Trip to Cambodia, any takers?

[FarEastYankee]

Hey all,
About seven of us are doing a dive trip from 21-25 March to Cambodia. Anybody interested in going?

We are meeting in Bangkok and taking the 7:40 am Bangkok air flight to Phnom Penh. From there we have a van taking us south. A friend who has a dive shop there will be supplying the boat and all. We'll be staying on an island.

Three of us live in Thailand, two of us in Korea, and two in Cambodia. One of our guys in Thailand is securing tickets and all. If anybody else is interested in going, let me know.

We're all DI's and Mstr divers, so you're in good hands, 3 of our guys speak Cambodian, so that will make things easier.

The more the merrier.

 

[AliKat]

Wish I could. Sounds great, and I'm not that far away in Okinawa. Sorry to say the dates are just not good for me.

But be sure and give us a trip report.

 

[Jonathan]

Sounds like fun - am planning on going to Cambodia later in the year but never thought about it as a dive location.

Maybe next time...

Jonathan

 

[FarEastYankee]

Yes, Cambodia will be a good trip.
As for diving there, it is pretty much non-existent. That's a good thing.

There's a guy there by the name of Claude (you'll find him if you do an internet search) with a PADI shop. He's great.

Diving is fun there because there is virtually no one else doing it. The shorelines can be a little banged up from fishing, but once you get away a bit, you will find that you are diving in areas where no diver has ever been before. The last frontier so to speak. Very inexpensive as well. If you have your own equipment, that's a bigger plus.

As for your trip to Cambodia, if you've never been before, I urge you to do your homework a bit before you go. You will enjoy it to the fullest and find it to be a new home, but always keep in mind that this is a somewhat dangerous country. It is beautiful and cheap, and the people are good, but the ten-dollars in your pocket will feed a family of four for a month, and there are those there that want what you have. In other words, go with someone who knows the land, and if you don't have to be out after dark, then don't be out after dark.

The country is beautiful, the food is great, the shopping is to die for, and whether or not you are looking to meet women or men (if you are), you will find plenty of them that are dying to meet you.

Keep posted when you plan on going, I'm always up for a trip now and then. I'm living in Korea, but spend about a week every month in Southeast Asia (everybody needs some time off).

Good luck
Fareastyankee

 

[scubakat]

That sounds like a great trip FarEast! I will be heading to Tioman from Singapore on the 23rd, too bad I won't be getting over to Singapore a day or two earlier. My "dive buddy" is headed to Cambodia right now to see the temples of Angkor Wat & maybe northern Thailand. Now you've got me nervous for him! He will meet me & some friends in Singapore next week.

-K

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Jonathan,

I'll be in Cambodia in May. Whatcha got planned for later in the year?

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[LisaR]

My friend and I will be in Cambodia from April 10th for a week or two. We wanted to go diving as well when we were there. Any information would be very helpful. Lonely Planet didn't have anything on diving in cambodia. It looks like we will just miss the other group that is going in march. Please send along the dive shop info if possible and web site.

The other place we were considering is the Similians. has anyone been there and know of a good dive shop?

Thanks!
Lisa

 

[Jonathan]

Hey Doc - I am looking at much later in the year depending on the season as I must check out when the monsoon season is down that way.

A friend went last year and brough back some fantastic photos of Angkor Wat and I just must get there to see it for myself - stunning. It may have to wait until Oct/Nov though as May I'm off to Bikini and August back to the UK for a couple of weeks (remind the parents what I look like etc...)

Enjoy your trip and look forward to reading trip reports from you, FarEastYankee and LisaR.... One of the reasons I took the job out here was to go to such places but diving just keeps getting in the way....

Jonathan

 

[FarEastYankee]

Well, the results are in.

The dive trip to Cambodia was a great success. The plan is to go back in the very near future (Probably at the end of the month).

I will post another message in a bit with all of the juicy details about our trip last week. I will say this for now...30Meters + of visibility, a whale shark, and 600 year old artifacts. The trip was rugged (we stayed in tents on an uninhabitied Island).

The full details and plans of the future trip to come.

Fareastyankee

 

[seaslug]

;-0

I was in Cambodia last November and went diving with Claude but didn't see any whale sharks! YOu are so lucky - we did see some bat fish and that was about it! Vis was also not great, which Claude was apologetic for...you are right, he is a great guy to dive with, which is fortunate, as when we were in Sihanoukville, there didn't seem to be any other dive operators still in existence apart from him.
Looking forward to reading your trip report..