Phnom Phen Run

[smeagle]

Hi all,need a bit of info about Phnom Phen, my mate goes Sunday 60 day tourist. He's already done 3 30 days is this a problem at the Thai embassy. Also he's staying at a guesthouse on the water front, how far is the embassy from the river. Can he spend Thai Bht. Any info will be much appreciated and i will pass it on to him.

Cheers

[Maestro]

Hi all,need a bit of info about Phnom Phen, my mate goes Sunday 60 day tourist. He's already done 3 30 days is this a problem at the Thai embassy.

The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh actively discourages foreigners living in Thailand from applying for a visa at their embassy. See here and here.

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Maestro

[smeagle]

cheers for that Meastro will let him know but unfortunatly he has bought the flight already.

[smeagle]

Cheers for the info emporer tud, will pass on. I already asked if he can cancel his flight and get a refund but the answer was no.looks like an extra stamp in his pp.

[richard10365]

Maybe he can cross over into Vietnam and Ho Chi Mehn City. Then take the train and apply for his visa in Hanoi. To me, it seems easier than trying to get a visa in Phonom Phen.

Phonom Pehn is probably the worst Thai embassy in the world.

[visarunner]

Go to Lucky Lucky Motorbike on Monivong Blvd. They process 60 day thai tourist visas, mostly they deal with cambodians wanting to visit thailand but will take westerners too. Last year they charged the visa fee + $3, takes a couple of days. A bargain, considering the alternative is dealing directly with the rude thai embassy officials there.

That's sounds like a good deal.

Normal processing time in PP is 3 working days , which is extreme long , but may be they can also help.

Other Embassies/Consulates hand back Passport with Visa on next day.

[smeagle]

Thanks a million guys for the info, Lucky Lucky sounds better for him as he's there for 3-4 days.

[JR Texas]

Thanks a million guys for the info, Lucky Lucky sounds better for him as he's there for 3-4 days.

JR Texas: My visa trip to PP was the worst ever.....total waste of my time and money. BUT, since you are going to be there, and if you have never been there before, there is a Mexican place that serves tacos and burritos that are not great but OK (only one in town so somebody will be able to tell you the name).

Also, the museum by the large temple complex is interesting. There is also a place called Tua Slang or something like that.....it is a museum dedicated to the "Killing Fields." Depressing but important to see.

And, of course, Angkor Wat is magnificent.....you can take a bus or go by boat up the river.

In PP a good place to hang out is where all the journalist hang out (name escapes me but it is on the waterfront) and near it is a British place that serves great pork chops.

Good luck getting any type of Thai visa in PP. One more thing, a short trip to Sihanoukville on the coast might be fun.....I like it there.

[smeagle]

Hi guys one more question if you put your pp in on Monday morning when do you get it back.

[whatsupdoc]

He should get the visa no problem but he will probably get a big red stamp saying "do not apply here again", which is unfortunate for those wanting to go to Phnom Penh for their Tourist Visas on a regular basis.

It would be a bad idea to take Baht as the fixed exchange rate paying in Baht is 40 to the US$ (they may even insist on as much as 50 to the US$). It will be accepted in most places, some places will be reluctant to take it and some (not many) will flatly refuse.

Exchange it in Thailand before you go and get a better exchange rate.

Everything is priced in US$ there so it makes it easier anyway.

They do have ATM's now in PP (and Siem Reap and Sihanoukville) from which you can get US dollars. But still good to have some extra cash with you and not completely depend on the ATM's

[quiksilva]

Thanks a million guys for the info, Lucky Lucky sounds better for him as he's there for 3-4 days.

In PP a good place to hang out is where all the journalist hang out (name escapes me but it is on the waterfront) and near it is a British place that serves great pork chops.

Foreign Correspondents Club http://www.fcccambodia.com/phnom_penh/

Good for a few drinks at sun down too!

[visarunner]

Hi guys one more question if you put your pp in on Monday morning when do you get it back.

Wednesday afternoon.

PP has the longest processing time of all places.

[smeagle]

cheers visarunner, will let him know. i think he's already changed his ticket extra days just to cover incase of any hiccups.

[tropo]

Maybe he can cross over into Vietnam and Ho Chi Mehn City. Then take the train and apply for his visa in Hanoi. To me, it seems easier than trying to get a visa in Phonom Phen.

Phonom Pehn is probably the worst Thai embassy in the world.

He'd have to get an expensive visa for Vietnam first.

IMO Manila would get the prize for the worst Thai Embassy on the planet.

