First Day in Phnom Penh
Day 5 (11th March 2008)
We were not able to have breakfast (I had my usual black coffee pero hindi na nga naubos coz the pick up van was there already!) as we need to be at the Psar Leu bus station before 8am – the bus station is about 30 mins away from the town center.
Siem Reap to Phnom Penh is a five-hour comfortable bus ride. We stopped off at Kompong Thom for a 30-minute break and guess what we found on the sidewalks --- fried crickets --- a Khmer specialty. They absolutely love it! Eeewww….to each his own….. we settled for green mangos na lang, I don’t think my stomach can handle the exotic crickets!
Kompong Thom is also famous for being the birthplace of the very “infamous” Pol Pot --- the dictator who massacred thousands of Cambodians during his reign of terror.
Phnom Penh
Finally, we arrived at about 1.45pm in Phnom Penh and went looking for a tuktuk to take us to our guesthouse, Golden Bridge Hotel. It was all arranged by ZJ, the blogger friend of Ganda who is based here in Phnom Penh.
God! Our feet are so dirty….the days of walking are taking its toll… it’s really hideously dirty and needs a trip to the spa!
After having a late lunch, we decided to start exploring the city.
We immediately went to the Royal Palace. Just at the back of the riverfront area near Sisowath Quay, the popular backpacker/tourist hangout where all the spas, restaurants, guesthouses, and bus offices converges. The entrance fee of 25,000 riel also includes entry to the Silver Pagoda. The palace complex is very small if you compared it to the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Walking around the grounds, it looks like a replica of the Thai royal palace, from the throne hall to the nearby pavilions and stupas.
Behind the Throne hall (Preah Tineand Tevea Vinichay) is a roped off area --- the official residence of King Norodom. During our visit, the flag was up and waving meaning the King is in residence (that is what I learned in a previous visit to the Maharaja of Mysore’s palace in India).
Most of the paintings and wall frescoes are about coronations, weddings, wars, and other important occasions in Khmer royal history. I never get tired looking at these things. It’s a story about the past, their very colorful past.
Okay, where is KFC?????????? I can’t find any single KFC in the entire city!!! I told Janeth, best bet will be the Sorya Shopping Mall --- I mean, all the malls in Asia will have at least a branch of KFC, right?
Sorry, the answer is NO. Medyo hindi pa sila thouroughly corrupted by the Westernized food chain cuisine. So we settled for the local version --- a very similar place with fried chicken fare, copycat ba. Ganda keep on urging me to look for a spa coz we are really desperate to have our feet cleaned up. As in, its too disgusting for us to even look at!
There we were in the street outside the mall, with our map spread out in front of us and I was busy explaining to the tuktuk drivers where I wanted to go and if they know the place when…. Bang..bang… we immediately tensed up and Ganda exclaimed “ano yun? Vons, baril yun ah!”. Of course, I told her, it’s a gun shot. Most likely someone heated up from a traffic altercation in the next block (the shot was too near) coz the traffic in front of the mall was very slow moving that time. Hay naku, we discarded the idea of looking for a spa. Di bale na, ayoko pang mabaril ano!
I’m not really that concerned. I came here with the knowledge that a lot of rich people still carry guns or their bodyguards does. Fights are not settled in the courts but in the bars, restaurants, or in the streets through the muzzle of a gun. Its so 80’s. I remember the stories that my mother often tell about certain political dynasties in our province, how they shot a highway worker just because he was too slow to move the placard saying “Men at Work”. Phnom Penh, or Cambodia for that matter, is still stuck in that era --- a Third World country in the 1980s.
I love the place and its people but the extremities (the rich with their guns and hummers) are something that is difficult to accept with my middle class upbringing.
As in super pagod! We decided to retire early coz we still have a heavy schedule tomorrow (The Killing Fields and Toul Sleng) and after dinner, we walked towards our guesthouse but when we passed by Liquid Bar………… hmmm… maybe just a single glass of Angkor to cap the day.
It was a slow night and they will be closing up in about an hour. There were just 2 other guys drinking at the counter so we headed to the pool table. I am not a good player but I really love the game, especially 9 ball --- aba eh, tatak ng isang Pinoy ang dapat marunong maglaro ng 9-ball.
Cheers!
We were not able to have breakfast (I had my usual black coffee pero hindi na nga naubos coz the pick up van was there already!) as we need to be at the Psar Leu bus station before 8am – the bus station is about 30 mins away from the town center.
