Backpacking from Phnom Penh to Mondulkiri on a Budget

If you are a backpacker passing through Cambodia and seeking a bit of adventure, don't settle for Phnom Penh...get off the beaten path and visit the remote province of MondulKiri! This Province of Cambodia is in the extreme east, bordering Vietnam. Even though this is the largest province in Cambodia, it is the most sparsely populated. It is growing in popularity with Eco-Tourists because of its lush forests and beautiful waterfalls.

Most of Mondulkiri's population is made up of Hill Tribes and minority groups, who live off the land. It is much higher in elevation, so it is a wonderful escape from the heat even in the middle of the hottest season. The lush, rolling hills dotted with pine trees and covered in a hazy mist in the evening make for some breathtaking scenery. Mondulkiri remains one of the untouched places in Cambodia, and has only a small handful of tourists each year. This is the place to go if you want to see some of the "real" Cambodia.

Some activities in Mondulkiri that should not be missed include:

A trek on the back of an elephant to one of the local waterfalls. This can be booked at any of the local guesthouses.

A day trip to visit the local plantations, such as coffee, pepper, and rubber trees and also to visit some of the hill tribes and see some trees that are hundreds of years old.

Either hike or take a bus tour to the local waterfalls, including Bou Sra, the largest of them all.

Getting to Sen Monorom (capital of Mondulkiri) from Phnom Penh can be a daunting task, and is not for the faint of heart. There aren't any busses that make the journey due to the terrible road conditions. Instead, you must book a bus to the town of Snoul, and then transfer to a taxi who will take you to Sen Monorom. One of the cheapest places to book your bus tickets from Phnom Penh to Sen Monorom is Hour Lian and is one of the most frequently used by backpackers. You can find the ticket counter on the right side of Monireth, a ways down from the Olympic Stadium if you are coming from Sihanouk Blvd. It is a tiny little run down building with a spray painted sign, and is easy to miss if you're not watching carefully. You should be able to book the tickets to Snoul for around $6 a person, unless it's during Khmer New Year (mid-April) in which case they will be around $15.

Once the bus drops you off in Snoul, you need to get to the place where the taxis are. Be sure to get there by around 1 or 2, at which time they stop coming for taxi pickup. Take a motodope to the pick up point. Just say "Knyome Chawng Mee-un Taxi Toe MondulKiri" (I want a taxi to Mondulkiri). They should have you there within a few minutes. You will see a bunch of fruit stands on one side, and a huge green sign that says "Mondulkiri" across the street. Just wait around by the fruit stands and a taxi will come eventually. Beware: this place is a hotspot for scammers and thieves. A popular trick they use on every foreigner is for the fruit lady to call up her husband/brother/uncle as soon as a foreigner arrives. He rushes to the place with his vehicle, possibly a truck piled high with cargo. He and his buddies will tell you that this is the very last taxi of the day going to Mondulkiri, and you are very lucky to get a place with him. The fruit lady will adamantly verify this. He will then offer you the discount fare of $50 or more per person. Of course you will decline this offer or try to bargain, but by this time other fruit ladies have called their own contacts and more start to show up. They will all stick to the $50 and up price, and be very pushy. At this point, it is in your best interest to just walk away. The best place to go is just across the street and stand under the big green Mondulkiri sign with your luggage. As soon as a legit taxi arrives, you will know it because he stands apart from the "vultures" and when you ask the price, it should only be $6-$8 per person if the taxi is full. Usually it is an old Toyota Camry. If it's not full, you will have to pay for the whole taxi, about $40 one way.

Be prepared for the wildest ride of your life once you are on the road...the way to Mondulkiri is one of the worst roads in Cambodia, although vast road work is being done and hopefully will make travel easier before too long. You will travel through lush jungle, so keep your camera ready in case you see any wildlife along the way.

Once arriving in Sen Monorom, you have a few choices as far as guesthouses go (some of which can be booked beforehand online). Some of the best ones are Arun Reas II, Nature Lodge, Long Vibol, and Mahogany Guest House.
Arun Reas II is on the right hand side soon after you enter Sen Monorom. Each room is a separate "cabin" and this place has a great restaurant. It is located on very beautiful grounds with a great view, and is only $20 a night for a large room with two double beds. Nature Lodge is a few Kilometers out of town, tucked away in some of the best scenery you can ask for. This is one of the quirkiest places and a great choice for "Eco Tourists." It also has the best western style food in town. Long Vibol has been a long time favorite with backpackers visiting the area, and Mahogany is said to have some of the best food. All of their prices are extremely reasonable.

