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Day 4 @ Phnom Penh
No bus tickets to Vietnam!
The time was 1pm in the afternoon. Upon stepping down from the bus, we were greeted by an overwhelming crowd of tuk-tuk drivers calling out to us, some were holding up signs with names while the others tried desperately to introduce guesthouses to us (I can imagine they will get commission if they managed to introduce tenants). Luckily there was a barrier which separated them from the passengers, if not we will definitely be mobbed by them! After collecting our luggage, we proceeded to the ticketing office (which was just next to where the bus stopped) to buy our bus tickets to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow.
There were 4-5 officers serving the customers and we manage to grab an available (and not to mention very pleasant) lady to serve us. We wanted to take the earliest bus out to HCMC but unfortunately, it was already full! (Which I had feared, since we only plan to buy the ticket the day before). Luckily, there was an afternoon bus at 115pm to HCMC and there were still a few seats left. The ticket cost us USD12 per person. The lady that served us, upon hearing us conversing in Mandarin, tried to talk to us in broken Mandarin. Her sincerity is very much appreciated. I was surprised that there were Cambodians who could actually speak Mandarin.
Something to note, there are no visa on arrivals at the Vietnam border. If you intend to travel to Vietnam, please do check on the immigration requirements depending on your nationality. Generally, ASEAN countries do not need visas to enter Vietnam. The good thing is when you try to buy a bus ticket into Vietnam, the bus agencies will actually remind you that you need a visa. If you do not have one, I think they can arrange to get one for you. Most of the guesthouses have this service also. I’m not very sure of the processing time, but I read somewhere it can be ready in 1-2 days.
Bargaining Skills
When we stepped out of the ticketing office, we were again swarmed by tuk-tuk drivers. The starting price were all USD2 and above. We walked away from the crowd and manage to get a tuk-tuk ride for USD1 (after much bargaining). I must thank my fiancée for his persistent bargaining, if I were the one who bargained, I would have given in to the USD2 or USD1.50 offered by them. The tuk-tuk drivers would make it sound like anything less than USD2 is absolutely absurd! But don’t give in easily, it is possible to get a cheaper price.
We stayed at the Spring Guesthouse, which was not located next to the riverfront. That probably explains the cheap price (USD12 per night). It is quite new, judging from its appearance. Different from the other guesthouse we stayed in, we paid upon arrival instead of upon checkout. For more information, please read review for Spring Guesthouse. For lunch, the BF suggested a restaurant by the name of Lemongrass Restaurant in town (refer to review of Lemongrass Restaurant). Word of caution, do not take the tuk-tuks that are waiting outside your guesthouse. They will usually charge at a higher price, so be patient and walk out to the main road and flag down any passing tuk-tuks (unless you do not mind paying an extra USD1).
Central Market - all you can buy under the sun
After lunch, we walked to Central Market from Lemongrass Restaurant. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be quite a long walk, around 15 minutes. The weather was unbearably hot, luckily I had my trusty umbrella with me. Central Market is indeed, a very interesting place. At first glance, it looked like a very chaotic place. But as I walked through it, I suddenly came to realize what the phrase “organized chaos” means. The place is actually divided into sections and all the stalls within the same section sell similar stuff. We passed through stalls that sold fruit, food, electrical goods, pots and pans, books, watches, jewelery, clothes, etc. One thing I did notice, Cambodians do love durians! I passed through a few stalls where the vendors just sat down on the floor and started eating durian!
We didn’t buy anything at Central Market and the heat was starting to get to us too. As we left Central Market and started making our way back, we pass through a modern looking shopping complex with air conditioning! Without much hesitation, we went in and found a supermarket. We tried to find any unique local produce to buy back as souvenirs but couldn’t find any. In the end, we bought drinking water instead. Funny thing was, all the goods in the supermarket were quoted in USD.
We made our way back to the guesthouse and rested for awhile before going out for dinner. I decided to eat at the Frizz Restaurant, which apparently had garnered good reviews from the internet (Please refer to Frizz Restaurant for more details). Upon stepping out of the guesthouse, we started walking to the main road to try to get a tuk-tuk there. The weather was quite cool and as we strolled further and further, we decided not to take a tuk-tuk and walked there instead. It took us 20-30 minutes in total. If the weather is cool, walking to the riverfront is not that tiring.
Riverfront - disappointing
After dinner, we took a stroll along the riverfront. The river view was VERY disappointing, it is nothing comparable to Bangkok. The riverbank opposite was virtually drowned in darkness and there didn’t seem to be any boats on the river, except for those floating restaurants which seemed like a rip-off to me. However, the Cambodians love to loiter around the riverfront area and they treat it like a mini outing. Overall, we felt safe when we were walking along the riverfront. No worries there. We headed back early to the guesthouse because there wasn’t much to do. There were a few interesting restaurants, cafes and bars but 7 hours in the bus has taken its toll on us. Time to recharge!
Summary of the Day
630am: Pickup from Guesthouse
720am: Arrive at "Bus Station"
800am: Board the bus
830am: Depart from Siem Reap
120pm: Arrive at Phnom Penh
200pm: Check in to Hotel
230pm: Lunch
3pm - 430pm: Central Market and Shopping
5pm - 6pm: Rest at Guesthouse
7pm - 830pm: Dinner and back to guesthouse
Day 5 @ Phnom Penh
A Glimpse of Royalty
The day started early as we departed from the guesthouse at 730am. The plan was to visit the Royal Palace located at the riverfront in the morning and then back to the guesthouse to pack. We did not have any plan to eat at a specific place so we decided to stop by riverfront for breakfast. Most of the eating places we passed by at night were not opened yet and it looked deserted. We finally decided on Happy Herb Pizza (refer to restaurant review). Around 9am, we ventured to Royal Palace. The external view resembled the Royal Palace at Bangkok but on a less grand scale. Tickets set us back USD3 a piece and there were signs warning the visitors to dress appropriately. However, compared to Bangkok the dress code here were less strict and I saw foreigners walking in shorts. So much for worrying over my slightly low cut t-shirt! The Royal Palace compound while big, can be covered entirely on foot. We visited the throne hall first followed by the Silver Pagode or also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (very similiar to Royal Palace of Bangkok!). The throne hall showcased some French influence. A big portion of the interior were off limits to the public but we were allowed to wander around the parameter and catch a glimspe of the royal throne. The Silver Pagoda was named because of the thousands of silver tiles which cover the floors of its interior. On display inside the Silver Pagoda were the gifts and personal belongings of the royal family.
The royal grounds are well kept with some interesting flowers (refer to photo). Behind the Silver Pagoda is the residence of the royal family, with high fences and all. I really can't imagine, how does the royal family of a poor country like Cambodia live? No offence but Cambodia is the poorest country I have ever been to but royalty still exists?
Besides the two main structures mentioned above, there are also stupas (memorials) errected in the remembrance of past great kings, i.e. King Noordom. There is also a miniature model of Angkor Wat. There was nothing else interesting and we finished touring the Royal Palace in an hour. We didn't know where else to go as it was still early so we went to the Paragon Shopping Complex just behind the Royal Palace, about 10 minutes walk to enjoy the air-condition. After that, we went back to the guesthouse to pack and get ready for the bus trip to Vietnam.
Summary of the Day:
730am - 830am: Wakeup and breakfast
900am - 1030am: Royal Palace
1100am - 1130am: Shopping
1215pm - 115pm: Preparing to board the bus
previous travel blog entry
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