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Date of the journey:- March 2020
Distance travelled:- 151 miles
After extending our stay in Phnom Penh, it was again time to move on.
Our original plan was to travel further south in Cambodia and then to cross the border into Vietnam. Taking the time to visit the Vietnamese embassy whilst in Phnom Penh, we were advised that the Vietnamese government had stopped issuing visas, meaning we couldn’t go to Vietnam.
So the new plan was to travel north, with a view of entering Laos. Our first stop while travelling north was to be Kratie, also referred to as Kracheh. Tickets for the 5-hour minivan journey were purchased from the Heng Sokkhoeun Express office for 10 USD per person.
On the day of our departure from Phnom Penh, we took a tuk tuk, booked with the Pass app, from our hotel, the Balconitel Boutique Hotel, to the Heng Sokkhoeun Express office, from where we were getting the minivan. Only a short 10 minute drive.
The minivan was full and departure was on time at 0700 hrs. Leaving Phnom Penh on National Highway 6, turning off onto National Highway 8, before turning onto National Highway 11, a short run along National Highway 6 and the final run into Kratie on National Highway 73.
The driver stopped on a couple of occasions for toilet/food breaks. Roads were in pretty good condition for Cambodia, bumpy at times, but mainly smooth.
Our driver dropped us on the main road in Kratie, from where we walked to our accommodation at the Sorya Guesthouse, booked through Booking.com, about 10 minutes away. Along the way, we walked past the minivan, which had stopped for lunch, prior to continuing its journey further north.