Now backpackers can bus direct from Ho Chi Minh to Angkor in luxury

Now backpackers can bus direct from Ho Chi Minh to Angkor in luxury

Budget travelers no longer need to endure the bone shuddering roads from the Vietnam border to Phnom Penh, only to have to change buses for another six hour hike to Siem Reap and the Angkor temple complex.

From Monday, May 19, Vietnamese company Saigon Passenger Transport Company (Sapaco Tourist) is launching a new luxury bus service from the Vietnamese CITY Ho Chi Minh

And the best thing about the new direct nine-hour, 500-kilometre trip, besides the fact it cuts hours off former routes, is that a one-way ticket sets you back just $24.

"The bus is very comfortable and we provide a toilet, plus lunch and water. We also look after all your immigration requirements at the border," a Siem Reap-based Sapaco spokesman said by telephone.

Although visas must still be bought in advance for Vietnam and are not available at the border, most Cambodian border crossings sell visas on arrival. Sapaco's staff can avoid delays and bureaucratic red tape with Vietnam's notoriously pedantic border officials, however, which is always a boon.

Vietnamese tourism companies have taken full advantage of Cambodia's booming tourist industry in recent years, and the two neighbors enjoy excellent trade relations.

The new route crosses into Cambodia through Vietnam's southern Tay Ninh Province, and then heads through the excellent roads of Kampong Cham province across to Siem Reap.

Siem Reap's Angkor Wat temple complex is Cambodia's largest tourism attraction, bringing in the bulk of the country's more than 2 million visitors last year, and expected to surpass that in 2008 according to Tourism Ministry predictions.

The Sapaco spokesman said the new route is a welcome option for budget travelers who want to travel in comfort but are reluctant to splash out on expensive plane tickets.

For more details, call Sapaco Siem Reap on 012 426 688 or the company's Phnom Penh office on 023 210 300.