Thailand & Cambodia trip next year-need advice please

[lynn_paszkiewicz]

Hi! I don't post here often but I love this Travel forum!

I'll be graduating in May (photog degree) and to treat myself I'm

planning a trip to Thailand and Cambodia. I've never been outside the

Continental US and would like advice about traveling and

photographing there from anyone who has been there. Such as good

places to stay (I'll be in Bangkok, Siem Reap, Phnom Phen and maybe

one other place in Thailand-still deciding), what's the best way to

travel from city to city within a country, places for good pictures,

etc. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions for planning my

trip! I'm really excited but a little nervous about my 1st trip to

another country. Thanks in advance!

 

Lynn

[Ian Taylor]

Lynn,

I lived in Cambodia for 6 years. Feel free to email me if you need any specific info.<div></div>

[nicholas_yu]

http://horntree.lonelyplanet.com

 

Great resources there for where to stay and what to eat. I believe that photo.net has a guide to Thailand or Bangkok in the travel log section.

 

Nick

[nicholas_yu]

</Link>http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com</link>

 

Sorry. Typo :)

[qtluong]

Go there in winter if you can. It is really hot in summer.

 

<p>

Since you've never been in Asia, I suggest that you first

stop in <a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/thailand/chiang-mai/chiang-mai.html">Chiang Mai</a> and also explore the

<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/thailand/chiang-mai-area/chiang-mai-area.html">surrounding areas of Chiang Mai</a>.

Stay at one of the backpackers hotels, and they will have plenty

of activities and information to help you plan the rest of your trip.

 

Chiang Mai

is a much nicer city than Bangkok, less hot, crowded, spread-out,

westernized, you name it. Then move south, stopping at

<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/thailand/sukhothai/sukhothai.html">Sukothai</a> and

<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/thailand/ayuthaya/ayuthaya.html">Ayuthaya</a> to see the country's most interesting archeological

sites. By that time, you'll be a little better prepared for

<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/thailand/bangkok/bangkok.html">Bangkok</a> which is very interesting indeed. There are a

number of good day trips from there. See my <a href = "

http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/thailand/thailand.html">photos of Thailand</a>. You can visit all the places illustrated there in

about two-three weeks. <p>

For <a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/cambodia/cambodia.html">

Cambodia</a>, you probably already know that the most interesting

way to travel from <a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/cambodia/phnom-phen/phnom-phen.html">Phnom Phen</a> to

<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/cambodia/angkor/angkor.html">Angkor</a> is through the

<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/cambodia/tonle-sap-river/tonle-sap-river.html">Tonle Sap river</a>. One week is a good

time for that.

[atlatling]

Lynn, I have not been to Thiland since the Viet Nam war. I spent a couple of short periods there on R&R while stationed in Viet Nam. My best experience, and I had many as a photographer was a visit to the ancient capital of Ayuthaya. The overgrown Wats (temples) were wonderful subjects as were the colorful Buddist monks. I was driven by auto to this city from Bangkok in a tour. But, I was the only one on the tour so I had lots of attention. There are many photo opportunities in Bangkok as well. The most spectacular Wat might be the Temple of the Jade Buddha, but there are many in the city which will keep any photographer busy. Wonderful opportunities along the river of the boats and the river people. The people, when I was there, were happy, well fed, and easy to get along with. Hope you find them still that way. I don't think it was the contrast between Viet Nam and Thailand which made me see the people this way, They just were very pleasant. A tour of the Klongs might also offer you a nice side trip. The Klongs are the canals which are used for commerce and general transportation, garbage disposal, and swimming. Good luck on the trip. Enjoy it and shoot twice as many photos as you think you should.

[marco_hidalgo]

Lynn: Thailand is a great place for photos, I was there this

january and will go back next december, as there were so many

things I missed to photograph on my first trip. the weather in

winter is hot enough for me, so i won't try any other season, and

don't even dare to go during the monsoons, starting in june and

ending in september. The people is simply some of the best I

have met all over the world, and I really mean all over the world.

the food is excellent, transportation within thailand is easy and

very cheap. Lodging is cheap also and easy. ( just dont drink the

local beer, it is awful!)

Cambodia is another story, just be careful while travelling by

land as it may be dangerous. Robbers stop vehicles in the

middle of the jungle and take away from tourists their precious

cameras, these people can live up to a year by selling just one

stolen camera.

Be prepared for a very different culture, if you can cope with the

cultural shock, then your trip would be fantastic!

[timokl]

<p>Hi Lynn,

 

<p>first of all, you don't have to be nervous to go to Thailand. The people in this country are very friendly towards foreigners and the country itself is also amazing. As already said here in this forum, Thailand indeed has so many different faces and is a fascinating country for photographers. I live now since one and a half years in Thailand and still I feel there is so much left to see.

 

<p>One good advice is to get the lonely planet guide from a bookstore. Although some information in this book which deals with general things is not very precise or makes a Thai looking strangely :), this guide gives you a lot of information about places to stay and what to see.

