranger.

ain@chepry said...

perjalanan amik masa brapa lama?

rara said...

@Jea Mohamad: Kan??? Tak tido sepanjang malam la agaknye.. hehe

@Ain Rawihah: By bus ni about 6-7 hours. I read kalau nak cepat, you can take minivan, about 3-4 hours je.

My name starts with M said...

Haaa bus kat sana mmg problematic! And aku pun kene the same thing masa sampai PP, dpt tuktuk driver yg muka jahat hahaha..

Tapi, thruout the journey, kau tak rasa ek the bumpy roads n all? Lagu Cambodia dlm bus?

rara said...

@Mas: ada la rasa bumpy sikit tapi lepas tu aku tido je.. hahaha.. Lagu Cambodia takde pulak, sebab overnight bus kot.