We stayed at this hotel on 2-7.02. 2016. We arrived at the hotel after a holiday on the island of Koh Chang and a trip to Cambodia. We lived on the 4th floor, No. 417. It is in the corner, near the staff room, so it was relatively quiet in it, although we heard the neighbors from the room on the right very well - the soundproofing in the hotel is not very good.
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We stayed at this hotel on 2-7.02. 2016. We arrived at the hotel after a holiday on the island of Koh Chang and a trip to Cambodia. We lived on the 4th floor, No. 417. It is in the corner, near the staff room, so it was relatively quiet in it, although we heard the neighbors from the room on the right very well - the soundproofing in the hotel is not very good.
The hotel room is exactly the same as in the photos on his website. There is no balcony, there is a shower cabin, a mini fridge, two bedside tables, an electric kettle and a tea/coffee set. Sufficiently large bed. One chair and mini sofa.
The electronically controlled safe in which we kept our passports, built into the wardrobe. The closet is small but tall and we have all the things fit in it. Suitcases were stored under the bed. There was a 19” LCD TV with no Russian channels.
The air conditioner worked properly. The window in the room is deaf, so the living creatures did not annoy us. Every day two glass bottles of water.
For some unknown reason, the cards from the number were demagnetized 2 times.
There is a 7/11 shop and currency exchange near the hotel (take a photocopy of your passport so you don't lose your passport). At the exit from the hotel to Rama Street 4 (if you go in the opposite direction to the Lumpini metro station), there is an overhead pedestrian bridge, and around it there is a food market and a ready-made food market.
If you walk from the hotel along the street where the 7/11 store and currency exchange are located (parallel to Rama 4 street to the west), you can find many cafes and grocery stores with reasonable prices.
The hotel has a lot of tourists from tour operators Anex Tour and Pegas. The hotel information desk (opposite the reception) offers a tour with dinner at Baiyoke Sky for 990 baht / person, Coral Travel guide Zoya (we only talked to her by phone) - 96 dollars / person (2700 baht. ) Without a Russian-speaking guide.
Breakfast
Quite varied with several types of meat (sometimes not very peppery), scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, two types of sausages, potatoes, vegetables, etc. From fruits - watermelon, pineapple, dragon. Croissants, 2 types of bread, tea, coffee, milk, 3 types of drinks, one almost natural. It was nice that there were large cups for tea / coffee - you didn’t have to go for it twice.
Even at the hotel from 12 to 15 hours you can dine at the buffet at a reduced price of 200 baht / person. But we did not return to the hotel until 15:00 and never got to such a dinner.
Number extension
We had a departure at 1-45 on the night of 02/07/16 and a transfer from the hotel at 22-00. We decided to extend the number: from 12-00 to 18-00 it costs 700 baht; if before 22-00, then you have to pay as per day - 1648 baht (47 dollars).
Transport in Bangkok
A very good map of Bangkok can be picked up for free at one of the travel agencies at the exit of Bangkok Airport. The map shows not only the metro and Skytrain lines, but also the location of the river piers on the Chao Phaya River.
To select routes, we used the 10 Days in Bangkok guides available on the Internet (detailed route maps are attached to it) and the Bangkok Guide: 9 must-see places.
Bangkok is constantly in traffic jams, so traveling around it by taxi or tuk-tuk is long and expensive. So from Wat Pho (lying Buda) to the Silom metro station, we took a taxi for almost an hour (200 baht). In addition, local taxi drivers do not want to take the meter, which is available in almost all taxis - they say "I don't understand. " They set a fixed price, but you can bargain by knocking it down by about 1.5... 2 times.
In the subway (Skytrain) they let in and out on a token (card) with a paid fare to a certain station. Do not lose tokens and cards before exiting the metro (the machine will pick them up at the exit). It is unrealistically cold in metro trains - about 18 degrees. C. Therefore, when traveling on the Skytrain, we went out to the platform every 3 stations and warmed up until the next train arrived. Not everywhere at the stations at the place of landing in the metro and Skytrain there is a diagram of its lines, so you need to know the name of the final stop of the line in the direction of which your station is located. Subway cars always have a diagram of this line.
