Exploring Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia and it’s a 6-hour bus ride from Siem Reap (with a stop over every  hours). We were hoping to take the Mekong Express bus or plane going there but both were fully booked so we ended up taking a regular airconditioned bus.

 

While waiting for the bus to go, we chanced upon the shoot of Amazing Race right across where our bus was parked!:)

My seatmate was a Cambodian but I slept throughout the trip since I was so tired from our temple-hopping the previous days.  I was so oblivious that when he got off, that was the only time I realized he was bringing a live duck inside a bag.  I only heard the duck make a sound when he stood up to leave carrying the bag. Tamed duck. Haha...  

Anyway, here are some of the places to see when in Phnom Penh:

Royal Palace. Within the grounds, you can visit not just the Royal Palace but also temples like the Silver Pagoda (its floor is made of silver) which houses an emerald Buddha and a golden Buddha weighing close to 500 kgs and encrusted with more than a thousand diamonds.  Sorry, picture-taking isn't allowed though inside the structures.  

Here are some of the photos I took at the Royal Palace grounds -

Russian Market. Some stalls sell factory overruns of branded clothes but it was so hot inside the market that we couldn’t stand going through the goods under such heat so ended up not buying anything at all!:)

Happy Painting Gallery. I love the colorful paintings and I was so tempted to buy (specifically the Happy Bus artwork) but they are so expensive! A small painting costs USD200 and the hand-made limited edition silkscreens cost about USD120. The artworks are by Stef, a French painter, who is quite popular in Cambodia. He paints subjects like happy monks, happy moms, happy Cambodian people because he wants to promote happy images of a nation that suffered a lot. Anyway, I’ll just attempt to paint my own Happy Painting-inspired artwork soon:) But I did buy a Happy Painting shirt - maybe I can just frame it! haha...

 

Kravan House. This is a shop near our hotel, FCC Phnom Penh. The products here (mostly bags and accessories) are made by local villagers and apparently, if you buy an item, proceeds will go to the specific villager who made it. The stuff are really nice and reasonably priced and they’re for a good cause.:)

FCC Phnom Penh is a great hotel to stay in.  The location is just walking distance to the Royal Palace, very near shops and fronting the Mekong River.

BTW, can I just tell you that I personally think Cambodian drivers are more highly skilled than Pinoys. They can converse while driving motorcycles side by side on main roads AND in major intersections, all kinds of vehicles (bikes, motorcycles, tuktuk and cars) can just pass through, to each his own, even though there aren't any trafiic lights! It was just unbelievable. haha...

Temple-hopping and travel tips to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Cambodia is known for Angkor Wat, Tomb Raider, Maddox and Pol Pot (ok, I intentionally put Tomb Raider and Maddox ahead of Pol Pot! Haha…). But on a recent trip to Cambodia, here are some other interesting things I discovered about the place, particularly Siem Reap:

1. Temples. There are thousands of temples in Cambodia. We were able to visit 10 in Siem Reap and though others say they look the same, I think each one has its own character and charm. My favorite temples are:

Angkor Wat – the best time to go there is either sunrise or sunset. You’d be surprised to see swarms of tourists as early as 5am! I enjoyed exploring the grounds and imagining life inside the palace. Huge palace. There are even 4 pools inside for the king’s wives.

 

Sunrise at Angkor Wat. We were there before 5am:)

I think this is a room of one of the king's wives.

This is Angkor Wat from the back entrance

You can also ride the hot air balloon to see the sunset but at the time we were there, it was windy so it was closed.

Ta Phrom – this is where Tomb Raider was shot. The gigantic trees are just so overwhelming. You look like a dwarf against the trees. I'm 5'6" but the roots are even taller than me!

Phnom Bakheng – Nice place to view the sunset but I’ve to warn you that the steps are high and steep. Easy to go up but really scary going down. The technique going down is to just focus on one step at a time and to never look beyond each step so you don’t realize how high it is. 

The steps are steep!

 Here are assorted shots from the other temples we visited -

Spotted these elephants while we were walking towards a temple.  Usually, you need to walk long distance to get to a temple.  Make sure to apply sunblock, bring a wide-brimmed hat or umbrella, and bring an extra change of clothes because you'll be really sweaty. 

 2. Killing Fields. The place where we stayed in was actually near the Killing Fields and we passed by the site everyday. At the center of the area, there’s a small glass cabinet that houses skulls and bones of some of those who were killed. I didn’t bother looking at the photo exhibit anymore because I wanted to have happy memories of Cambodia.

 3. Khmer Food. What to try – Fish amok (their version of laing), fried chicken and Cambodian barbecue (it's not the same as our barbecue but more like hot pot / shabu-shabu).   We had dinner buffet one night and it was USD12/head. 

4. Cars. The Toyota Camry is just a basic car in Cambodia. Their cabs are mostly Camrys. Apparently, these are reconditioned cars from First world countries.

5. Monks. You can have your photo taken with them (better though if a local will ask permission on your behalf) but make sure you keep a good distance when taking photos. Physical contact with them is taboo.

6. Old market. It’s a nice place to shop! I love their shirts and bought a lot. One of which states a fave expression of Cambodians – SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT. At first we couldn’t quite get what it means. But later on, we actually found ourselves using it! When we went shopping, we tell the seller to give us the same price as the other stores because they are selling the same same t-shirts but different designs! Haha… 

7. Language. Most Cambodians have a difficulty pronouncing S at the end of words (if the S is at the start or middle of the word, they can pronounce it). For example, when you say Philippines, they’ll say “Philippine”. We only realized this when our driver was telling us a story about planting something that sounds like “rye”. He was saying over and over “when you plant rye”… “when we harvest rye…”, then we realized he meant rice! A friend who’s based in Cambodia confirmed this. In fact, she said that in their office, one expression that her Cambodian officemates often utter is “Oh my goodne!” But I like Cambodians. I think they are one of the kindest and sincerest people.

Some useful tips:
- Don’t change to the local currency anymore. USD is widely accepted – just make sure you have small denomination of US bills.

- Car rental is only USD25 per day! They charge an extra USD10 for farther destinations. Drivers/guides are pretty flexible in itineraries. We requested to have naps in between our temple explorations! Haha..  You can also rent bikes if you're more adventurous. :)

- If you’re planning to stay in Siem Reap for a couple of days or more, get the temple pass for 3-4 days. It’s about USD40 and will allow you entry to all the temples. Just make sure to bring it all the time.

- If you're Catholic, there's anticipated mass on Saturday and masses on Sunday.  Just ask your guide where it is because I can't describe how to get there. Haha...   But here's where the mass was held.  You need to remove your shoes before entering the hall.  

We just sat the whole time except during consecration when we knelt.   During the mass, the priest acknowledged all new faces and he asked us from which countries we come from.   Beautiful mass and friendly people.  

If you're planning to go to Siem Reap, you can get in touch with Mr Phansy for tours and hotel reservation. He can be contacted at phansyros@yahoo.com or +85592890005. Wann Dy (pronounced as Vann Dee) was our guide/driver who drove us around in a Toyota Camry. :)