Day 9: From Cambodia to Vietnam

Good morning Vietnam – it was time to leave Cambodia and to head to closest major city in Vietnam which is Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon). Siem Reap (Cambodia) is off the railway system and besides taking a boat along the river to the south (expensive and slow) the only option left was to jump on a bus to Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam (12 hours). Since it’s recommended to avoid night buses in Cambodia I took a day bus to Vietnam which left at 07:30am from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City (US$ 22,- Mekong Express). A minibus picked me up at my accommodation at 06:30am and took me to the bus terminal to board the main bus leaving from Siem Reap at 07:30am. I’ve already organised my visa for Vietnam back in Bangkok since you would not be allowed to board the bus to Vietnam if you cannot show a valid visa.

The bus from Siem Reap (Cambodia) to Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)

The bus company seemed to try to be as professional as possible, however the way they drive is a bit crazy – I guess “driving” in Cambodia is defined as “continuously overtaking”. It reminded me a bit at my horrible bus-experiences in Columbia. I arrived in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh at 01:30pm for a quick stopover to change buses to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon (leaving at 02:00pm).

Continuously overtaking, no matter if it's safe or not...

The ride from Cambodia to Vietnam included a river-crossing on a ferry on which passengers were not allowed to leave the bus (the crossing does only take a few minutes anyway). It’s not the greatest feeling to be caught in a bus while being on a ferry at the same tim – just in case the thing drowns. The border-crossing at Bavet (Cambodia) to Moc Bai (Vietnam) took around an hour and was hassle-free – some of the necessary formalities were even arranged by the bus driver. It’s always easier to book with a bus company that offers international connections, since the formalities at the borders are less complicated and faster. However, border crossings always mean waiting lines – in this case there was no line but a big chaos in front of the counter and it was not clear to anyone how the immigration actually works until the immigration officers started to call each person by his/her name to hand back the passport. I am always a little bit afraid about giving my passport to somebody, since I’ve organised a number of visas (Mongolia, China, Russia, etc.) in advance and loosing my passport would mean to lose all my pre-arranged visas. And considering the short period I’ve scheduled for my travels, I would not be able to arrange these visas again.

Walking to the Vietnamese side at the border crossing - finally arriving in Vietnam

After a couple of more hours the bus arrived in in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and I jumped off the bus in the area of Pham Ngu Lao (District 1) at around 8:00pm. It was already dark and of course I had not organised an accommodation in advance, since this area is known to be packed with guesthouses, hostels and hotels. So, finding a room in Saigon was the least of my worries, however strolling around the city with a backpack and a small shoulder bag is not great. It’s recommended to check out the many small lanes where accommodations are nicer and much more quiet. I was lucky enough to get a private single room (with four beds!) for a reasonable price and after check in, it was time to grab some of Vietnamese street food – I’m particularly fond of Vietnamese spring rolls – so, this was the ideal place. But this was just the beginning of my new mission: spring rolls around the world – I gonna eat you all!!

Dear spring rolls around the world: I gonna eat you all!

Day: 9
Date: 10.04.2011

Impressions of the bus ride from Cambodia to Vietnam

More photos of my trip: Picasa Web Album