On we go with Part 2 of our 2018 Southeast Asia trip. In Part 1 we were in Bangkok and Siem Reap; now it's Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City. The prices I mention are what we paid in 2018. Where I no longer know the price from back then, or where I've checked, today's price is given alongside and marked as such (as of October 2026).
Arriving in Phnom Penh – the old airport and the new one
We flew from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. In 2018 we still landed at the old Phnom Penh International Airport (PNH). At around 10 km from the city centre, it was much closer in than today's airport. The taxi cost us the equivalent of €10, and after about 40 minutes we were at our accommodation, the Positano Boutique Hotel & Sky Bar.
Positano Boutique Hotel & Sky Bar – right on the river
We booked the hotel through booking.com and paid around €24 for the one night. It sits right on the Tonlé Sap, the river that flows into the Mekong in Phnom Penh, and it's still there today. From the hotel's sky bar we had a great view of the river and the neighbouring districts.
Phnom Penh has plenty of great, affordable places to stay. You can find an overview here:
Browse places to stay in Phnom Penh →
Dancing in the park – an evening in Phnom Penh
One thing was completely new to me: in the early evening, people gather in the park to dance together to music or do aerobics. Quite a few of them were older people, which I'd never seen in Europe. We took the rest of the evening easy, as we had to be at the bus first thing the next morning to head to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
By bus to Ho Chi Minh City
We booked the bus journey through 12go. I no longer remember what we paid back then. Today you'd pay from around €20 per person for the roughly six- to seven-hour trip, depending on the operator and bus class. It was probably a little cheaper back then.
The bus terminal was on Street 106 (Preah Moha Ksatreiyani Kossamak), only about a 10-minute walk from our accommodation, which was easy even with luggage. Some operators have moved their departure points in recent years, so check your booking confirmation to see where your bus leaves from today. We loaded the suitcases, and off we went. This bus was very comfortable too, and the ride to the border passed quickly.
Compare bus tickets to Ho Chi Minh City →
Crossing into Vietnam on foot
At the border (Bavet on the Cambodian side, Moc Bai on the Vietnamese side) we had to get off again and walk across. It was strange to watch the vehicles rolling across as if it were nothing: vehicles that would never have passed an MOT in Germany and shouldn't have been on the road at all because they were overloaded. Here, it wasn't a problem in the slightest.
As a holder of a Czech passport, I still had to arrange a visa in advance in 2018. In my case this was done online through an agency. They gave me a printout with my visa number, which I handed to the officer at the border crossing. He then stuck a visa sticker in my passport. It cost me around €22. My mate, who has a German passport, was allowed in without a visa.
Once across the border, we still had to wait for the bus and used the break for something to eat. And right there, on the Vietnamese side of the border, I had the best pho of my life. I'd cross into Vietnam again at any time, just for another bowl of that soup.
Ho Chi Minh City – scooters as far as the eye can see
As soon as we set off again after the break, it hit me: Katie Melua's song "Nine Million Bicycles" is actually about Beijing, but it could just as well have been about Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), only with scooters instead of bicycles. The sheer number of them everywhere! To us Europeans the traffic looks impenetrable and chaotic. I've ridden a lot of scooters in Thailand, but I wouldn't do it in Vietnam. Even for me, that's too risky.
At traffic lights the scooters always line up at the very front, in several rows ahead of the cars. As soon as the light turns green, it sounds like a swarm of hornets heading straight for you. The level of traffic noise is really wearing.
Anyone who has been to Ho Chi Minh City can tell you a story about what an adventure it is to cross the road there on foot. There are zebra crossings in many places, but they were probably only painted because someone had too much white paint left over (just a joke). Either way, nobody stops. From the pavement, crossing a road looks like an impossible task, and once you're standing at the kerb yourself, the fear is even greater. One wrong step and a scooter or car could hit you. At least, that's how it feels the first time.
In fact, crossing the road in Vietnam has a system: scooter and car drivers generally watch out for you. I'm not saying it's risk-free, absolutely not. But once you find the courage and start walking, the seemingly impenetrable wall opens up and you reach the other side. I guarantee you a pounding heart, even a racing pulse, once you get there.