Excursions
The hotel was 8-10 min. walk from the underground metro "Lumpini" exit 1. Travel to the station located in the center near the station Hua Lampong costs 21 baht, then for 10-12 minutes. you can walk along Krung Kasem Street, along the canal, to the Marine Dept river pier. From there for 13 baht and 20 minutes. a large boat can take you to the Royal Palace. Entrance 500 baht, take an audio guide with a diagram of the palace for 200 baht, come to the opening - at 8-30, then just crowds of Chinese. The ticket price includes admission to the Pavilion of Regalia and Royal Robes. There, the emerald Buda can be seen better than in the neighboring temple and photographed. Wat Pho is also nearby - entrance fee is 100 baht, a free scheme and a 0.33 bottle of water, it takes 1.5... 2 hours to inspect.
For 25-30 min. you can take a boat from the Marine Dept to the Royal Barge Museum or Phra Sumen Fort which is next to the hippie street Kao San. Boats on the river are distinguished by the color of the flag at the stern. We traveled with an orange flag (stops at all berths).
Wat Saket Temple (Golden Mountain) can be reached from Hua Lampong Station in 45-50 minutes. along Charoeng Krung, Worachak Rd and Bumrung Muang streets. There is Makahan Fort nearby, the unusual Wat Ratchanadda (it was under reconstruction), the Democracy Monument, a giant swing and the hippie street Kao San. On the way to the Phra Arthit river pier, you can go to the coin museum (admission is free) and cool off under the air conditioner. Entrance to the neighboring National Art Gallery is free for Thais, 200 baht for foreigners.
Near the Makahan Fort (next to the temple of the Golden Mountain) there is a boat stop on the river channel through which you can get to the Jim Thompson House Museum (entrance 150 baht, tour in English, you need to walk around the house barefoot - take shoe covers). Nearby, on Rama Street 1 opposite the national stadium, there is a large Tesco / Lotus store. In the opposite direction - shopping centers MBK, Siam Paragon, etc. The listed shopping centers can be reached by Skytrain, Siam stop, or National Stadion.
The J. Thompson House Museum can also be reached by Skytrain (National Stadion stop, next to exit 1, and not a 10-minute walk as it says in the 10 Days in Bangkok guidebook).
Bangkok's largest Lumpini Park is 12 min. walk from the hotel: you need to walk to the Lumpini metro station and through its underpass exit to exit 2. The entrance to the park is across the road.
You can go up to the Baiyoke Sky observation deck for 400 baht (includes a cocktail or a drink at the bar). This is the stop of the Ratchaprarop land line to the airport (the journey to the airport is 35 baht, but the trains run rarely (10 min. ) And in the evening there are long queues to board the train.
On Saturday and Sunday there is a large clothing market Chatuchak. It is located near Mo Chit Skytrain Station and Chatuchak Park MRT Station. Travel from the station "Lumpini" by metro - 42 baht. Prices are several times lower than in shopping centers.
We made a walk from Wat Arun (entrance 50 baht) to the museum of royal barges (entrance 100 baht, photo - 100 baht). Wat Arun itself is now in the forests under reconstruction and it was not possible to climb it to explore the city. Walk to the museum of royal barges for about 50 minutes. Bus stops often come across along the way, so you can either relax and look around at them, or drive up. In front of the canal bridge, not far from the museum, there is a pretty Hindu temple. The museum is located behind the bridge over the canal on the right. Having descended from the bridge, we will see the Royal Barges Section on the left - a parking and repair place for barges of different types and eras. The entrance is free.
If you go to the right of the bridge to the north, then at 100 meters you will find a pointer and even a description of the museum (they are better visible if you go in the opposite direction, i. e. south towards the bridge). Go to the museum from the signpost through the slums along a narrow and winding path, where motorcycles are worn, about 4 minutes. In the museum you can watch a film about the construction of barges and the training of rowers. From the barge museum, on the recommendation of the guide "10 days in Bangkok", we went to see the Thonburi railway station "built in colonial style". It turned out to be an ordinary shed, like at a train stop. Near this station there is a fairly large market, but during the day it is half asleep.