Siem Reap to Phnom Penh is a five-hour comfortable bus ride. We stopped off at Kompong Thom for a 30-minute break and guess what we found on the sidewalks --- fried crickets --- a Khmer specialty. They absolutely love it! Eeewww….to each his own….. we settled for green mangos na lang, I don’t think my stomach can handle the exotic crickets!
Kompong Thom is also famous for being the birthplace of the very “infamous” Pol Pot --- the dictator who massacred thousands of Cambodians during his reign of terror.
Phnom Penh
Finally, we arrived at about 1.45pm in Phnom Penh and went looking for a tuktuk to take us to our guesthouse, Golden Bridge Hotel. It was all arranged by ZJ, the blogger friend of Ganda who is based here in Phnom Penh.
God! Our feet are so dirty….the days of walking are taking its toll… it’s really hideously dirty and needs a trip to the spa!
After having a late lunch, we decided to start exploring the city.
We immediately went to the Royal Palace. Just at the back of the riverfront area near Sisowath Quay, the popular backpacker/tourist hangout where all the spas, restaurants, guesthouses, and bus offices converges. The entrance fee of 25,000 riel also includes entry to the Silver Pagoda. The palace complex is very small if you compared it to the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Walking around the grounds, it looks like a replica of the Thai royal palace, from the throne hall to the nearby pavilions and stupas.
Behind the Throne hall (Preah Tineand Tevea Vinichay) is a roped off area --- the official residence of King Norodom. During our visit, the flag was up and waving meaning the King is in residence (that is what I learned in a previous visit to the Maharaja of Mysore’s palace in India).
Most of the paintings and wall frescoes are about coronations, weddings, wars, and other important occasions in Khmer royal history. I never get tired looking at these things. It’s a story about the past, their very colorful past.
Okay, where is KFC?????????? I can’t find any single KFC in the entire city!!! I told Janeth, best bet will be the Sorya Shopping Mall --- I mean, all the malls in Asia will have at least a branch of KFC, right?
Sorry, the answer is NO. Medyo hindi pa sila thouroughly corrupted by the Westernized food chain cuisine. So we settled for the local version --- a very similar place with fried chicken fare, copycat ba. Ganda keep on urging me to look for a spa coz we are really desperate to have our feet cleaned up. As in, its too disgusting for us to even look at!
There we were in the street outside the mall, with our map spread out in front of us and I was busy explaining to the tuktuk drivers where I wanted to go and if they know the place when…. Bang..bang… we immediately tensed up and Ganda exclaimed “ano yun? Vons, baril yun ah!”. Of course, I told her, it’s a gun shot. Most likely someone heated up from a traffic altercation in the next block (the shot was too near) coz the traffic in front of the mall was very slow moving that time. Hay naku, we discarded the idea of looking for a spa. Di bale na, ayoko pang mabaril ano!
I’m not really that concerned. I came here with the knowledge that a lot of rich people still carry guns or their bodyguards does. Fights are not settled in the courts but in the bars, restaurants, or in the streets through the muzzle of a gun. Its so 80’s. I remember the stories that my mother often tell about certain political dynasties in our province, how they shot a highway worker just because he was too slow to move the placard saying “Men at Work”. Phnom Penh, or Cambodia for that matter, is still stuck in that era --- a Third World country in the 1980s.
I love the place and its people but the extremities (the rich with their guns and hummers) are something that is difficult to accept with my middle class upbringing.
As in super pagod! We decided to retire early coz we still have a heavy schedule tomorrow (The Killing Fields and Toul Sleng) and after dinner, we walked towards our guesthouse but when we passed by Liquid Bar………… hmmm… maybe just a single glass of Angkor to cap the day.
It was a slow night and they will be closing up in about an hour. There were just 2 other guys drinking at the counter so we headed to the pool table. I am not a good player but I really love the game, especially 9 ball --- aba eh, tatak ng isang Pinoy ang dapat marunong maglaro ng 9-ball.
Cheers!
Comments
just wanna ask if one whole day enough to tour around PP?
by the way, was it really a gunshot you heard? parang nasa mindanao lng where people carry firearms everywhere?
Hopefully peaceful na ngayon dun.
Thanks!
just wanna ask is 1 day enough to roam around PP? Im travelling cambodia in very limited time and i want to spend more time touring Angkor wat.
By the way, are those gunshots u heard? scary naman parang mindanao lang na people carry firearms everywhere.
Thanks!
I suggest you stay in PP for at least 2 days so u can also visit the out of town sights like Tuol Sleng although u can get around with just 1 day if u really want to push it.
Ok naman na ngayon doon from what I heard from friends.
Enjoy your trip to Cambodia!