We went for a couple of hours to Cambodia today as we visited The Prasat Khao Preah Viharn. This Khmer temple is located in Cambodia but it is easier to visit it from Thailand. Visitors of the temple don't need a visa, they just need to pay two times the entrance fee, as both the Thais and the Cambodians make tourists pay for the visit. It is a bit complicated to reach the temple by public transport from Ubon but it is really worth it. The temple is quite impressive and moreover it is built in a stunning location.
The transport
It took us 4h15 to travel the 100km to the temple from Ubon. We first took a songthaew next to our hotel to get to the bus station (15min, Bh10 each), then we caught a bus to Kantaralak (2h45 as the bus stopped a lot, on the way back the trip was much quicker, only 2h - price Bh50 each). In Kantaralak our guide book advised to catch a songthaew to Phum Sarom from where we were supposed to be able to negotiate a moto-taxi for Bh100 to the site....this is what we did but it was not a very good plan. Getting a songthaew to Phum Sarom was easy (30min, Bh25 each) but in Phum Sarom there was nothing...well one guy wanted to take us to the site on his motorbike for Bh300 each...a rip off as the site is only 11km away from Phum Sarom. Another offered us a ride in his car for Bh200 each, another rip off,...we were stuck. Luckily a guy driving Thai tourists to the temple in his songthaew took us for Bh50 each...still a rip off! The way back was a bit easier but we also got ripped off. A guy took us directly to Kantaralak in his songthaew with other tourists for Bh100 each when we should have paid max Bh50 each. Well the ideal solution to go to this temple is to rent a car from Ubon but for only two people it is quite expensive. By public transport the best way is to travel by bus to Kantaralak and then negotiate a return ride to the temple for Bh100 per person in a songthaew.
The visit
A few kilometers before the temple, foreigners have to pay Bh200 per person to enter the Thai National Park. From the parking lot there is a 600m walk to reach the temple. On the way you have to stop at the "Thai border", a shelter on the side of the road. Our guide book was saying that the Thai custom officers will make a copy of our passport for a Bh5 fee and give us a ticket to show at the Cambodian border. In fact the officers did not ask for our passports, they just told us to pay Bh5 and gave us a ticket... they did not tell us what the ticket was for and we did not ask! A bit later we saw a soldier in a small shelter, probably the Cambodian border, but nobody asked us to show our passport or the Bh5 ticket! We then arrived in a market where people were selling souvenirs but also alcohol and cigarettes. Quickly we were asked to pay the Cambodian entrance fee to the temple, another Bh200 per person! The numerous boards advising to stay on the marked tracks as the area was not yet fully free of mines reminded us of this big problem not yet solved in Cambodia. It took us two good hours to visit the temple. The beginning of the visit is a bit tuff as you have to climb massive stairs and this is quite a challenge under the heat. Then following wide walkways you visit a succession of buildings. The last building of the temple is located at the edge of an impressive cliff from which you can enjoy breathtaking views. Somehow the landscapes reminded us Australia! The surrounding mountains looked like the Grampians and the Cambodian plain had some similarities with the bush around Alice Springs!
The transport
It took us 4h15 to travel the 100km to the temple from Ubon. We first took a songthaew next to our hotel to get to the bus station (15min, Bh10 each), then we caught a bus to Kantaralak (2h45 as the bus stopped a lot, on the way back the trip was much quicker, only 2h - price Bh50 each). In Kantaralak our guide book advised to catch a songthaew to Phum Sarom from where we were supposed to be able to negotiate a moto-taxi for Bh100 to the site....this is what we did but it was not a very good plan. Getting a songthaew to Phum Sarom was easy (30min, Bh25 each) but in Phum Sarom there was nothing...well one guy wanted to take us to the site on his motorbike for Bh300 each...a rip off as the site is only 11km away from Phum Sarom. Another offered us a ride in his car for Bh200 each, another rip off,...we were stuck. Luckily a guy driving Thai tourists to the temple in his songthaew took us for Bh50 each...still a rip off! The way back was a bit easier but we also got ripped off. A guy took us directly to Kantaralak in his songthaew with other tourists for Bh100 each when we should have paid max Bh50 each. Well the ideal solution to go to this temple is to rent a car from Ubon but for only two people it is quite expensive. By public transport the best way is to travel by bus to Kantaralak and then negotiate a return ride to the temple for Bh100 per person in a songthaew.
The visit
A few kilometers before the temple, foreigners have to pay Bh200 per person to enter the Thai National Park. From the parking lot there is a 600m walk to reach the temple. On the way you have to stop at the "Thai border", a shelter on the side of the road. Our guide book was saying that the Thai custom officers will make a copy of our passport for a Bh5 fee and give us a ticket to show at the Cambodian border. In fact the officers did not ask for our passports, they just told us to pay Bh5 and gave us a ticket... they did not tell us what the ticket was for and we did not ask! A bit later we saw a soldier in a small shelter, probably the Cambodian border, but nobody asked us to show our passport or the Bh5 ticket! We then arrived in a market where people were selling souvenirs but also alcohol and cigarettes. Quickly we were asked to pay the Cambodian entrance fee to the temple, another Bh200 per person! The numerous boards advising to stay on the marked tracks as the area was not yet fully free of mines reminded us of this big problem not yet solved in Cambodia. It took us two good hours to visit the temple. The beginning of the visit is a bit tuff as you have to climb massive stairs and this is quite a challenge under the heat. Then following wide walkways you visit a succession of buildings. The last building of the temple is located at the edge of an impressive cliff from which you can enjoy breathtaking views. Somehow the landscapes reminded us Australia! The surrounding mountains looked like the Grampians and the Cambodian plain had some similarities with the bush around Alice Springs!
