Anyone done this route? I'm particularly concerned about accommodation after Moung Ruessei, as I don't particularly want to do more than about 50km per day and it looks like I might have to do a leg > 100km. Appreciate I can head to the main road and get a bus, but would rather avoid this.
Given the lack of hotels, are there any homestays on this route, particularly in the floating villages? I haven't found many on google.
Hi Avole, I entered Cambodia from O Smach border crossing from Thailand, so I wasn't on your route south of Siem Reap. My route was O Smach - Samraong - Kralanh - Siem Reap and on to Phnom Penh before heading to the Vietnam border and Ho Chi Minh City.
You are right about lack of places to stay out in the wide open spaces. I rode 35 km's to the Thai border at O Smach early in the morning, thinking I could get digs just on the other side of the border. Not so, there were a couple of hotels but they wouldn't let my bike inside and wanted me to just leave it on the front. Nope.
So I rode on to the only other place I could see digs on Google Maps. By the time I found some crappy digs I was 90 km's in and knackered in the heat and humidity. But, the map only showed a couple of guesthouses but on a walkabout around the dingy town, I found a fair few more.
Doing a search it seems doesn't result in all hotels and guesthouses. That said, it was another 80 km's the next day before I found another one. They are hidden away and look like shops with a canopy on the front and a couple of floors above, so the best thing to do is ask someone if there is a place to stay in any small village or town you come across, you might be surprised.
Take bug spray with you though. Most of these places are pretty crummy but at least A/C and shower in the room. I spray my rooms after a shower and doing my washing that I hang on the A/C or fan, then take a walk for food for an hour then go back in and clear up the roaches and critters. The bug spray doesn't seem to harm the geckos though which is cool, although they do make a racket in the night, like chirping chicks.
I've had to leave my bike and gear in Ho Chi Minh while I do a short return to the UK for medical reasons, but I will be back in a few weeks time, probably mid October. From there I will be cycling down to the Mekong Delta then back into Cambodia along the coastline and into Thailand that way.
I did wonder about heading up to Battambang for a Thai visa, but I'm told I would only get the same visa there as I would on the coastal border, a one month visa. I would have to go back to Phnom Penh to get a longer visa and although I though it was OK there for a few days, I don't really want to cycle all the way back.
After Moung Ruessei on your route to Phnom Penh, it's 58 km's to Phsa Chas with a number of places to stay.
From Phsa Chas it's going to be a short one or 100 km's otherwise, so go to Paris Hotel in Krakor at 33 km's from Phsa Chas.
From Krakor it's 64 km's to Krong Kampong where it looks like you might be spoiled for choice of places to stay.
From there it is 52 km's to Oudongk and Udong Me Chhey Guest House and maybe more.
Then you only have 46 km's to Phnom Penh, Hurrah!
Don't forget, when you find one guesthouse or hotel there are usually others, so ask in case you can't recognise one.
All the best. Steve
https://www.stephenpeel.co.uk/
Oh, in late October and onward it will be easier to camp if you want to, as hopefully the rains and humidity I battled with will be much less.
I will then have 2 weeks left on a one month visa to reach the coastal Cambodia border, so I will take it slow and enjoy the ride. Once I cross the border I might stay in Kampot for a few days or so, depending on the visa I'm given on the Cambodia border.