To get to the Thonburi Railways pier (to swim back to the Marine Dept pier) you have to pass through the hospital grounds.
It was also interesting to walk along the streets of Chinatown (Wanit rd. , etc. ) to the Grand China Hotel and Rommanianart Park. From all sides, workshops, car services, metal warehouses, bustle and schools outwardly resembling a Chinese temple. And all this is very close to the city center.
I note that the Royal Palace, the temple of the emerald Buda and the temple of the recumbent Buda are very beautiful. Therefore, it is advisable to leave them for a “snack” and be the first to see other temples: the Golden Mountain, Arun, Ratchanadda, etc.
Trip to Cambodia
In Cambodia, in the city of Siem Reap, you have to go through the border town of Poi Pet, and it is located approximately at the same distance from Bangkok, Pattaya and Koh Chang. Therefore, travel agencies offer tours from them at the same price.
On Kai Bay Beach Koh Chang in different travel agencies tour 3 days / 2 n (it makes no sense to go on a 2 day / 1n tour - you won’t see anything) with accommodation in a 4 * hotel for 9.2 thousand baht / person, + services of a Russian-speaking guide - 1000 baht / people In addition, you have to pay for a re-entry permit Thai visa 1200 baht / person. Hotel guide Maxim Coral travel offered the same trip for 12.7 thousand baht + re-entry permit.
The problem is that it takes about 9 hours to get to Siem Reap and all other travel agencies leave after breakfast at the hotel at 7-30, and Coral travel at 5-15, i. e. on the first ferry at 6-00 from Koh Chang and gets to the hotel in Siem Reap around 15-00. Those. Coral travel has an evening program on day 1 of the tour. In addition, Coral travel, unlike the vaunted company Satang, provides full board during the trip (6 meals a day) and VIP border crossing.
We went with Coral travel. I was surprised by the large number (more than 8) of checkpoints at the entrance to the Cambodian-Thai border. At the border in Poi Pet we were met by a man who took us to get a re-entry permit (we paid 1200 baht/person), transferred us across the Cambodian border (Cambodian visa - $30/person, which he paid himself). As a result, we crossed the border in 15 minutes. to 12-00. He brought us to the bus where there was a very good guide Nelly, who spoke Russian well and told a lot about Cambodia.
We were at the Princess Anhor Hotel at 14-45. We were given room 418 with windows to the south and to a very busy street number 6 - the room was unrealistically noisy. It turned out that in this hotel almost all the rooms face street number 6. Only numbers X02, X04, X06, X08, X10, X12, X14 and X16 go to the opposite side. But in room 412 there was an occasional jackhammer noise, and in the end we stayed in corner room 302. The first night it was quiet there, the second the air conditioner rumbled like a jackhammer in the next room. The sheet was 60 cm shorter than the mattress. In addition, the Princess Anhor hotel turned out to be vegetarian and there were mosquitoes in the restaurant and at the reception. The sconce in the room was turned off only by unscrewing the light bulb. There was no hot water, the drain in the sink was clogged. Never stay at this hotel.
Further, on the first day, everything was according to the program: the royal square, the Genocide Museum, the National Cultural Park, the Apsara show with dinner. At 18-30 we came for dinner, and it turned out that there was no table closer than the 12th row from the stage (the guide did not book a seat in advance) and we saw the Apsara show from afar. Show from 19-00 and lasted 45 minutes. Then the driver took us to Pab street where we wandered among the crowds of tourists and bought local goods.
The peculiarity of Cambodia is that US dollars are freely circulating in it as the main currency and cheap, locally produced, coffee and alcohol. So take a lot of small dollar bills with you. Prices: 0.5 kg of coffee - $ 2; cane sugar in a beautiful package in 3 bags (0.2 kg) - $ 2.9; local rum (0.7l, 35°) – $2.5; local whiskey "Gold label 41" (0.7l, 41°) - $4
Cambodia has no tax zone and is littered with cheap "French" and "English" spirits. I did not dare to buy.
