Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SHOPPING
Western groceries, toiletries and wines can be bought at a number of
supermarkets
and minimarts around the town
centre and on 14 Mithona St and Serendipity Beach Rd, which is also lined by
boutiques
selling beach attire and souvenirs.
5
Casablanca Books
Near the Golden Lions roundabout.
Sell, buy or swap your used books here, and check out their
new ones.
Daily 7am-11pm.
Hi-Food
Serendipity Beach Road, near utopia.
Handy
minimarket selling snacks, cold drinks, sandwiches and
alcohol.
Daily 24hr.
Hummingbird
Otres 1, next to Blame Canada
T
088
518 6318.
Unique unisex beachwear and clothing. There's a
sister stall (Little House of Narnia) at Otres Market (Sat
4pm-late).
Daily noon-sunset.
M'Lop Tapang
Serendipity Beach Road & Sandan
restaurant
W
mloptapang.org.
NGO-supported gift shops
selling bags, scarves, iPod covers and T-shirts produced by
parents of former street children.
Daily 10am-8pm.
Mr Heinz Books
219 Ekareach St.
Secondhand books to
buy, sell or swap and a selection of new international titles.
Daily 9am-6pm.
Psar Leu
7 Makara St.
This local market is great for
picking up fresh fruit and simple snacks, not to mention
cheap clothes and flip-flops.
Daily 8am-5pm.
Pure North Plaza
Serendipity Beach Rd.
The varied
shops around this little plaza are good for stocking up on
tourist gear, and there's even a North Face outlet. Hours
vary.
Rogue iPod
Serendipity Beach Rd
W
roguecambodia
.com.
A massive selection of tracks, TV series and films (75c
each) for iPod and MP3; their catalogues are in many of the
bars and restaurants.
Daily 8.30am-9.30pm.
Samudera
7 Makara St, near Psar Leu.
The oldest
supermarket in town, very well stocked with meats,
cheeses, drinks, canned goods, sweets and snacks, and
popular with expats.
Daily 6am-midnight.
Starfish
Behind Samudera supermarket, Downtown;
Serendipity Beach Rd
T
012 952011.
These gift shops -
the Downtown branch is attached to a nice little café - sell
silks, recycled bags and clothing, plus Kampot pepper,
Cambodian coffee and tea; sales help to support
impoverished local families.
Daily 8am-8pm.
DIRECTORY
Cinemas
Galaxy Cinema (near Serendipity Beach; $2.50)
has a VIP Room (four people) and a big room (from six
people). Top Cat (Serendipity Beach Rd; $4.50) is similarly
set up with, a library of more than six thousand movies and
TV series.
Consulate
The Vietnamese consulate is on Ekareach St,
west of the town centre (
T
034 934039). Vietnamese visas
cost $60 and take two days; there is no longer a same-day
service.
Hospital
Sihanoukville International Clinic, on Ekareach
St (
T
012 738803), has 24hr emergency service. CT
Clinic, on Borei-Kamakor Rd, on the edge of Downtown
(
T
034 936666), offers more complete medical services,
accepts credit cards and has English-speaking doctors
available (or on call) 24hr. Alternatively, call International
SOS Medical Clinic in Phnom Penh (
T
012 816911).
Money
ANZ Royal,
Canadia and Union Commercial banks
all have branches on Ekareach St, where you can change
travellers' cheques and get cash advances on cards; Ana
Travel offer the same service (see p.251), and there's an
ATM out front. Canadia Bank is the only one not to charge a
$4 fee for withdrawals. ANZ Royal and Western Union both
have ATMs at the Golden Lions end of Serendipity Beach Rd.
You can change dollars to riel at Acleda Bank, also on
Ekareach St, or at the exchange booths and telephone
shops in or around the market.
Newspapers
The
Cambodia Daily
and the
Phnom Penh
Post
are sold at stands in front of the Psar Leu market.
Photography
Most of the town's many internet cafés
have the capacity to burn digital photos to CD or DVD.
Police
The main police station is on Ekareach St (
T
011
683307); to contact the tourist police call
T
093 666260-1.
Post o
ce
The main post o
ce, on Ekareach St near the
Independence Monument, has all the usual services,
including poste restante (Mon-Sat 7.30am-noon &
2-5.30pm).
Islands near Sihanoukville
Cambodia's coastal waters are peppered with tens of tropical
offshore islands
, many of
them an easy trip from Sihanoukville and a couple of which lie within Ream (see p.261).
Peaceful and idyllic - for now (see box opposite) - lapped by clear seas and graced with
white-sand
beaches
, they're great places to hole up in for a few days, and offer a
smattering of
rustic accommodation
. Snorkelling, sunbathing, gentle walks and lounging
are positively encouraged; all of these improve the further you travel offshore (particularly
the snorkelling). They are also superb destinations for
diving
(see box, p.252).
