Tips and Tricks from Cambodia

September 24, 2016

There are a lot of options for travelers to choose when it comes to traveling from Phnom Penh to Bangkok. I myself experienced in travelling both by air and road to Bangkok. When it comes to travelling on the road, I have to be aware because different means will lead to high or low range of comfort and time spent for travelling. Now let’s say bus is your option, and here I am going to tell you one of the best bus options that you should consider.
Nattakan is a Thai bus company that cooperates with Rith Muny transportation company in Cambodia. Thus, when you choose this bus, you will have to buy its ticket at Rith Muny office which is nearby Gloria Jeans riverside. It costs $25 per ticket if you buy in Phnom Penh; and it costs 750 Baht when you buy 1 ticket at Mo Chit bus station.
PP to BKK:
  • 06:00 to 09:30 – Leave Phnom Penh and arrive Pursat.
  • 09:30 to 10:00 – Have breakfast at Pursat Cambodia-Japan friendship restaurant.
  • 10:00 to 14:00 – Arrive Poi Pet
  • 14:00 to 14:40 – Take 40 minutes at the immigration office
  • 14:40 to 16:00 – Travelling on the road to Bangkok
  • 16:00 to 16:30 – Thai bus driver stopped for dinner (It won’t happen all the time)
  • 16:30 to 19:30 – Arrive Bangkok at Mo Chit bus station
BKK to PP
  • 05:00 – Leave Mo Chit bus station
  • 07:00 PM – Arrive Phnom Penh
Pros:
- 1 stop only at Pursat for brunch
- Only 1 direct bus, no transit
- There is a toilet in the bus. Pee pee poo poo is not a problem.
- Short distance to walk from immigration office to find this bus
- Save time (about 1 to 2 hours) and energy (not cramped) as you will arrive at 7:30.
- Comfortable to sleep
- It’s more spacious, easy to sit, and better behaved people prefer it, so eventually the feeling is better too.
- There is no need to walk and find another van at the border and pay extra 250 Baht.
- It provides free evening meal and drink on the bus. So, we could save lots of time without stop from Aranyaprathet to Bangkok.
- Free snack and beverage in the morning, packed fried rice (EzyGo) to be delivered in the afternoon. It is included when you pay the $25 bus ticket.
- Thai drivers tend not to stop for picking up passengers. They are ready to go at 06:00 even with 3 passengers.
- No need to wait for bus to be filled to go on from the border because only those who bought in Phnom Penh could continue going from the border.
Cons:
Bad point is the bus stop is at Mo Chit Bus Station. You will have to take taxi or BTS to the central. It cost my family 130 Baht to get from Mo Chit Bus Station to Asoke area. Probably, you can take Uber for cheaper transport.
- On your way back, the bus leaves Bangkok at 05:00 in the morning. Not at 06:00 in the morning like when you travel from Phnom Penh to Bangkok.
- Khmer drivers tend to stop quite often to pick up more passengers, but it is not too bad. I managed to arrive Phnom Penh at 07:00 PM.
- Spend about 150 Baht more on taxi from Mo Chit to your hotel.
- Not easy to travel for some Khmer as they need to be dropped at DD House.
Below is some photos:
This is a picture of the Nattakan bus from Phnom Penh to Bangkok.
Cambodia-Japan Friendship restaurant in Pursat

After purchasing the ticket, you have to find Platform 106 and wait there. 
Inside Nattakan bus on my way from Bangkok to Phnom Penh
Bus ticket bought at Mo Chit bus station



Mo Chit bus station, where you can buy the ticket
Cambodia-Japan Friendship restaurant in Pursat

September 21, 2016


เขียวหวาน Icecream Terrarium (Kiao Wan Ice cream Terrarium) was founded in early 2016 by P House and Mamiao after the two fell in love and started the shop together. I do not recommend the shop only because they are my friends but the ice cream they serve is addicted!
Owner:
Kiao Wan was initially started by P House as Hthroughheart ice cream shop at Khao San Road. P House met Mamiao for the first time on their trip to Kanjanaburi on March 21-22, 2015; the two fell in love and started the shop Kiao Wan.
Inspiration:
Kiao Wan means Sweet Green. It's the shop that serve ice cream that is so natural and good for health. The ice cream shop's name also has the word Terrarium. So, it was also inspired by the self-sustaining plants which has its own eco-system. This shop uses terrarium as decoration.  
Ice Cream Flavors:
There are flavors that are there everyday and there are Unknown ice cream types in which guests can give a try because the lovebird owners always mix ice cream in a mysterious way and call it Unknown. You will have to guess what you are eating. :D And when you first step in, don't be shocked. You will be given a little of all ice cream types to taste and order the one that you like best. 
Probably, I do not have to describe much about flavors, I'll give you loads of flavor photos ... 









Find the shop at:




Their Facebook page:



+66 92 949 9141


Shop design:




September 8, 2016


Cellcard Lab offers young Cambodians a fast-track to social business success PRESS RELEASE Released on September 3, 2016
Phnom Penh, September 3 – Young, enterprising Cambodians looking to fast-track their ideas into social business opportunities can make their dream a reality via Cellcard’s first-ever incubator program, Cellcard Lab, in partnership with Impact Hub Phnom Penh.