 

<p>However, I suggest you to leave the beaten track and go to places which are (in the guide) said to be uninteresting. To take photos, this is not true, on the contrary, you can take the best photos in places where there are no tourists.

 

<p>The big disadvantage, however, is, the farer you get away from tourist places, the less you will meet people who can speak english.

 

<p>If you want to go to another place in Thailand than Bangkok, I could suggest you really lots of places. The deep south, e.g. is very different from Bangkok, as well as the North and the Northeast (where you won't find loads of western tourists) and they all are very distinct.

 

<p>If you've got any further questions about specific details, don't hesitate to mail me! You may find my e-Mail-adress on my homepage <a href="http://www.timokl.de/">http://www.timokl.de</a>

[ranong]

have a great time! you will love it. i spend 6 months a year in SE Asia....i leave again Oct 1st:::)))))

everything the other posters have stated is pretty right on (do not worry about robberies in cambodia, you will be fine)

as for getting the lonely planet guide....hhhhhmmmm?!?!?! just remember that is where all the falang (travelers) travel to. it is like they are a bunch of cattle following the "one" path. but it does give some good info about cities you will arrive in, just do not have it glued to your head.

i love bangkok. chaing mai is great. plenty of western amenities including a movie theater. do not miss out on the islands down south. surat thani, krabi, and a little secret ranong. ranong has a few very nice islands that are not as touristy as those on the east coast (koh pagham, koh chang (the big one...there are 3)) krabi has some of the best rock formations i have seen (great rockclimbing. nothing like climbing all day then untying and swimming in the ocean)

basically you will not go wrong. try to go to laos if possible it is fantastic there. i can survive there on 10-13 dollars a day including everything and BEER. most everyone else can do it very comfortably at 20 per day. laos and cambodia are both cheaper.

e mail me if you need any more info.

see you there?

eddie

[steve_singleton3]

A couple of quick points about Bangkok: The royal palace complex is fabulous and worth a visit if that were the only thing you see. Most of the klongs have been filled in for development; what remain are mostly for tourists and not necessarily worth your time. Finally, locating an English-speaking driver/guide, perhaps a college student like yourself, can pay huge dividends in getting you beyond the guidebook spots, translating, negotiating better-than-tourist-rates, and helping you connect with people. You might make contact through the internet before you arrive.

[neil_lupin]

you are very very veyry lucky indeed. Those are two wonderful countries and you have nothing to be nervous about at all. Too may places to list, but you've got posts about the essentials here - Angkor Wat in Cambodia will blow your mind! The Thai islands are beautiful but very busy so research carefully. Krachie in Cambodia is home to extremely rare Irrawady Dolphins too... enjoy. Email me offline if you've got specific questions - particularly Angkor which I know very well.

[steve_chan5]

I'm actually posting from Bangkok right now, and have just returned this morning from Siam Riep, where we burned through a lot of film, and several gigs worth of digital.

 

I read the Lonely Planet guide to Cambodia, and it is good, but a little outdated. It recommened the Rasmei Angkor Guesthouse, next to a bar called "Liquid" - apparently, Liquid went under about 2 years ago! :-) But most of the rest of the advice is sound.

 

While the Rasmei Angkor was clean, well priced and te service nice, it was a bit noisy. By about 6:30am the street noise always woke me up, and it is close to a red light district so it is noisy until at least midnight. However, it _is_ next to the river, and the balcony is great for hanging around and watching people. The family that runs it is very nice as well.

 

In retrospect, I think that I would have paid out a little more and stayed at the Red Piano. The food is tasty (though, to be honest, it tastes far more like Chinese food than Khmer food) the location is cleaner and it is more comfy.

 

At Angkor, make sure you check out Ta Prohm - it is the source of the cover photo on the lonely planet guide. The Siam Riep region is low on rainfall recently, so the waterfall recommended at Phnom Kulen is rather wimpy, and (imo) not worth the 30 minute hike. Stay for the sunset at Angkor Wat, and make sure you have color film with a wide lattitude (or else get good with the graduated ND filter) - it is quite beautiful.

 

 

In Thailand, in addition to what others have suggested, I'd say go check out the Simulan Islands. It is an archipelago that has beautiful coral formations - you can see a lot with just snorkelling equipment.

 

Steve

[andres_soler]

If you dive, the Similan islands are an absolute must! Together with Angkor they were the highlights of my trip last December/January. You can rent underwater cameras in Phuket, but they're fairly expensive.

 

I liked the architecture in Mae Hong Song, very different from central Thailand. And I also liked Bangkok very much, although the noise and heat can put you off fairly quickly, retreat to a Wat for some peace. Bangkok is a great place for street photography, of which I'm sorry I didn't do more.

 

There are stories of people grabing beltpacks from tourists in various different ways. I took a Lowe Pro Orion Mini with a steel cable through the back pad mesh and secured around my waist, but this might have been an un-necessary measure, since I didn't see any trouble anywhere.

 

Two final toughts, pack light, you can buy anything there, and take a tripod. Wats are great low light photography!