On the second day at 5-30 we left the hotel and at 6-00 we met the sunrise over Angkor Wat (entrance $ 20 per person, they give out a card with a photo, the guide paid). The sun rose into the clouds. Our guide was Lin Keo - a very good guide, who knows Russian well.
The entrance to the 3rd tier of the temple is only from 7-45, so we are about 20 minutes. stood in line and during this time ate food from the lunch boxes received at the hotel.
At 9-00 we were already in front of the entrance to the Bayon Temple. We examined the terraces of elephants and the leper king. At 10-30 we were at the Ta keo temple (with very steep steps) and we didn’t go further than its 3 levels. It is very hot in Siem Reap after 9-00, so take plenty of water with you and be prepared for sweat to get wet through your clothes.
At 11-00 we were in the temple of Ta Prohm (there they filmed the film "Lara Croft... " with A. Jolie). He wins in that the bas-reliefs are better preserved in him and he is in the shade of tall trees.
At 12-20 we were brought for lunch (buffet, several cuisine options). In Cambodia, a siesta is accepted, which we had until 15-30, when we went to watch the floating village and the sunset on Tonle Sap lake.
On the way, on his own initiative, Lin made a stop at a lotus plantation and near a rice field. It was interesting - thanks to him for that.
To the floating village and the 2-storey floating restaurant, the three of us sailed on a fairly large boat for about 30 minutes. after sunset, we were taken to the hotel, where there was dinner with the waiters according to the menu (5 dishes) pre-ordered by the guide.
I note that the service in Cambodia was at a high level - all our requests were immediately fulfilled. If you have any questions, write to: sk_lora@ukr. net I will answer.
On the third day, we left the hotel at 9-30. I had to catch the last ferry to Koh Chang. If you are coming from Bangkok or Pattaya, there is no such problem and on the third day there will be an excursion program, for example, a visit to the day market, etc. This time the border was passed much longer - at first they stood on Cambodian for about 20 minutes, then on Thai for 50 minutes. The attendant was the same. He checked that we filled out the Thai entry cards correctly, but did not speed up the border crossing. We dined that day at our own expense. There are 216 km from the border to the ferry and we drove them in 3 hours 10 minutes. to 16-45. We were lucky, in half an hour our Toyota was the last to board the ferry and at 18-30 we were at the hotel on Koh Chang.
Pros: cozy clean hotel, good breakfasts, close to metro.
Disadvantages: poor soundproofing, no place to dry things in the room, dark due to the low location of light bulbs and dense lampshades on them.
The hotel room is exactly the same as in the photos on his website. There is no balcony, there is a shower cabin, a mini fridge, two bedside tables, an electric kettle and a tea/coffee set. Sufficiently large bed. One chair and mini sofa.
The electronically controlled safe in which we kept our passports, built into the wardrobe. The closet is small but tall and we have all the things fit in it. Suitcases were stored under the bed. There was a 19” LCD TV with no Russian channels.
The air conditioner worked properly. The window in the room is deaf, so the living creatures did not annoy us. Every day two glass bottles of water.
For some unknown reason, the cards from the number were demagnetized 2 times.
There is a 7/11 shop and currency exchange near the hotel (take a photocopy of your passport so you don't lose your passport). At the exit from the hotel to Rama Street 4 (if you go in the opposite direction to the Lumpini metro station), there is an overhead pedestrian bridge, and around it there is a food market and a ready-made food market.
If you walk from the hotel along the street where the 7/11 store and currency exchange are located (parallel to Rama 4 street to the west), you can find many cafes and grocery stores with reasonable prices.
The hotel has a lot of tourists from tour operators Anex Tour and Pegas. The hotel information desk (opposite the reception) offers a tour with dinner at Baiyoke Sky for 990 baht / person, Coral Travel guide Zoya (we only talked to her by phone) - 96 dollars / person (2700 baht. ) Without a Russian-speaking guide.
Breakfast
Quite varied with several types of meat (sometimes not very peppery), scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, two types of sausages, potatoes, vegetables, etc. From fruits - watermelon, pineapple, dragon. Croissants, 2 types of bread, tea, coffee, milk, 3 types of drinks, one almost natural. It was nice that there were large cups for tea / coffee - you didn’t have to go for it twice.
