Phnom Penh to Bangkok - Day Twelve

We still had a few things we wanted to do in Phnom Penh before our 5pm flight. We took a tuk tuk over to the Russian Market, which we liked much more than the Central Market. While the Russian Market lacks the cool building that the Central Market has, the items for sale were more on par with what we wanted as souvenirs. We bought some beautiful wooden bowls and a couple T-shirts.

Then we tuk-tuked to Monument Books, a large bookstore with many English titles. I was hoping to find a comic book in Cambodian for a friend but I didn't find one. If you like bookstores, this is a good one to check out.

After that, we took one more stroll down 240 just in case I saw another souvenir. But we only ended up buying a couple of chocolates.

We took our last walk back to the hotel passing through the Cambodian Vietnamese Memorial Monument.

A cool creature near the actual monument

After checking out at the hotel, we went next door to Phsar Kabko. It reminded me of Sovana, filled with locals. I had a delicious sausage fried rice. The sausage was sweet and had a bacon meets salami flavor.

Hubs had pineapple pork, also very tasty.

A very violent movie played on the large TV behind my head, so that was amusing. Fried Rice + Pineapple Pork + 2 waters + tip = $7. Such a good deal.

Our hotel stay included a ride to the airport for our flight to Bangkok. I thought we would be taken on a tuk tuk, but it turned out to be a Lexus SUV. The drive to the airport ended up being through a lot of small side streets. I thought we might be taking larger roads, but I'm not sure major roads exist in Cambodia like they do in most of the world.

Cambodia might just be the most amazing place I've ever been. The unbelievable sights, the smiling people, the red clay in the road. I will never forget the beauty of the countryside and the energy of Phnom Penh.

And then we were on to Bangkok. The immigration line in Bangkok was particularly long and took about an hour to get through. Also, when we were in Thailand, 30 Baht = $1.

From the airport, we took the city line train to the BTS. I think it was 40 Baht per person, then we took the BTS to our hotel at Nara. The public transportation is pretty fantastic. I'd heard cab horror stories about Bangkok and we went to many different parts of the city and never needed or wanted a cab or tuk tuk.

We checked into our hotel On8. The room had the best bathroom of the trip. The biggest drawback of the room was that it didn't have any windows, but that's probably why we got a good deal on it. The hotel is right next to the subway, super convenient, and, probably because of no windows, was quite quiet. Plus, the included breakfast was solid.

Being fairly exhausted, we had dinner next door at Aryaa's, really good vegetarian Indian food. Hubs had Malai Kofta that was like the inside of a samosa. I had a yellow masala with paneer. Everything was the perfect comfort food and meat wasn't missed. In our exhaustion, we forgot to take photos. The meal was 700 Bht with tip. The beginning of many good meals in Bangkok.

Day Eleven - Phnom Penh

This day was our one full day in Phnom Penh, so we knew we needed to make the most of it.

Our first stop was the Royal Palace.

The grounds were pretty, but unfortunately, most of the grounds were closed to tourists, so that was disappointing.

Also, we were most excited about seeing the house that Napoleon gave as a gift but it was being restored and was completely covered with green tarp.

Through a small hole in the tarp.

The entrance fee to the Royal Palace was $6.25 per person.

From there we walked to the National Museum. Many of the statues found inside Angkor Wat and Bayon reside there, and I found the visit to be worthwhile. There aren't many paintings or other forms of art, it's almost all statues.

My favorite exhibit (I don't believe it was permanent) was a collection of dancing photographs taken by a French photographer in the late 20's when it was feared that Cambodian traditional dance was going to become a lost art. One of the five dancers photographed had danced at the Palace 15 years prior and had been kicked out due to a bad attitude. She could still do all the moves, she just had to stop every now and again for cramps. She was in her 50's when the photos were taken and she still looked great.

We started walking north towards the Central Market and ate lunch at Romdeng, a place serving Khmer fusion food that teaches local at risk youth how to cook and serve. I had a crispy noodle salad topped with sweet potato filled spring rolls. It was huge and delicious and refreshing and I ate every last bite.

