Siem Reap to Phnom Penh via Bus (Giant Ibis)

On this trip, we planned to visit Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Since our plane lands in Siem Reap, we have to travel by land to Phnom Penh because of budget constraints. There are several ways to do so and one is via bus.

Our bus leaves 7:45am and we left Bunwin hotel around 7:00am. We arrived at the terminal around 7:25am and since we were already pre-booked online (search for Giant Ibis in google), there was no hassle already. We just gave the porters our luggage and we board the bus.

The bus was spacious and has good service as well. Among the buses parked in that station, our bus was the best as per my own criteria. They even have their own onboard wifi which is a huge plus for me. There are times though that the signal will be gone because you're traveling on the outskirts and upon approaching the city, you get signal again. Password hasn't been changed in awhile and I know because upon checking-in via foursquare, the password  was also mentioned there. Password for the wifi onboard is 'ibis2012'.

Our driver was a bit crazy because of all the overtaking but it was bearable. Throughout the ride, they showed three movies. Fantastic 4, Dark Knight Rises and Journey to the mysterious island. I just watched portions of it as I was also blogging and sleeping at times.

There are two stops. First is at the 2 1/2 hour mark and second is around the 5 hour mark. The first stop lasts for 30 minutes and the second is for 10 minutes, just enough for a restroom stop.

For the first stop, we ate at Banyan Tree restaurant. Here's what we ate:

Fried noodle with beef and fried egg. Noodles was good! This was the best out of all the food we got at this rest stop. Tasty and not that oily being it fried noodles.

Beef Lok Lak. Just so-so. Beef was just right with it being hard at times. 

The beef fried rice was better in Bunwin hotel and that's why the standards are set a bit higher already so this was just okay. If you haven't tasted the fried rice from there, then this is okay.

Iced coffee tasted like a mix of chocolate and coffee. Good and a must order!

Overall, it was a comfortable ride and I highly recommend Giant Ibis whether you are traveling from Siem Reap - Phnom Penh or vice versa.

Giant Ibis fare: $13 USD

Travel time: Around 6 hours

Website: www.giantibis.com