| | Overview (Source: Frommers) |
Cambodia is unpredictable -- very unpredictable -- but that's the allure for many travelers who come here. Traffic is chaos. Corruption is law. Poverty is endemic. The infant mortality rate is more than 10%. Less than half of Cambodians have access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Children suffer from malnutrition and inadequate immunizations against polio, measles, and diphtheria. The political situation is uncertain. And although the good news is that years of rampant violence and anarchy are over and a stable coalition government is now in power, strong destabilizing elements remain and a powerful criminal underworld still exists -- which means that things are never as they seem. The sign on the ride from the airport reads: "Abuse a child in this country, go to jail in yours," and speaks of multilateral participation with foreign governments to crack down on child abusers, but foreign "sexpats" and fugitives from the law still find Cambodia a nice, cozy place to crawl under the rug. Ownership is tenuous at best, and many foreign investors have their investments just evaporate. Illegal logging of old-growth teak is still common practice, despite the best efforts of regional and international bodies. In Cambodia you can pay to fire heavy weaponry that's left over from the recent past of violence. It's a place where sometimes you have to just keep dialing in the hopes of getting a phone connection that works -- and where everything is going to happen in "ju
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| How To Get There (Source: Frommers) | Top | International flights to Cambodia from neighboring countries are many and affordable. Cambodia's two main hubs, Siem Reap Airport and Phnom Penh's Pochentong Airport, are served by the following: Bangkok Airways from Thailand; Malaysia Airlines from Kuala Lumpur; Lao Airways from Vientiane; Vietnam Airways from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi; and Silk Air from Singapore and Shanghai Air, EVA, President, and China Southern connections between Phnom Penh and points in China. Note: There's a $25 international departure tax (£13) ($13/£7 for children under 12). By Boat Daily boat connections run between Chau Doc in Vietnam and the town of Neak Loeung, some 2 hours east of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. You can arrange the trip through any budget travel agent in Vietnam, and many include the onward boat connection to Phnom Penh as part of a multiday Mekong Delta trip. Note: Budget tour operators Sinh Café (tel. 08/369-420 in Ho Chi Minh City) and Capitol Tour (No. 14 Road 182, Phnom Penh; tel. 023/217-627 ) are now working together, so when you cross borders, the other company adopts you. It's an all-day journey in a diesel-belching tour boat, but views of life on the wide, lazy Mekong are worth it. Also note: A visa is available on arrival when entering Cambodia, but you have to have a prearranged visa for entry to Vietnam. On the luxury end coming from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh, contact the Victoria Chau Doc Hotel (tel. 076/865-010 ) for expe
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