Cambodia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget

Travel Reference

In-Depth Information

Internet Try the well-equipped World Tel on St 2, or

World Net, diagonally opposite between sts 2 and 1.5

(both daily 7am-8pm and charging 2000 riel/hr). Most

hotels and restaurants have free wi-fi.

Post o ce On the riverside (daily 8am-4pm). You can

also make phone calls from here.

he hill of Phnom Yat houses a small

pagoda, its outer wall decorated with

startling images of people being tortured

in hell - tongues are pulled out with

pliers, women drowned, people stabbed

with forks and heads chopped off.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE

By bus There's currently just one bus daily to/from Pailin

(run by Paramount Angkor), which continues to/from the

border crossing at Psar Pruhm. The transport stop is at the

central market.

Destinations Battambang (1hr 30min).

By share taxi Share taxis arrive at and depart from the

market in the centre of town. Most only go to Battambang

(1hr 30min), from where you'll probably have to change

to get transport elsewhere.

2

PAILIN

Some 80km southwest of Battambang,

PAILIN is a dusty little frontier town. he

only link to the rest of the country is the

recently surfaced National Route 57 from

Battambang, and once you arrive there's

really no reason to be here unless you're

crossing the border into hailand. he

town has a wild and edgy atmosphere, and

remains one of the most heavily mined

regions in the country: high up and

surrounded by jungle, it was long a Khmer

Rouge stronghold, supplied with food and

weapons from the nearby hai border.

ACCOMMODATION

Bamboo Guesthouse 4km out of town on the road

towards the border T 012 405818. A pleasant refuge from

central Pailin with a range of wooden bungalows in an

attractive garden, all with hot water and a/c. The restau-

rant is one of the best around, serving Khm er and Thai

food, plus a few Western options. Double $13

Pailin Ruby West of the tra c circle on the main road

through town T 055 636 3603. The best and least unruly

(Pailin attracts a lot of truckers) place to stay in town.

Rooms are clean and pleasant enough, with en-suite

bathrooms, TV and chunky wo od furniture; hot water and

a/c cost an extra $5. Double $7

WHAT TO SEE AND DO

Pailin was once famous for its gem

mining , though the land is now pretty

much mined out. All you're likely to see

today are a few dealers in the market ,

ready to hand over cash for rough, uncut

stones pulled from the ground.

INTO THAILAND AT PAILIN

The easier of the two borders in the Pailin

area to cross is the one at Psar Pruhm

(7am-8pm), 20km from town (30min;

shared taxi around $5, moto $2.50). At the

border, a small market and three rather

incongruous casinos entertain an almost

exclusively Thai clientele - the Thai side of

the border is known as Ban Pakkard. If

you're crossing the border here, take a

share taxi to Chanthaburi for B200 (see

p.777), from where there are buses to

Bangkok and Trat (for Ko Chang). Thai visas

are issued on the spot. Entering Cambodia

from here, you should expect the same

immigration scams you'll get at any of the

country's other border crossings, though

you'll probably have the advantage of not

being caught in a crush of tourists. The

other border access point to Thailand, the

Daung Lem border crossing at Ban Laem ,

further north, is extremely di cult to

reach without your own vehicle.

EATING

Eating in Pailin is no gastronomic delight, but the guest-

houses do decent food and there are plenty of stalls in the

market and cheap restaurants nearby.

Leang Sren Restaurant In the north of town, just by

the temple. Wholesome, spicy soups and decent Khmer

food from $2. Daily 8am-9pm.

The southwest

To the southwest of Phnom Penh the

Cardamom and Elephant mountains rise

up imposingly from the plains, as if

shielding Cambodia's only stretch of coast

from the world. Indeed, only a few places

along the coast are accessible by road. he