Jaunted

Convenience and price are, of course, the former and latter when it comes to flying. The planes are new and reliable, the flights are brief and virtually everyone over the age of 30 chooses to fly.

But the more adventurous should travel by land. Buses are uncomfortable, slow and hot, but cost $4 from Phnom Penh and $11 from Bangkok. Share taxis are faster and more comfortable--as long as the driver doesn't try to stuff four passengers in the back seat, which is the norm. Insist on your own seat, bargain and enjoy a life-endangering, cow-dodging ride through the countryside.

The boat down Tonle Sap to Phnom Penh costs $35 and takes about the same amount of time as the bus. But passengers can sit on the bow the entire ride, motoring past complex, self-sustained floating fishing villages whose smiling residents wave at passersby. The engine is horrendously loud, so bring earplugs and prepare to wave to a lot of kids.

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[Photo: nicky.lew]