Hubs had a green papaya salad with beef, and it was filled with bright flavors.

The bill was $15 w/ tip. The restaurant had a lovely courtyard setting in complete shade, so it was the perfect place to escape the heat and support a great cause. Plus, the food was excellent.

We continued walking north to the Central Market which was in a really cool yellow art deco building. The market was huge and we wandered around for a little while but the only thing we bought was a large piece of sugar palm for 2000 Riel (about 50 cents).

Since it was hot, we took a tuk tuk back to the hotel for $3. Later, we headed out to FCC, a beautiful French Colonial building on the river. The second and third floors are open, so you can look out onto the streets and river below and its the perfect place to have a drink or two or three and they have great deals during happy hour.

People watching and sunset gazing while drinking a Tiger beer is the way to go.

After the sunset, we walked up the river, a cool breeze blowing us along. The Cambodians do a sort of flash mob activity in public places where someone with a boombox leads an aerobics class and whoever is walking by can join in. It's a free workout. I'm still scarred from line dancing in middle school, so I wasn't partaking, but it was fun to watch. We saw another one in a park on the way home.

We wandered around near the river trying to decide where to eat dinner. On a small side street, a large, white tent was set up in the middle of the street. It turned out, a large wedding was going on. We ended up eating near the tent at Noodle House and were treated to covers of American 50's songs courtesy of the cover band. It was neat seeing a full-scale banquet wedding set up in the middle of city street.

Dinner was good. Hubs had a beef noodle salad, which was very sweet.

I had Khmer curry with noodles. I loved all the stuff it came with to mix in.

One of the cooks stood at an outdoor station next to us and hand stretched noodles as we ate, so they were good noodles. We also had an order of pork dumplings which were fine.

salad + curry + dumplings + large water + tip = $12 -- Great deal!

On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped at The Blue Pumpkin, an ice cream chain in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. I had peanut, Hubs had caramel cashew. Mine was better. 2 scoops = $3.
We sat on the second floor balcony and watched the aerobic dancing next to the river. Geckos crawled around the walls above our heads. They moved like snakes, lurking after bugs.

Tired, we took a tuk tuk the rest of the way back to the hotel and I conked out immediately even with a nap.

In Phnom Penh, an average tuk tuk ride is $3-$4 without tip. Paying more than $4, you're probably getting ripped off if you're not going all the way across town.

Day Ten - Siem Reap to Phnom Penh

Mostly a travel day. We booked a 6 hour bus ride on the Mekong Express. It was the most economical way both time-wise and money-wise for us. I don't remember how much it cost, but I think it was under $15 per person. A shuttle picked us up at the hotel and took us to the bus station. Just don't plan on sleeping. In Cambodia, the horn is used liberally to announce your presence, whether you're passing, turning, or not stopping. Being a in a fast-moving bus on a busy roadway filled with slow vehicles means the bus will be honking a lot.

We took a $5 tuk-tuk to Hotel 9 when we arrived in Phnom Penh. The room was small, the staff was frazzled, and the bathroom had a...scent. Not quite sewer-y, but not pleasant. We were just happy to be off the bus. And even if it wasn't the greatest hotel, the location was perfect for us, walking distance to almost everything we wanted to see.

Crossing the road is terrifying in Phnom Penh. There are no stop signs and no street lights. It's just run and pray, mostly. Eventually, we found 240, a trendy street filled with Western boutique shops. I have to highly recommend the shop Keokjey. I bought a cute shirt with bulldog print and a great canvas belt for $16. All of the material used to make the clothes is recycled and the outfit employs women infected with HIV. Not only does Koekjey make fashionable clothes, they also support a great humantarian cause.

We headed back near our hotel for dinner, passing by the National Monument (photo at top of post). It looks like a red version of the entrance at Angkor Wat, and it's quite striking at night.