Even at the hotel from 12 to 15 hours you can dine at the buffet at a reduced price of 200 baht / person. But we did not return to the hotel until 15:00 and never got to such a dinner.
Number extension
We had a departure at 1-45 on the night of 02/07/16 and a transfer from the hotel at 22-00. We decided to extend the number: from 12-00 to 18-00 it costs 700 baht; if before 22-00, then you have to pay as per day - 1648 baht (47 dollars).
Transport in Bangkok
A very good map of Bangkok can be picked up for free at one of the travel agencies at the exit of Bangkok Airport. The map shows not only the metro and Skytrain lines, but also the location of the river piers on the Chao Phaya River.
To select routes, we used the 10 Days in Bangkok guides available on the Internet (detailed route maps are attached to it) and the Bangkok Guide: 9 must-see places.
Bangkok is constantly in traffic jams, so traveling around it by taxi or tuk-tuk is long and expensive. So from Wat Pho (lying Buda) to the Silom metro station, we took a taxi for almost an hour (200 baht). In addition, local taxi drivers do not want to take the meter, which is available in almost all taxis - they say "I don't understand. " They set a fixed price, but you can bargain by knocking it down by about 1.5... 2 times.
In the subway (Skytrain) they let in and out on a token (card) with a paid fare to a certain station. Do not lose tokens and cards before exiting the metro (the machine will pick them up at the exit). It is unrealistically cold in metro trains - about 18 degrees. C. Therefore, when traveling on the Skytrain, we went out to the platform every 3 stations and warmed up until the next train arrived. Not everywhere at the stations at the place of landing in the metro and Skytrain there is a diagram of its lines, so you need to know the name of the final stop of the line in the direction of which your station is located. Subway cars always have a diagram of this line.
Excursions
The hotel was 8-10 min. walk from the underground metro "Lumpini" exit 1. Travel to the station located in the center near the station Hua Lampong costs 21 baht, then for 10-12 minutes. you can walk along Krung Kasem Street, along the canal, to the Marine Dept river pier. From there for 13 baht and 20 minutes. a large boat can take you to the Royal Palace. Entrance 500 baht, take an audio guide with a diagram of the palace for 200 baht, come to the opening - at 8-30, then just crowds of Chinese. The ticket price includes admission to the Pavilion of Regalia and Royal Robes. There, the emerald Buda can be seen better than in the neighboring temple and photographed. Wat Pho is also nearby - entrance fee is 100 baht, a free scheme and a 0.33 bottle of water, it takes 1.5... 2 hours to inspect.
For 25-30 min. you can take a boat from the Marine Dept to the Royal Barge Museum or Phra Sumen Fort which is next to the hippie street Kao San. Boats on the river are distinguished by the color of the flag at the stern. We traveled with an orange flag (stops at all berths).
Wat Saket Temple (Golden Mountain) can be reached from Hua Lampong Station in 45-50 minutes. along Charoeng Krung, Worachak Rd and Bumrung Muang streets. There is Makahan Fort nearby, the unusual Wat Ratchanadda (it was under reconstruction), the Democracy Monument, a giant swing and the hippie street Kao San. On the way to the Phra Arthit river pier, you can go to the coin museum (admission is free) and cool off under the air conditioner. Entrance to the neighboring National Art Gallery is free for Thais, 200 baht for foreigners.
Near the Makahan Fort (next to the temple of the Golden Mountain) there is a boat stop on the river channel through which you can get to the Jim Thompson House Museum (entrance 150 baht, tour in English, you need to walk around the house barefoot - take shoe covers). Nearby, on Rama Street 1 opposite the national stadium, there is a large Tesco / Lotus store. In the opposite direction - shopping centers MBK, Siam Paragon, etc. The listed shopping centers can be reached by Skytrain, Siam stop, or National Stadion.
The J. Thompson House Museum can also be reached by Skytrain (National Stadion stop, next to exit 1, and not a 10-minute walk as it says in the 10 Days in Bangkok guidebook).
Bangkok's largest Lumpini Park is 12 min. walk from the hotel: you need to walk to the Lumpini metro station and through its underpass exit to exit 2. The entrance to the park is across the road.
