![\"Angkor](\"https:\/\/travel-junkies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/untitled.jpg\")
<\/a>Angkor Wat<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Cambodian Girl in Yellow Pajamas<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Angkor Wat<\/p><\/div>\n
So how did we do for the month?\u00a0 We came in under budget for a total of $2653.83.\u00a0 That breaks down to $85.61 per day or $28.53 per person per day.\u00a0 To be honest, I was hoping we would do better, but we didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Looking back it was the food that really sank our budget.<\/p>\n
Strangely, the USD is used in Cambodia. But all change less than a dollar is given in the Cambodian currency, the Riel.\u00a0 The Riel is steady, 4000 Riels equals 1 USD.\u00a0 For Vietnam, 1 USD equaled approximately 21,089 VDN.\u00a0 This is the largest currency that we have had to deal with so far on our around the world adventure.<\/p>\n
Food<\/h3>\n
Okay, this is really embarrassing.\u00a0 Our biggest expenditure was for food for a total of $964.10.\u00a0 Gasp!\u00a0 This is about the same amount that we spent on food in Europe, and I do realize that this is a lot for SE Asia.\u00a0 We spent $594.14 on dining out and $369.96 on groceries.\u00a0 We spent the majority of the month in hotels accounting for the higher cost of eating out.\u00a0 In Cambodia, street food typically costs about $1.50 and up and a plate at a sit down restaurant is $3 and up.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, our food costs could have been cheaper, but we ate more western type meals. \u00a0Sydney has been getting more and more resistant to eating \u201cAsian\u201d food, thus accounting for some of the higher cost for food.\u00a0 Another factor contributing to our higher food costs was we found a great kid friendly restaurant called Le Jardin in Phnom Penh.\u00a0 They have a great outdoor play area with sandbox, trees house, and lots of toys.\u00a0 While in Phnom Penh, we went to Le Jardin multiple times and spent way too much.\u00a0 But I got to say it was worth it as it was a really nice break from the noise and chaos of Phnom Penh.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sydney’s favorite street food in Cambodia: Cambodian pancakes<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Our favorite meal in Siem Reap for $1.50.<\/p><\/div>\n
Lodging<\/h3>\n
Our next biggest expenditure was for lodging for a total of $728.74.\u00a0 We spent 3 weeks at the Downtown Siem Reap Manor<\/a> for a total of $399 breaking down to $19 a night.\u00a0 This has been the longest we have been in a hotel since starting our around the world adventure.\u00a0 The hotel was basic, but nice.\u00a0 The best part was it had a pool to help us keep cool and lots of families stayed there.<\/p>\n After spending 3 weeks being in a hotel without access to a kitchen or laundry, we splurged and got an apartment through AirBnB <\/a>while in Phnom Penh for a total of $224 for a week.\u00a0 It was really nice to be able to cook for ourselves and have separate rooms.\u00a0 It makes us all happier when we can have some space.<\/p>\n We then spent 3 nights in the Tuan Anh Hotel<\/a> in Ho Chi Minh City for a total of $68.84.\u00a0 The hotel was located in District 1 and was easy walking distance to many of the sites and near a great park.\u00a0 Overall, it was tidy and clean and a good value.\u00a0 We then left for Da lat, Vietnam.\u00a0 We spent 9 days in Da Lat, but only 2 days of the 9 days are reflected in this month\u2019s budget.\u00a0 The Cam Tu Cau Hotel<\/a> in Da Lat was a steal at $9 a night.\u00a0 It was clean, had wifi, cable TV and the owners and their daughter were very nice.\u00a0 What more could we ask for?<\/p>\n During the month of March, we also had the miscellaneous expense for laundry for a total of $18.90.<\/p>\n The sweet daughter of the owners at Cam Tu Cau Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n Our next biggest expenditure was for transportation for a total of $293.02.\u00a0\u00a0 We took the Mekong Express from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh costing $39 and then the Mekong Express from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City for a total of $42.\u00a0 The Mekong Express came highly recommended from fellow travelers and after taking it I can now see why.\u00a0 While the bus driver was only mildly alarming in his driving skills compared to some of the buses we have now been on in Vietnam, it was clean, comfortable, and made crossing the border between Cambodia to Vietnam easy. \u00a0The Mekong express also checks in your luggage and which can only be picked up with your luggage receipt ensuring someone does not walk off with your bag.<\/p>\n We took a sleeper bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat for a total of $36.98.\u00a0 The sleeper bus was nice, but is not designed for us long legged westerners.