Walking around Phnom Penh, it felt like a real city, which I didn't feel in Chiang Mai or Siem Reap. I loved the frenetic traffic energy, I loved all the monuments. I just had a good feeling about this place from the moment we stepped out of our hotel.

We ate dinner at Sovana, a mostly outdoor restaurant specializing in grilled meat. We had grilled pork:

And fried noodles with beef:

The food was delicious, and the vibe was great. No tourists,  the place was packed, and the staff didn't speak English, so ordering was an adventure.

Pork + Beef Noodles + 2 cans of beer = $7. This place was wonderful! We probably would've eaten here again if we had another day in Phnom Penh.

Day Nine - Siem Reap Temple-Free

Aw, no more temples. When planning our trip, we decided to stay an extra day in Siem Reap so we'd have time to check out the town and surrounding areas. Here's what we did.

The Happy Ranch Horse Farm. This farm is a ten minute ride outside of town. We had considered booking a trail ride here (they're highly rated on Trip Advisor), but I let my allergies win out. And, I'm not gonna lie, BoonPak wrecked my thighs, and riding a horse did not sound like fun.

I still wanted to see the Cambodian horses, they're smaller and have zebra-like manes compared to Quarter Horses. We asked the friendly Australians that run the place if we could take photos, and they were fine with it.

As Mr. Han drove us back to town, he stopped when he saw a chicken fighting a duck.

Chicken vs Duck. Victory went to the Chicken.

He said it was a one in a million sight to see and was so excited.

On our orientation drive around town upon our arrival to Siem Reap, we drove past a park that we vowed to come back to. It's a beautiful, peaceful place across from the Grand Hotel.

Many, many fruit bats hung from the trees. They looked so small hanging so high up, but when one would occasionally fly from branch to branch, they were shockingly large. Fortunately, they sound like birds, which helped neutralize the fear factor.

I sat on a park bench and journaled. On my bench arm, I watched a spider trick and kill a fly. Oh cruel world.


Mr. Han was kind enough to pose for a photo at the park.

If you want an excellent driver and guide when in Angkor Wat, I cannot recommend him highly enough and he truly enhanced our visit. If you would like to book him for your visit, he can be contacted by e-mail at hanmony005 (at) yahoo dot com.

We had Mr. Han drop us off downtown near a section of town known for giving cheap haircuts. Hubs got a fine $2 haircut. One of the men in the shop was fascinated with our camera, and Hubs let him play with it during his haircut. He actually took some excellent photos, this being one of them:

We walked back over to Pub Street for lunch at Le Tigre D'Papier. I had Khmer Cannelloni, a mild chicken curry wrapped in rice paper, covered with cheese, and baked until golden (served with bread). It was good, but too rich. Curry + cheese = too much. And now I know. Not every cuisine needs an Italian twist :)

Hubs made a more sensible choice of Beef Fried Noodles and they were delicious.

We went back to the hotel and Mr. Han picked us up to go to Tonle Sap Lake. The journey there was foretelling, the roads were gutted with potholes from the floods. These potholes made Chicago potholes feel like golf course divots.

I now look back, and can say without a doubt that the living conditions on the Tonle Sap Lake are the poorest and saddest I've ever seen. You know how you always see poverty-stricken cultures in Africa and everyone is always amazed at how happy and smiling the people are despite their poverty? I guess that's what I was expecting on the Tonle Sap Lake. Cambodia is a third world country. They've been through terrible, terrible hardships in the last half century. And the people do seem happy and resilient. But not the people on the Tonle Sap Lake.

Most of the homes are simply large wooden row boats with hut-like structures on top of them to make a home. It's hot and smelly. Of everywhere I've been in the world, this is the place I'd least like to live.

Mr. Han's commentary didn't help. He said he once lived on the Tonle Sap Lake as a fisherman and only slept a few hours each night out of fear that his expensive and coveted fishing nets would be stolen. He also coldly mentioned that the mosquitoes were terrible at night.