The unique program, launched by the telco and co-working space Impact Hub Phnom Penh, aims to inspire and guide Cambodians aged 18 to 25 years old by offering them a platform to launch social businesses.

The program, which launches today, Sept 3, will roll out 4 cycles, each of which will entitle 3 lucky applicants to a 3 month program by Impact Hub Phnom Penh.


Each cycle offers participants a three-month work space at Impact Hub Phnom Penh, networking and resource opportunities and access to workshops focusing on customer discovery and validation, strategy roadmaping and pitching. They will also enjoy a full-funded, three-day visit to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to attend a workshop at the prestigious MaGIC (Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre) Acceleration Program and tour the Microsoft office in the capital.


Personalized mentoring and coaching throughout the initiative will be provided by experts in their respective fields. These comprise Maelle Barbancon, the technical coordinator for Friends International; Chhunny Noem, the CEO & founder of Anakot Asia; and Laura Smitheman, the co-founder of Impact Hub. The three mentors will focus on assisting participants build their business model, provide teambuilding and creativity advice and basically, help entrepreneurs better implement, develop and execute their ideas.

“There’s no doubt that Cambodian youth have the ideas, skills and passion, but we believe inspiration and knowledge-sharing by those who have succeeded are equally as important to turn business ideas into reality,” said Cellcard CCO Laszlo Barta. “Cellcard Lab welcomes business ideas of any kind, and in turn, provides successful applicants an invaluable platform that accelerates their ability to gain a complete set of skills and ultimately, bring their product to market.”


He added that as part of the brand’s #KhmerWeCan campaign, Cellcard Lab would complement its overall aim of inspiring Khmer pride and encouraging local youth to realize their potential and achieve their dreams.


Those interested in scaling up with Cellcard Lab can download application forms at https://goo.gl/forms/u6m9pLfPxKGEWvVc2 before October 15 or email melanie.mossard@impacthub.net. Remember, the Lab only admits 3 participants per cycle, totaling twelve participants for the duration of the program, so hurry and apply today!

Disclaimer: This article was written by a third party and falls into Guest Post category. 

July 29, 2016

Here we we go again with translation technique. If you have not read my first post about this, you will have to read the Part 1 first: Translation Technique Part 1

Here I would like to address Google Translate since it's a bit mature now. Everybody knows about Google Translate, but this post is going to give you more confident in using Google Translate. In the event that we don't know the meanings of many words in a paragraph, we will have to spend a lot of time translating those words. With Google Translate, we save times. Since we copy and paste the whole paragraph, and double check if the translation is correct. It is important to stay cautious when we copy and paste from Google Translate.

After copy-paste from Google Translate, I list down the Translation under the English paragraph. I compare sentence by sentence to see the errors. After fixing all of the errors, I deleted the English paragraph, leaving only the Khmer paragraph.

January 9, 2016

There are hundreds of hotels in Bangkok in which you can find in a blink of an eye. However, only if you have stayed at those hotels that you realize how convenient it is. For this post, I am going to introduce you to two hotels which locate in a great location for a reasonable price.

1. Red Planet Hotel, Asoke Bangkok

Red Planet Hotel Asoke is a popular hotel among tourists as it's located just 100 meters from Asoke BTS station and it's also 100 meters from Terminal 21 shopping mall. This hotel room is generally booked. So, be well planned and book before others if you plan to travel in Bangkok.

It's hotel cost is around $30 to $33 per night for 2 people if you book via Red Planet Hotels homepage or via Agoda. Normally, you can get 10% discount if you are a Remembered customer which mean you are a returning customer. So, it's best to book via its homepage, rather than via Agoda. Children aged below 4 years old could stay for free if you don't request for anything extra.

I recommend this hotel because it's convenient to travel from one BTS Asoke to other tourist attractions. For example, if you want to go to Siam paragon, you can just take BTS Asoke to Siam BTS station at ease. BTS is specially popular among Thai people as the traffic is congested and it saves time too.

Read more details and book now!


Inside the hotel is not so spacious, but it guarantees its cleanliness and sleep comfort. The room is definitely for two people as the each of twin bed is enough for one person. 
Its twin bed

There is an app of this Red Planet Hotel for you to book too and there are many branches of Red Planet Hotels. You may browse through for a Red Planet Hotel before you travel to a country. It is not only for you to book, but also to ask friendly staff about services and attractions in Bangkok. 


2. D Varee Xpress Hotel Makkasan Bangkok

This hotel is a three-star hotel, it is located on new Petchaburi road and about 100 meters from Petchaburi MRT. You can use this MRT and connect with BTS at Asoke BTS Station (connected by Makkasan MRT).

This hotel is generally expensive. It could cost up to $151 per night, but if you book via Agoda, it you might get up to 75% discount at $28 per night.

There is a price for free breakfast also, but I did not choose this option since I wanted to walk around and try street food.

I used to stay at this hotel in January 2016 and found it convenient to travel via MRT too. The room is big and incredibly clean. This hotel is 600 meters away from Red Planet Asoke Hotel. It could take up to 20 minutes to walk to Red Planet Hotel.

Read more details and book now!

The look outside of D Varee Xpress

Inside D Varee Xpress Hotel