BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi,

Has anyone attempted the more direct route from Siem Reap to the Laos border, via the Preah Vihear province (i.e. Siem Reap - Beng Mealea - Kulen - Tbeng Meanchey - Stung Treng - Dom Kralor - Voen Kham (Laos))? Do buses ply this route or is a share taxi the only option?

All buses appear to double-back on themselves towards Phnom Penh, staying on the Highway 6 & 7, resulting in a long journey. We would also be keen to visit the Preah Vihear province, as its temple complex has just been given UNESCO World Heritage status, and is meant to be very impressive. Have any BnA members visited there?

I have searched BnA and "Tales of Asia" but can't find any info on this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Michael
Siem Reap

It would be much easier to either go upriver along the Mekong, or exit Cambodia through PoiPet / AranyaPhrathet & then head for Nong Khai / Vientiane. Roads in Thailand are far superior to those in Cambodia and Laos.

I found this on Wikipedia:

"Access
Preah Vihear can be approached via Tbeng Meanchey in Preah Vihear province or from Siem Reap in Siem Reap province via Anlong Veng.

The temple can be approached from Kantharalak district, Sisaket Province of Thailand. Cambodia allows day-trip access to the temple on a visa-free basis from Thailand. Cambodia imposes an entrance fee of US$5 or 200 baht for foreigners (as of 2006, reduced to 50 baht for nationals of Thailand), plus a fee of 5 baht for processing a copy of the passport. In addition, Thailand imposes an access fee of 400 baht for entering the National Park.

Cambodia has from time to time cut off access from Thailand during times of dispute with the Thai government."

Thanks for the info, rambutan.

Our plan is to go to the 4000 Islands area in Southern Laos, and then to Thailand at a later date. Thus, exiting at the Cambodia - Laos land border would be more ideal.

Going back south from Siem Reap would allow us to take in Kompong Cham, which would be interesting, and I agree this would be the easier route, given the assumed state of the roads through Preah Vihear province.

However, if anyone has experience of taking the direct route from Siem Reap to the border, I'd be grateful?