We soon found ourselves in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh after a seven hours bus ride from Siem Reap. The bus was comfortable and the drive was somewhat slow and very safe. We arrived near the Central Market where we took a tuk-tuk for USD2 to Mad Monkey Hostel. We checked in and was brought three floors up to our room (the bar was just a floor down).
It was late afternoon and we booked ourselves for a USD6 BBQ dinner at the hostel's bar. We took a short walk and found a stall which was selling baguette. We paid USD1 each and it was so delicious; except for the part where Tiffany swapped mine with her double dose of chillies!
...baguette with lots of meat and vege...
My mouth was burning and I couldn't feel my lips as I took my last bite of the baguette. We went to the bar and had our free glass of Cambodia draft beer while we waited for our dinner to be served. Not long after, Maurice from Germany came and sat with us through dinner. We were introduced to Sam and another friend and later, we met with Alejandro whom we saw the day before in Bayon. We had a few glass of beer while enjoying our BBQ dinner. We even had a few shots! Much later that night, we had our game of beer pong!
...a game of beer pong...
...the traveller friends...
We called it a night at about midnight. We had a late morning the next day but I was worn out since the first day we arrived. We woke up rather late and I had a box of milk before we shared a tuk-tuk with two ladies from the UK to The Killing Fields. After putting on the audio device, I took a slow walk (following the numberings) and indulged myself with the history of this place. It was gruesome and sadness overwhelmed me.
...human skulls...
After almost two hours in The Killing Fields, we took a long ride back to town to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It was another gruesome experience.
...the barb wires to prevent suicides...
...one of the many classrooms where people were being tortured and left to die...
After an emotional tour in The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Museum, we went back to our hostel to grab ourselves some food and chilled before our Mekong River Cruise for sun set. A tuk-tuk came to pick us up from the hostel to the jetty and we were surprised to find out that we were the only ones in the cruise! *laughs*
...a long ride along Mekong River...
The sun was hidden behind the clouds, so no beautiful sunset shots *sob sob*
We walked down the Waterfront and into the Night Market. There were lots of stalls selling souvenirs and clothes and finally, we came to the food section where there were lots of mats on the floor. We walked a circle and bought some food for dinner and got ourselves a place to sit and enjoyed the dinner.
...take off your shoes, find a spot and eat away...
...FOOD!...
We had a long walk back to the hostel. The night was cold but it was a good walk and we called it a night as soon as we reached the hostel. We finally had a much longer and needed sleep before another day's walk in Phnom Penh.
The next day...
We found a small kopitiam and decided to give it a try. We ordered (dishes were not in English) and it was one of the best dishes we've had to far. After refueling ourselves over breakfast, we started our walk around the 'tourist spots' according to a map we bought the day before. We were supposed to visit the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda but unfortunately when we arrived, it was closed. So we walked straight to the National Museum and had a good tour in the museum. Coincidentally, we met three Sarawakians who were working with the Sarawak Museum and had a chat. The walk continued to Wat Phrom at the top of the hills and later we found a Maybank ATM where we took a bit of cash without any overseas charges *woohooo* and continued to the Central Market where we got ourselves some souvenirs!
...breakfast...
...National Museum...
...Wat Phrom...
...Central Market...
...Camburger...
It was the longest walk we ever had...many many kilometers around the city!
Our last day in Phnom Penh.
After packing up and checking out from our hostel, we took an early morning walk to the Independence Monument and had a quick bite before heading to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda.
...the Independence Monument...
...us in our backpacks with a tuk-tuk...
...Silver Pagoda...
After the whole morning of walking back and forth, visiting the last few monuments in Phnom Penh, we went back to the hostel and got ourselves a glass of Cambodian draft while waiting for our trip to the airport.
...we are the mad monkeys...
It was an awesome six days in Cambodia and definitely will make a trip here again, but this time to Silhanoukville (for sun, sea, sand and diving, of course!).
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