Lonely Planet doesn’t always know what’s best. Traveling from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City by boat is not, contrary to LP’s advice, a good idea.
Would you rather…
…take a four hour bus direct from PP to HCMC?; or,
…take a four hour boat ride on incredibly choppy waters through a rainstorm during the one time of the year that the river’s current is actually flowing backwards towards its source and then get on a minibus that is hotter and more packed than any other bus you’ve ever been on so that you can’t even sit straight because the width of the four shoulders in the back row is wider than the bus itself, all while there’s luggage under your feet so you can’t put your feet down and you’re traveling over roads that are even bumpier than those of Northern Lao for 6 hours without having had a chance to get more food or water between the boat and bus ride?
Tough one!
Once in HCMC, we at least had made friends with 2 Canadians and a Vietnamese local who pointed us in the right direction (free shuttle, rather than expensive taxi). It cost about $4 to get door-to-door service, but with the tales of moto-thieves pulling bags from your shoulders as you walk, we decided to splurge. When Simon and I had to push him down the road to get his van jumped, we wanted to see if we could get a rebate… We fortunately found a nice hostel with air con, private bath, and 2 beds for $10 at 11pm, and settled in for our first good night of sleep since arriving in Angkor, when we consistently got up between 4 and 6 a.m.
Now, off to explore Ho Chi Minh!
-mike
