People from ASEAN countries, Korea, Japan & Scandinavia do not need a visa to visit Vietnam. All other nationalities need to obtain a visa prior to entering the country.
I got my Vietnamese visa from Lucky! Lucky! on Monivong Blvd in Phnom Penh. 1 day service costs 35 USD. Regular service (3 days) is a few dollars cheaper.
Getting There & Away
Bus from Phnom Penh
Sorya Transport Company (3 daily departures) and G.S.T. Express bus (1 daily trip) charge 10 USD and leave from the New Market in Phnom Penh. More upscale options are the Mekong Express Limousine Bus and Saraco Tourist (12 USD). All buses arrive in the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area in Ho Chi Minh City.
I prefer to keep my plans flexible and bought my bus ticket on the day. Staying near the market, I walked to the Sorya office and bought a ticket for the 11.45 bus a couple of hours beforehand. If you turn up near the departure time, you may find the bus is fully booked!
The bus left around noon. After the ferry crossing at Neak Loung, the bus stopped for lunch in Svay Rieng. At the Bavet/Moc Bai border crossing, the passports are handled collectively. Your luggage is X-rayed on the Vietnamese side. The roads are much broader and better in Vietnam, with separate lanes for motorcycles and cars.
The journey takes about 6 hours. Bus to Phnom Penh
The aforementioned bus companies all have offices in the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area, where all buses depart from.
Heading out around 8 AM, and doing a tour of the bus companies, the earliest departure with available seats was 1 PM. The 11.30 departure (Sapaco) was fully booked. The girl at the Mekong office was too busy!
I took the Sorya bus again, as it would drop me off right where I wanted to be. On the bus, they charge 25 USD for the Cambodian visa on arrival. You can save 5 USD by handling the paperwork yourself, as I did.
Accommodation
Minh Vy Hotel
Website
- http://www.minhvyhotel.com
- Only in Vietnamese.
- The English button doesn’t work!
Address
- Le Hong Gam 75
- P. Nguyen Thai Binh
- District 1
The regular rooms are large, but windowless and cost 30 USD. City view rooms are equipped with a safe and cost 5 USD more. All rooms feature A/C, hot water (slow!), TV and minibar. The hotel keeps your passport during your entire stay, as all Vietnamese hotels do.
Hotel reception will propose to send girls to your room. The pimps outside will offer to call for girls. Mainly used as a ST hotel, motorcycle girls are constantly coming and going – ideal for pick-ups! Being just a short walk away from the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area, the hotel location is pretty good.
A huge construction site across the street makes the hotel extremely noisy. Unless you want a wake-up call of pneumatic drills, don’t opt for a room with a city view! Actually, they may have finished laying the foundations by now. But judging from the picture on the billboard, the construction of this multistory building may take ages...
Girl Friendly Hotels in Pham Ngu Lao Area
Both hotels adjacent to the Minh Vy Hotel are also girl friendly:
- Hong Minh Hotel
- Thanthao Hotel
Another cluster of girl friendly hotels can be found on the corner of Bui Vien & Tran Hung Dao:
- Hoang Nhat Hotel
- Hong Kong Hotel
Girl Friendly Hotels in Hai Ba Trung Area
I didn’t check them out, but the girls told me there were plenty of girl friendly hotels near the Hai Ba Trung bars. Judging from the name, I guess the 69 Hotel would be girl friendly.
Then again, it’s just the house number. Food
For Western food at economical prices, De Tham St. in the backpacker area is the place to go. My personal favorite is Sa Sa Cafe.
Transportation
I walked everywhere and only took a taxi when I barfined a Hai Ba Trung bargirl. The taxi fare from Hai Ba Trung to Pham Ngu Lao should be around 15.000 VND. Beware of rigged meters, especially around the backpacker area. The short ride from De Tham to the Minh Vy hotel cost me 4 USD!
Motorcycle taxis (moto om) are a cheaper alternative. I used them all the time when I went sightseeing in 1999, but never took one this year. I ticked off every single tourist attraction mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide on my previous visit. I had no interest in sightseeing this time around.
SIM Card
I didn’t need a SIM card while in Vietnam, so I never bought one. But I did take note of signs displaying the prices:
- 75.000 VND for Mobi
- 95.000 VND for Vina
ATM Machines
The backpacker area is littered with ATM machines. Withdrawals from international cards incur a fee of 20.000 VND.
Loso