Laos or Cambodia? Which would suit our Southeast Asia experience more? Less stress, etc.
Me and my girlfriend will be spending 20 days in Thailand. Weve got some middly country beach days planned, and also a week in Chiang Mai.
We are debating either the ruins of Angkor in Cambodia or instead of this, exploring the border towns between Thailand and Laos, Vientienne, etc.
I was originally very interested in checking out Angkor but ive heard so many horror stories of getting ripped off my taxi drivers, ripped off on visa prices at the border, and the extreme begging and poverty that it has almost outweighed the magnificence of Angkor itself.
Am I wrong? Is Siam Reap and Angkor worth trudging through the mud and chaos? Or is Laos our best bet for a good legitimate Southeast Asia experience. Any suggestions? Either trip we will be doing by land via train, bus, taxi, etc. no planes.
Were both 23 and full of life and adventure but the stories of border chaos in cambodia is moving our travel goals into Laos. Lemme know!! Thanks to all!
Reply to this Spend 3 full days in Angkor!!! It worths checking out. Then head to Laos Luangprabang will be your place
Reply to this Depends on your tolerance for ruins. Ankor is truly amazing. Some people remain amazed for a whole week, while others get bored of looking at abandoned palaces after a few hours. And of course everone wants to rip you off. It's a poor and corrupt country. But if you get ripped off and pay triple the price for a taxi, it only costs you $10, so getting ripped off doesn't have much impact on your budget.
The down side of Ankor is getting there on one of the world's worst roads. Well worth the trip though, if you don't mind a night of bumps.
As for Laos, I wasn't a big fan of border towns there. But you can do some pretty cool two or three day trips from them to more interesting places. I way prefer Laos to Cambodia, but that's just because I prefer living culture and scenery to inanimate bricks and killing fields.
Reply to this Please check the ruins of Angkor or you'll kick yourself silly for not visiting one of Asia the wonders of the world. I was there on Aug and i can see due to the demands of tourism...it will only be a couple of years before they start putting fences around the ruins. Enjoy it now...good luck.
Reply to this Thanks all for the replies, your messages here have convinced both of us that Angkor is a must see. Ill let you all know how it goes! Thanks so much for the responses!
Reply to this Hello Kyle,,,
Well as our friends meantioned here; you should see ANGKOR WAT !! You men dont miss it. I planned to be there for 3 nights but i ended up with 5 nightz. It's lovely tamples from the Khamer Empier. As an advice, try to pay more and fly to Siem Riep instead of taking the bus. Please Note that all the travel agencies in Khosan road offering differnet prices of bus tickets to Cambodia and at the end you will end up in the same bus with the others. I remmber i paid 350 TB for my trip, while i met other tourist who paid 50 - 90 TB.
Talking about Laos, I can say that it's the best place i have visited in South East Asia. You can head to South of Laos After/Before heading to Cambodia as it's near by.
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