Eden Garden Hotel – and suddenly we were millionaires
The bus dropped us on Phạm Ngũ Lão, in the backpacker district of District 1. We booked our accommodation, the Eden Garden Hotel, through Agoda, and chose it partly because it was only a 7-minute walk from the bus stop. We paid €62 for two nights back then. Today you'd pay roughly the same.
At the friendly, helpful reception desk we sorted two important things straight away: changing money and booking a trip for the next day. We were given the exchange rate of the day, and in no time we were millionaires: €100 became 2,750,000 VND. Today it would be around 2,900,000 VND (€1 ≈ 29,150 VND, as of October 2026).
Then we quickly stowed our luggage and explored the neighbourhood. That was our first taste of the traffic first-hand. Once the sun had gone down, we headed into the hustle and bustle of Bui Vien Street, the district's best-known nightlife strip. Since 2017 it has been closed to traffic on weekend evenings as a walking street. We were there from Monday to Wednesday, so the closure didn't affect us.
The Mekong Delta – a trip that didn't live up to its promise
The day trip to the Mekong Delta that the reception desk offered us was something we'd always wanted to see and experience. So we booked it straight away. I think it was around €50 per person, but I'm no longer quite sure. What I do remember is that the trip turned out not to be worth the money.
The next morning a minivan picked us up bright and early. We had been looking forward to a boat ride in the traditional boats, steered by sampan rowers in their famous conical hats. Instead, the programme was temples and a few farms. We did go a short way in a sampan, but it was so crowded, such crowds of tourists, that it wasn't any fun at all. We spent most of the time in the minivan.
When we got back, we wanted to complain, because what we'd been offered was different from what we actually got. But the argument wasn't worth the money we'd paid, so we left it at that. My tip: check carefully what's included in the programme before you book.
Ho Chi Minh City has plenty to offer. You'll find an overview of trips and activities on GetYourGuide, and you may well find something there.
Browse things to do in Ho Chi Minh City →
On to Singapore
The next morning a taxi took us to Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN), from where we flew on to Singapore. I no longer remember what the flight cost back then. Today you'll find flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore from around €70 per person, including hand luggage and checked luggage. Depending on the airline and travel dates, it can be more.
Our next stop: Singapore. More on that in Part 3.
What This Leg Cost
| Item | for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Taxi from the old Phnom Penh airport to the hotel, about 40 minutes | 1 vehicle (2 people) | around €10.00 |
| Positano Boutique Hotel & Sky Bar, 1 night, via booking.com | 2 people | around €24.00 |
| Bus Phnom Penh–Ho Chi Minh City, from €20 p.p. (today's reference price) | 2 people | from €40.00 |
| Visa for Vietnam (applied for online through an agency, sticker in the passport) | 1 person | around €22.00 |
| Eden Garden Hotel, 2 nights, via Agoda | 2 people | €62.00 |
| Day trip to the Mekong Delta, around €50 p.p. (estimated from memory) | 2 people | around €100.00 |
| Taxi to Tan Son Nhat Airport, around €3.50 to €7 (today's reference price, midpoint used here) | 1 vehicle (2 people) | around €5.00 |
| Flight Ho Chi Minh City–Singapore, from €70 p.p. incl. hand luggage and checked luggage (today's reference price) | 2 people | from €140.00 |
That comes to around €403 for the two of us. Of that, around €118 are real amounts from back then: the Phnom Penh taxi, Positano, the visa and Eden Garden. I'll be upfront about the rest: the Mekong trip is an estimate from memory, and the bus, the taxi to the airport and the flight to Singapore are today's reference prices, because I no longer know what we paid. It was probably a little cheaper back then. Food is not included in the total, as I no longer have reliable figures for it. The euro amounts from 2018 were already converted at the time. I've converted today's prices in US dollars and dong at €1 ≈ 1.15 US dollars and €1 ≈ 29,150 VND respectively (as of October 2026).
All Booking Links at a Glance
- Places to stay in Phnom Penh: booking.com
- Bus Phnom Penh – Ho Chi Minh City: 12go
- Accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City: Eden Garden Hotel on Agoda
- Trips and activities in Ho Chi Minh City: GetYourGuide
In Part 3 we continue to Singapore and Krabi in Thailand – more on that soon.
And if you thought while reading, "I'd love a route like this, but I don't want to piece it together myself": that's exactly what I do. The first conversation is free.