As for dining, you can either eat at the guesthouse or go down to the "strip" (which isn't very long) for a small selection of restaurants, some of which are very good. This area is located at the huge lion statue downtown. You can ask your guesthouse to arrange a motodope for you, if you aren't in walking distance. Prices are a little bit higher than in Phnom Penh. For lunch, you can also go down to the local market place and eat where the locals do. You can find fried noodles and rice here, as well as boiled fertilized duck eggs, platters of fried insects, and many other local foods. Some of the specialties of Mondulkiri are avocado, honey, cashews, coffee, and rice wine.

Mondulkiri is truly one of the most beautiful places in Cambodia, and worth the difficult trip to get there. This is a place where you can have a true taste of adventure and see some of the "unspoiled" side of Cambodia that is as of yet uncorrupted by too much tourism and development. Choose Mondulkiri for your next backpacking adventure for the experience of a lifetime.


See pics of my trip to Mondulkiri (April 2009): http://cid-80dc2118167cdbf3.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Mondulkiri%20pics

Royal Palace Hotel is Reopening!

I have some great news! Royal Palace Hotel, which was shut down for weeks, just re-opened today. I've heard two different stories on the reasons for closing their doors...first story, it was related to a huge drug bust. Second version says that there were seven jewelry store thieves who had set up their main operation in a few of the rooms. Either way, the place was surrounded by over a hundred police and was immediately ordered to close its doors. Now, for those of you who've been living in Cambodia anytime at all, you know exactly how this translates: Innocent owners of hotel who had no idea what was going on behind closed doors in their establishment, are now being leeched for every cent they're worth by the Cambodian government and can't open for business until they pay X amount of dollars to corrupt officials. The drug lords/thieves who were the real criminals will be back on the streets in a few days after they've paid the judge a cut of the profits.

Royal Palace Hotel is one of the VERY few hotels on that side of town that is really cheap, really nice, and not full of prostitutes...not to mention the place I go swimming every night for only $25 a month. The Church/NGO I work with books our guests into this hotel all the time and when they closed their doors, we were all in a panic. Practically the only other nearby option that doesn't involve hourly rates and staff with sticky fingers, is the Intercontinental Hotel which is hundreds of dollars a night. Hardly doable for teams of 20 on a tight budget.

I've been getting a lot of emails from those of you who visit Cambodia frequently and like to use this hotel, wondering if this is true or just a terrible rumor...I am glad tell you that Royal Palace Hotel is now back in business. Yay!

Royal Palace Hotel: 93 Monireth Boulevard, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
023 884 823 royalpalace_hotel@yahoo.com

Hello from Cambodia! Tips and advice for travelling on a budget in Cambodia, written by a local expat.

Hello to all adventurers and backpackers interested in traveling through Cambodia! This blog is dedicated to the sole purpose of sharing tips, resources and experiences for those interested in passing on the "tourist scene" and getting a taste of the real Cambodia. Living as an expat in Phnom Penh, one soon realizes the value of shared experience and personal recommendations...after all, it can be hard to find the "street cart selling the best tasting fried crickets in all of Mondulkiri Province" on Google. The idea for this blog was born last April, when I was trying to plan a last minute backpacking trip from Phnom Penh to Mondulkiri on a whim and a very tight budget. I made tons of phone calls locally, but no one I knew had ever been there. So instead I spent hours and hours weeding through annoying travel agency tour ads on Google trying to get information and plan my adventure.
At other times, I have needed to book a guesthouse or hotel for a guest coming to town, and of course the ads aren't going to tell me that "exeptional value and friendly staff" actually translates as "hourly rates, lots of prostitutes." I thought to myself, how great it would be if someone living in Cambodia with first hand experience, would compile it all to share and make the world a better place! Well, the lightbulb came on and I thought that maybe if I get the ball rolling and share the bits and pieces I've got, others out there might be willing to contribute their own experiences as well.
I will post my own first hand accounts, links to my articles such as my favorite restaurants and other travel tips, and anything else that might be helpful to the cause. I also welcome anyone who has something to share that will help others discover the non-tourist side of Cambodia. Be sure to sign up to receive updates, as Cambodia is in constant development and information on things such as road conditions to certain remote areas might be outdated in a few months. Thanks for checking out my blog!