Okay, I know that was a lot of negativity in the last couple paragraphs. I don't know what I expected to gain from visiting the Tonle Sap Lake. I suppose I just wanted to see a community that was built on water, unlike anything I'd ever seen. And it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. I left feeling so blessed for the life I have.

When I got back to the hotel, I did what any over-privileged, guilt ridden person would do. I got a facial. It wasn't the best, but for $10 it was fine.

For dinner, we went to Koulen Restaurant, a huge banquet hall, to watch traditional Khmer dancing. The food was selection was massive, buffet style, and I ate too much. The dancing was unique; slow, controlled movements, very hard to do and they made it look easy. All the music was played by musicians positioned next to the stage, which was a great touch. At the end, you could go onstage and have your photo taken with the dancers, which was hilarious because the dancers looked so uncomfortable with it.

Equally awkward for all involved.

Back at the hotel, I tried to have a cocktail, but I was too tired to drink most of it, physically and emotionally.

Siem Reap - Day Eight

Today was the last day of our 3 day temple pass. We left the hotel at 6:30 am to go back to Tha Phrom to take more photos before the crowds arrived. Plus, it was so cool, definitely worth two visits for us. It's one of my favorite places I've ever been. Here's a couple more photos of new trees we found on our second visit.

After Tha Phrom, we went to a silk farm. We learned how the silk worms are raised and how their cocoons are painstakingly stirred in hot water to separate a thread to create a single strand of silk.

We also saw how the silk is dried and dyed.

Then we got to wander through a few rooms filled with traditional looms where artisans still handweave fabric. I would never have the patience for it (it takes three days to make a scarf), but it was a beautiful process to watch.

Cultural moment of the day: I ate a silk worm. How very Andrew Zimmern of me. Squishy, not my favorite texture. Our guide at the silk farm said Cambodians usually have them fried with lime, served with beer. That doesn't sound half bad.

Then Mr. Han drove us the the Rolous Temples. The first one was Preah Ko, which had amazing white stucco that's lasted through the centuries. There's also writing in all the doorways that's incredibly well-preserved. It doesn't look anywhere near as old as it is.

The other temple was Bakong which had dark stones and steep steps. Animal statues surround the perimeter.

The Rolous Temples were pretty far away from Siem Reap. By the time we got back, we had lunch at our hotel restaurant, since one restaurant lunch was included in our package. (Whenever I haven't mentioned lunch, a sandwich lunch was provided by our hotel, in a cooler so we could take it with us when we left in the morning. This was awesome, so convenient, and worth paying a little extra money so we could eat lunch where and when we wanted.)

Hubs had fried rice with an egg.

I had beef kroeung, a traditioanl Khmer curry. Delicious, not spicy (not that I dislike spice), with lime and colorful peppers.

After lunch, we headed out to Phnom Bakheng. We hiked on a trail up to the top of the hill to get to the temple. Well worth the hike for the amazing views of the surrounding jungle and Angkor Wat framed beneath the trees. There was also a view of the Tonle Sap lake, definitely worth the hike up.

Angkor Wat in the distance



People staking out spots for the sunset

Since this was the last day of our temple pass, we had to go back to Angkor Wat for our last sunset. Again, no great colors, but great people watching and so peaceful, even with all the people. We were fortunate to get some amazing monk photos, some of my favorite photos from the entire trip.

We chilled at the Villa for a little bit, then headed to Pub Street. We ate dinner at The Red Piano, a Belgian restaurant, so we took a break from regional food for the evening.

I had spaghetti with chicken, ham, mushroom, and coconut cream sauce. The coconut was definitely there, but not overwhelming or too sweet. It was a very interesting, unique dish that I'm going to try and recreate at home one of these days. I had a Tiger beer, the best beer in the region IMO.

Hubs had a steak and fries. The fries were nowhere near as good as the fries in front of the Belfry, just saying.

2 entrees + 2 drinks + 1 shake + tip = $25

After dinner we walked through parts of the night market, every seller bombarding us. After awhile, it becomes overwhelming, and it was something I never got used to during the trip.