Cambodia-Vietnam in 3 Days and 4 Nights Itinerary

For someone who loves to travel but doesn't have much time and money to spare, visiting multiple countries in a single trip seems infeasible. But, if you're truly passionate about exploring the world within your means, you'll find a way to make it happen.

Angkor what? Inside Cambodia's most iconic temple.

For 3 days and 4 nights, me and my travel buddy visited two of the most awe-inspiring and culturally rich destinations in Southeast Asia- Siem Reap, Cambodia and Ho Chih Minh, Vietnam. Considering the short span of time we had for the trip, we tried our best to squeeze in all the important places in our itinerary. And since this was a really short trip, we managed to spend just more or less 17,000 Php, including airfare and accomodation!

I'm sharing our itinerary to those of you who wishes to visit these two cities without breaking the bank and taking much of your vacation leaves.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor - A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Day 1 - Pub Street

I never book a flight that's not on promo and for this trip, I was lucky to chance upon Cebu Pacific's Piso Fare Seat Sale. We booked multi-city (MNL-Siem Reap ; Ho Chi Minh-MNL) and paid only 3,734 Php! We took the cheapest seat which arrives late at night, but good thing our hotel MotherHome Inn offers free airport pick up.

Pub Street in downtown Siem Reap is the city's party hub

As most tourists visit Cambodia for its temples, you might think that there's not much to do there at night. After checking-in, me and my travel buddy found ourselves dining at Pub Street, which is the nightlife hub of Siem Reap.

Day 2 - Angkor Wat

The famous Angkor Wat sunrise

The day after was my most anticipated part of the trip. Angkor Wat has always ranked on top of many travel site's list of travel destinations, and I couldn't wait to find myself wandering around the majestic ruins of the temples. To make things convenient for us, my travel buddy and I availed of a one day package tour from Happy Angkor Tour, which cost us 1,130 Php each.

At 4:50 am, we were picked up from the hotel lobby by our Cambodian tour guide who spoke English really well. Most Cambodians are not well versed with the language so be prepared to learn a few basic Cambodian phrases. Lol.

We arrived before sunrise but there were already a number of people in the entrance. After buying a one day pass which costs around 900 Php, we hurried inside to witness the famous Angkor Wat sunrise. Man, it was awesome.

Credits to our tour guide/photographer for taking majority of our photos. Haha

Right after sunrise, we strolled for a bit then toured around the other temples - Angkor Thom, Ta Phrohm and Bayon.

The famous "Tomb Raider" tree in Ta Phrom

Here we are near the South Gate entrance to the city of Angkor Thom.

Bayon Temple

We were back at the hotel by 4 pm. The plan was to go swimming at the hotel's pool and try Happy Pizza (google it for your info haha) but I fell asleep! So, yeah. I wasted one night in Cambodia.

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon

The simple Cambodian lifestyle as seen from my window bus

The 14 hour travel time from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh was pretty tiring, but the experience of crossing borders for the first time in my life was one of the best feelings ever!

Bey and I with Adena - a lovely Canadian girl we met en route to Vietnam. This was snapped right before we crossed Mekong river.

Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh, we checked in at Bali Boutique Hotel which is centrally located in the touristy street of Pham Ngu Lao. The street is full of restaurants, bars and cafes - so after checking-in, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant just a few steps away from our hotel.

Day 4 - Saigon City Tour

Since our flight back to Manila was at 1am the next day, we only had one day to explore Ho Chi Minh. For 450 Php, we availed of Sinh Tourist's afternoon tour which visits the War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and General Post Office.

While waiting for the tour which started at 2:30 pm, we spent the morning touring around the city. We also went shopping at Saigon Square, a two level shopping haven perfect for bargain hunters.

Random Street Photos

Hotel Continental Saigon

Finally, the afternoon tour began...

The War Remnants Museum. It primarily contains exhibits relating to the Vietnam war.

Reunification Palace a.k.a. Independence Palace. It was the home of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam war.

The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon established by French colonists

The Saigon Central Post Office - also built by the French colonists in the 19th century.

The tour ended at around 5 pm. While walking back to our hotel, I decided to stop at one corner to take a photo of the Saigon rush hour scene and to my horror, a man in a motorcycle snatched my phone! Turns out that riding in tandem cases are pretty high in Vietnam, so think twice before putting out your valuables in public.

So, there's my 3 day experience in Cambodia and Vietnam. I had a great time despite the short stay and my phone getting stolen lol. I hope you gained some insight from this post. 'Til next time! :)