\u00a0 I spent most of the ride trying to find a comfortable position.\u00a0 If you are taking an overnight bus in Vietnam, I would recommend bringing ear plugs.\u00a0 The bus drivers in Vietnam really love their horns and on our drive to Da Lat I doubt he went more than a couple seconds without using it the entire 8 hours!<\/p>\n Sleeper Bus<\/p><\/div>\n Our total local transportation expenditures were $175.04.\u00a0\u00a0 $111 of this was during the time we were in Siem Reap.\u00a0 The bulk of the local transportation while in Siem Reap was related to cost of getting out to Angkor Wat.\u00a0 The cheapest way to get out to Angkor Wat from Siem Reap, besides renting a bicycle, which looked like a long, dusty, hot ride, is by tuk tuk.\u00a0 A tuk tuk for the day costs $15.\u00a0 Expect to pay more, between $20 to $30, to get out to some of the further flung temples, such as Banteay Srei.<\/p>\n Our total expenditures for entrance fees were $199.59.\u00a0 This included seeing Angkor Wat, the Landmine museum in Siem Reap, Angkor Center for Conservation of Biodiversity, the National Museum and Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21), Choeng Ek Killing Fields, Cu Chi tunnels and War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City.<\/p>\n The bulk of the entrances fees were for Angkor Wat for a total of $120.\u00a0 Angkor Wat has the option for a 1-day, 3 day and 7 day pass.\u00a0 We decided to do the 7-day pass because we did not want to feel rushed. We also did not want to feel obligated to spend the entire day at temples, as it is really hot. In reality we could have probably gotten away with the 3-day pass and seen everything we wanted to.\u00a0 But it did make it nice to break it up thus helping us avoid \u201ctemple burn-out.\u201d<\/p>\n Angkor Wat<\/p><\/div>\n The National Museum and Royal Palace in Phnom Penh were okay, but nothing amazing.\u00a0 So if you are limited on time and money I would skip these.\u00a0 The Tuol Sleng Genocide in Phnom Penh and Choeng Ek Killing Fields just outside of Phnom Penh, though difficult and gut wrenching, are a must see.\u00a0 At Tuol Sleng we hired a guide and felt like it helped give context to what we were seeing.\u00a0 But after the guided tour we took time just to walk around and really absorb everything.\u00a0 Choeng Ek (The Killing Fields) has an excellent free audio guide.\u00a0 Cu Chi tunnels outside of Ho Chi Minh City were interesting.\u00a0 I expected to be underground a lot more, but after climbing through a short section I was really glad we weren\u2019t. \u00a0The War Remnant museum was interesting, but difficult to see the consequences of US actions.<\/p>\n Royal Palace<\/p><\/div>\n Leg Shackles Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum<\/p><\/div>\n The Killing Fields<\/p><\/div>\n Cu Chi Tunnels<\/p><\/div>\n War Remnants Museum Ho Chi Minh city<\/p><\/div>\n While in Cambodia, we applied for our visas for Vietnam, which cost $195.\u00a0 This is the most we have paid for visas so far.\u00a0 We obtained our visas for Vietnam while in Phnom Penh.\u00a0 We decided to go through an agency saving us the time of not having to stand in line.\u00a0 If you do it yourself the cost should be $60 for each person.\u00a0 Words of advice, triple check the dates written on the visa as Vietnam is renowned for messing up either the entry or exit date. We stupidly just checked our entry dates, but not our exit dates.\u00a0 They gave Jason 4 days less than Sydney and I.<\/p>\n Our total costs for entertainment was $185.81.\u00a0 This included a couple of massages while in Siem Reap, a cooking class, seeing an Apsara dance in Siem Reap, going to Kids City in Phnom Penh, seeing a movie in Ho Chi Minh City, and a horse carriage ride in Dalat.\u00a0 We really enjoyed the massages and the cooking class in Siem Reap.\u00a0 Though, it was nice seeing the Apsara dance, there are definitely places that it can be seen for a lot cheaper, or even free, and\u00a0 I am not totally convinced that it was worth the cost.\u00a0 Kids City in Phnom Penh, though expensive at $5 per activity, is well worth it.\u00a0 It is a great place to get a break from the craziness, heat, and noise of the city.\u00a0 What is not reflected in this budget is Sydney\u2019s horse riding lessons at the Happy Horse Ranch in Siem Reap.\u00a0 For Christmas, her grandparents had given her money for horse riding and she used this money for the lessons.\u00a0 Sydney had a great time and it was nice to get out of the city and into the country.<\/p>\n Sydney Learning how to take care of a horse<\/p><\/div>\n Fish foot massage<\/p><\/div>\n Cooking Class<\/p><\/div>\n Apsara dance<\/p><\/div>\n Kid City<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a>\u00a0Transportation<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Entrance Fees<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Visa<\/h3>\n
Entertainment<\/h3>\n
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