You can go up to the Baiyoke Sky observation deck for 400 baht (includes a cocktail or a drink at the bar). This is the stop of the Ratchaprarop land line to the airport (the journey to the airport is 35 baht, but the trains run rarely (10 min. ) And in the evening there are long queues to board the train.
On Saturday and Sunday there is a large clothing market Chatuchak. It is located near Mo Chit Skytrain Station and Chatuchak Park MRT Station. Travel from the station "Lumpini" by metro - 42 baht. Prices are several times lower than in shopping centers.
We made a walk from Wat Arun (entrance 50 baht) to the museum of royal barges (entrance 100 baht, photo - 100 baht). Wat Arun itself is now in the forests under reconstruction and it was not possible to climb it to explore the city. Walk to the museum of royal barges for about 50 minutes. Bus stops often come across along the way, so you can either relax and look around at them, or drive up. In front of the canal bridge, not far from the museum, there is a pretty Hindu temple. The museum is located behind the bridge over the canal on the right. Having descended from the bridge, we will see the Royal Barges Section on the left - a parking and repair place for barges of different types and eras. The entrance is free.
If you go to the right of the bridge to the north, then at 100 meters you will find a pointer and even a description of the museum (they are better visible if you go in the opposite direction, i. e. south towards the bridge). Go to the museum from the signpost through the slums along a narrow and winding path, where motorcycles are worn, about 4 minutes. In the museum you can watch a film about the construction of barges and the training of rowers. From the barge museum, on the recommendation of the guide "10 days in Bangkok", we went to see the Thonburi railway station "built in colonial style". It turned out to be an ordinary shed, like at a train stop. Near this station there is a fairly large market, but during the day it is half asleep.
To get to the Thonburi Railways pier (to swim back to the Marine Dept pier) you have to pass through the hospital grounds.
It was also interesting to walk along the streets of Chinatown (Wanit rd. , etc. ) to the Grand China Hotel and Rommanianart Park. From all sides, workshops, car services, metal warehouses, bustle and schools outwardly resembling a Chinese temple. And all this is very close to the city center.
I note that the Royal Palace, the temple of the emerald Buda and the temple of the recumbent Buda are very beautiful. Therefore, it is advisable to leave them for a “snack” and be the first to see other temples: the Golden Mountain, Arun, Ratchanadda, etc.
Trip to Cambodia
In Cambodia, in the city of Siem Reap, you have to go through the border town of Poi Pet, and it is located approximately at the same distance from Bangkok, Pattaya and Koh Chang. Therefore, travel agencies offer tours from them at the same price.
On Kai Bay Beach Koh Chang in different travel agencies tour 3 days / 2 n (it makes no sense to go on a 2 day / 1n tour - you won’t see anything) with accommodation in a 4 * hotel for 9.2 thousand baht / person, + services of a Russian-speaking guide - 1000 baht / people In addition, you have to pay for a re-entry permit Thai visa 1200 baht / person. Hotel guide Maxim Coral travel offered the same trip for 12.7 thousand baht + re-entry permit.
The problem is that it takes about 9 hours to get to Siem Reap and all other travel agencies leave after breakfast at the hotel at 7-30, and Coral travel at 5-15, i. e. on the first ferry at 6-00 from Koh Chang and gets to the hotel in Siem Reap around 15-00. Those. Coral travel has an evening program on day 1 of the tour. In addition, Coral travel, unlike the vaunted company Satang, provides full board during the trip (6 meals a day) and VIP border crossing.
We went with Coral travel. I was surprised by the large number (more than 8) of checkpoints at the entrance to the Cambodian-Thai border. At the border in Poi Pet we were met by a man who took us to get a re-entry permit (we paid 1200 baht/person), transferred us across the Cambodian border (Cambodian visa - $30/person, which he paid himself). As a result, we crossed the border in 15 minutes. to 12-00. He brought us to the bus where there was a very good guide Nelly, who spoke Russian well and told a lot about Cambodia.
