Boat Ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap -May 13th, 2008
Traveling Overseas
How-to and Where-to Travel Around the World
This is an older story – but one of our favorites from a trip to Cambodia back before it was a “mainstream” travel destination. We have heard that the boats running from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap are not as regular anymore and sometimes stop completely. But if you are ever in Cambodia when they are running, RUN to the docks and buy a ticket.
Fast, Soviet/French (same difference) style Hydrofoils make the journey from Phnom Penh across the Tonle Sap Lake. Asking price for a “foreigner” ticket is typically $20-$25, $15 is a good price to pay.
Your hotel can make the boat trip arrangements for you (and pick up/deliver the ticket for you). You will get on a brand new squeaky clean boat for the first 20 minutes, after that you will be transferred to a much older and dirtier boat (the clean ones are a trick….lol).
This can be a fantastic trip that will give you the opportunity to view life on the lake, floating houses, fishermen going about their work, and to get a sun tan if you choose to sit on the roof of the boat. However if you travel on a very sunny day and you have not kept your sunscreen out of you luggage you could be in trouble (think lobster). The boat is generally packed with travelers, those on the roof will have to stay up there (the best place to sit), and once your bags are in the hold, they stay there (period). Be prepared for the trip and you will love every minute.
The boat will drop you off on a dock offshore and you will have to take a little boat to shore (because of the shallow water) and don’t forget your bag!
This is the part that freaks out most people, when you start pulling up to the dock you will see 20 or 30 people yelling and screaming for you to “come with them” and “I’ll carry your bag mister”. They will try and grab your bag off your back and will grab and yank you to come with them or to carry your bag for you.
These guys are the notorious Siem Reap “Water Touts”, they are employed by local hotels to bring tourists to their hotels (kicking and screaming if necessary), they will hound and harass you all the way to the shore. When you make it to the shore even more touts will completely surround you and grab on to your bags and shirt begging you to go to their hotel or take there taxi (one almost pulled me over).
A couple of notes about the “Water Touts”:
1. -When people start pulling on you really hard and yanking your bags and shirt DON’T freak out and deck someone, try and be cool, it will be over as soon as you pick one of them to give you a ride.
2. -if someone carries away your bag don’t freak out, they are just trying to get you to go to their hotel. They are not stealing your bag.
3. -When you pick a driver he will insist on carrying your bag, don’t argue, just let him. And make sure that he gives it to you at the car (not put in the trunk).
4. -AGAIN, be cool, you now know that this is going to happen now so it won’t be a big surprise. It will be a funny bar story to tell your buddy’s back home later
Unfortunately you can’t run away or tell them to piss off because you are still about 30 minutes from town in a small village in the middle of nowhere so you will have to get a ride in to town from somebody. So you will have to choose one to drive you into town and to your hotel.
Don’t wait to long to choose one because once they all leave..well, that’s it until the next boat comes in (the next day!)
Tell them you will only go with someone that has a CAR, do not take a motorcycle in (your ass will hurt for a week). About 10 people will start yelling that they have “the best car”, it doesn’t matter, just choose one, try to get a van if you can, ask how much to take you to your hotel and pay him when you get there. On the ride in he will probably try and convince you to go to a different hotel, just say no, be polite and enjoy the ride in.
You should hook up with some other people on the boat ride in and arrange to take the same car into town together. That way you all can keep each other cool when the “Water Touts” attack.
~Staff Article