[The Dude]

The last time The Dude went to Lucky Bikes, they said no do visa anymore. This was a few years ago though. I used to use those dudes all the time. Don't think the extra long wait for the visa is a bad thing as PP is an awesome place to hang, if you can dig it. The Dude never dug that correspondents dump due to the excesses of NGO scum there. Might The Dude recommend "Martini's", "Sharkey's", "Cat House", Walkabout", and all those Pizza dumps on the liverside. There is a cool museum 11 clicks out of town called K11. Asia Hotel and the Tai Seng are decent for lodging. Russian Market cool for shopping. PP is cool, really cool. Can you dig it?

OH and BTW, The Dude did not find going to the embassy a hassle. I'm glad I did go as the embassy dude wanted to talk to The Dude about the situation. Could be that he may have nixed the visa or delayed if used agent. Not a worthy risk, go yourself. Embassy dont want to issue visas but the dude that talked to The Dude was not rude about it, just following their policy. Dont forget that Cambo burned that embassy 4 years ago and these 2 countries aint best buds. I think they dont want to encourage tourism there and thus the hassle of the visa situation.

The suggestion to go to Viet Nam was a ludicrous one IOOTD (in the opinion of The Dude)

Hope you can dig it

[ovenman]

Hope you can dig it

Shovels abound (where you been hiding, Dude?).

[mikethevigoman]

He should get the visa no problem but he will probably get a big red stamp saying "do not apply here again", which is unfortunate for those wanting to go to Phnom Penh for their Tourist Visas on a regular basis.

It would be a bad idea to take Baht as the fixed exchange rate paying in Baht is 40 to the US$ (they may even insist on as much as 50 to the US$). It will be accepted in most places, some places will be reluctant to take it and some (not many) will flatly refuse.

Exchange it in Thailand before you go and get a better exchange rate.

Everything is priced in US$ there so it makes it easier anyway.

They do have ATM's now in PP (and Siem Reap and Sihanoukville) from which you can get US dollars. But still good to have some extra cash with you and not completely depend on the ATM's

There are some in a couple of chemists/pharmacys too, the kymers think they work by black magic !

[mikethevigoman]

Thanks a million guys for the info, Lucky Lucky sounds better for him as he's there for 3-4 days.

In PP a good place to hang out is where all the journalist hang out (name escapes me but it is on the waterfront) and near it is a British place that serves great pork chops.

Foreign Correspondents Club http://www.fcccambodia.com/phnom_penh/

Good for a few drinks at sun down too!

FCC is full of potless hooray henrys ,go to sharkys, better suroundings and good mexican food,. ( my opinion only ) Oh and the Dudes apparantly ! Edited April 28, 2007 by mikethevigoman

[mikethevigoman]

The last time The Dude went to Lucky Bikes, they said no do visa anymore. This was a few years ago though. I used to use those dudes all the time. Don't think the extra long wait for the visa is a bad thing as PP is an awesome place to hang, if you can dig it. The Dude never dug that correspondents dump due to the excesses of NGO scum there. Might The Dude recommend "Martini's", "Sharkey's", "Cat House", Walkabout", and all those Pizza dumps on the liverside. There is a cool museum 11 clicks out of town called K11. Asia Hotel and the Tai Seng are decent for lodging. Russian Market cool for shopping. PP is cool, really cool. Can you dig it?

OH and BTW, The Dude did not find going to the embassy a hassle. I'm glad I did go as the embassy dude wanted to talk to The Dude about the situation. Could be that he may have nixed the visa or delayed if used agent. Not a worthy risk, go yourself. Embassy dont want to issue visas but the dude that talked to The Dude was not rude about it, just following their policy. Dont forget that Cambo burned that embassy 4 years ago and these 2 countries aint best buds. I think they dont want to encourage tourism there and thus the hassle of the visa situation.

The suggestion to go to Viet Nam was a ludicrous one IOOTD (in the opinion of The Dude)

Hope you can dig it

Well put dude as usual, FCC is full of potless hooray henrys, sharkys much better, ..There is a bike hire place oppisite the walkabout hotel ( i use the term hotel lightly,i stayed there once, i wouldnt say it was dirty but even the rats wore overalls !,. ) they will do all visas and are really nice people,.

[richard10365]

With mixed opinions as to the efficency of Phonom Phen's Thai embassy, it would be interesting to know what happens when you go. Please post your findings.

[smeagle]

With mixed opinions as to the efficency of Phonom Phen's Thai embassy, it would be interesting to know what happens when you go. Please post your findings.

will do richard10365 and all, as soon as he gets back will post the outcome. cheers for all the info given.

[Doug]

I never had any problem getting a 60-day tourist visa at Phnom Penh. But maybe being a Canadian had something to do with that. Granted, it took 3 days instead of 2 as at Singapore, and there were very long line-ups, but nobody said "boo"; no hard time at all. Get there early.

[Tammi]

Tell your friend to check toilets for rats before sitting down!!