We were at the Princess Anhor Hotel at 14-45. We were given room 418 with windows to the south and to a very busy street number 6 - the room was unrealistically noisy. It turned out that in this hotel almost all the rooms face street number 6. Only numbers X02, X04, X06, X08, X10, X12, X14 and X16 go to the opposite side. But in room 412 there was an occasional jackhammer noise, and in the end we stayed in corner room 302. The first night it was quiet there, the second the air conditioner rumbled like a jackhammer in the next room. The sheet was 60 cm shorter than the mattress. In addition, the Princess Anhor hotel turned out to be vegetarian and there were mosquitoes in the restaurant and at the reception. The sconce in the room was turned off only by unscrewing the light bulb. There was no hot water, the drain in the sink was clogged. Never stay at this hotel.
Further, on the first day, everything was according to the program: the royal square, the Genocide Museum, the National Cultural Park, the Apsara show with dinner. At 18-30 we came for dinner, and it turned out that there was no table closer than the 12th row from the stage (the guide did not book a seat in advance) and we saw the Apsara show from afar. Show from 19-00 and lasted 45 minutes. Then the driver took us to Pab street where we wandered among the crowds of tourists and bought local goods.
The peculiarity of Cambodia is that US dollars are freely circulating in it as the main currency and cheap, locally produced, coffee and alcohol. So take a lot of small dollar bills with you. Prices: 0.5 kg of coffee - $ 2; cane sugar in a beautiful package in 3 bags (0.2 kg) - $ 2.9; local rum (0.7l, 35°) – $2.5; local whiskey "Gold label 41" (0.7l, 41°) - $4
Cambodia has no tax zone and is littered with cheap "French" and "English" spirits. I did not dare to buy.
On the second day at 5-30 we left the hotel and at 6-00 we met the sunrise over Angkor Wat (entrance $ 20 per person, they give out a card with a photo, the guide paid). The sun rose into the clouds. Our guide was Lin Keo - a very good guide, who knows Russian well.
The entrance to the 3rd tier of the temple is only from 7-45, so we are about 20 minutes. stood in line and during this time ate food from the lunch boxes received at the hotel.
At 9-00 we were already in front of the entrance to the Bayon Temple. We examined the terraces of elephants and the leper king. At 10-30 we were at the Ta keo temple (with very steep steps) and we didn’t go further than its 3 levels. It is very hot in Siem Reap after 9-00, so take plenty of water with you and be prepared for sweat to get wet through your clothes.
At 11-00 we were in the temple of Ta Prohm (there they filmed the film "Lara Croft... " with A. Jolie). He wins in that the bas-reliefs are better preserved in him and he is in the shade of tall trees.
At 12-20 we were brought for lunch (buffet, several cuisine options). In Cambodia, a siesta is accepted, which we had until 15-30, when we went to watch the floating village and the sunset on Tonle Sap lake.
On the way, on his own initiative, Lin made a stop at a lotus plantation and near a rice field. It was interesting - thanks to him for that.
To the floating village and the 2-storey floating restaurant, the three of us sailed on a fairly large boat for about 30 minutes. after sunset, we were taken to the hotel, where there was dinner with the waiters according to the menu (5 dishes) pre-ordered by the guide.
I note that the service in Cambodia was at a high level - all our requests were immediately fulfilled. If you have any questions, write to: sk_lora@ukr. net I will answer.
On the third day, we left the hotel at 9-30. I had to catch the last ferry to Koh Chang. If you are coming from Bangkok or Pattaya, there is no such problem and on the third day there will be an excursion program, for example, a visit to the day market, etc. This time the border was passed much longer - at first they stood on Cambodian for about 20 minutes, then on Thai for 50 minutes. The attendant was the same. He checked that we filled out the Thai entry cards correctly, but did not speed up the border crossing. We dined that day at our own expense. There are 216 km from the border to the ferry and we drove them in 3 hours 10 minutes. to 16-45. We were lucky, in half an hour our Toyota was the last to board the ferry and at 18-30 we were at the hotel on Koh Chang.
Pros: cozy clean hotel, good breakfasts, close to metro.
Disadvantages: poor soundproofing, no place to dry things in the room, dark due to the low location of light bulbs and dense lampshades on them.
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