After arriving in Phnom Penh, we checked into our hotel, the King Grand Boutique. At $54 a night for ($27 each!), this hotel was absolutely fantastic and I couldn't recommend it enough. It was located on a quiet street, however there were enough people (and friendly tuk tuk drivers) around that we didn't feel unsafe. The room had a double bed to share, a lovely view, and a very clean bathroom with great water pressure (the amount of hot water, not so much).
On the roof of the hotel was a huge pool which was absolutely beautiful. Phnom Penh is a real city, especially when compared to Siem Reap, and we sat on the pool chairs enjoying the view before heading out to dinner. The pool was being cleaned so no swimming, but it was nice to lie down after a 7 hour bus trip sitting up.
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| Me, looking absolutely thrilled at the food! |
We headed out to dinner along Riverside, the river front (obviously) area of Phnom Penh. I can't remember exactly where we ate, but the food was amazing - we ordered a meal and a side each, as well as a huge chocolate milkshake. The sides were the size of normal meals already, so you can imagine how big the mains were.
After dinner, we headed out to the night markets. These weren't as touristy as the markets in Siem Reap, and as such, we didn't buy much. The clothes were what the locals would wear, so they weren't really our size at all. Sarah got a small wooden elephant, and I purchased a top for my friend. I attempted to barter for the top and was stopped in my tracks pretty quickly!
The next day, we woke up nice and early before enjoying breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. The buffet choice was very impressive, and it was lovely to sit next to the (other) pool while we discussed the day ahead. We hopped into a tuk tuk and headed out to the Killing Fields. This was a very sombre trip, as the Khmer Rouge is still very much an event that occurred in modern history. I would really recommend visiting the Killing Fields - it is hard to gain appreciation for an event as horrible as the Khmer Rouge until you have visited a site such as this.
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| We took the audio tour around the Killing Fields. |
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| Bracelets are placed in many locations around the Killing Fields. We thought it was a sign of respect. |
After the Killing Fields, we headed into the Russian markets for a spot of shopping (trust us). I picked up a bag, as well as a little elephant for myself. Sarah purchased a wooden motorcycle - she looked at it, asked the price, and then walked away: the merchant straight away offered it at less than half the price! The lady also gifted us each a tiny jewellery box and wished us all the best. It was yet another experience as to how lovely the Khmer people are.
We also had lunch around the markets, at an NGO restaurant. I can't remember what we ate, but I do remember the giant chocolate milkshakes (sensing a theme here?) We then went to the S21 Prison, otherwise known as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This was much more sombre than the Killing Fields, and I personally found it quite upsetting to see the violence that occurred at what used to be a high school. I think it's very important to visit this site, however just be aware that it is very confronting. We bumped into some of our friends from New Hope here and arranged to see them the next morning for breakfast.
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| The front of our hotel |
Following this, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. It was Australia Day, so we headed to the Foreign Correspondents Club to meet with Tom and Jane, some of our other friends from New Hope. We enjoyed happy hour cocktails, before heading out to another restaurant a street back from the main strip, for noodles that we watched the chef make by hand. Not making just the toppings, but the actual noodles. Pretty cool!
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| Our noodle man! |
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| More chocolate milkshakes... |
The next day we had breakfast with some friends at our hotel, and then headed to the central markets (absolutely massive!) before having lunch at a little restaurant a few streets back from the main strip. After a lunch of noodles, we headed to Blue Pumpkin, for (another) chocolate milkshake each, and some cake. I was basically falling asleep at the table - the last few days had been pretty full on! We then headed back to the hotel, and jumped in a taxi to the airport - Singapore, here we come!
Some tips for Phnom Penh
1. Be careful at night as we had a very scary experience when someone tried to pull Sarah's bag off her shoulder. We were in a group of 4, she had her bag slung over her shoulders like we had been taught, but a few men drove past very quickly on motorcycles and tried to break the strap by pulling it very hard. Sarah went flying, and was very lucky to only get a graze and bruises. I was more upset than she was, but it definitely shook us both up! I would recommend not carrying a bag at night, and instead using pockets. We did have a lovely tuk tuk driver take us home after this though, who helped us both out and gave us a big hug as he delivered us to our hotel!
2. Sort out your rate with tuk tuk drivers before getting in their tuk tuk. If you have agreed on a set price, they will stick to this, however if you don't do this before you reach your destination, you may be ripped off. We had one tuk tuk driver with us for the whole day, who waited for us while we went to the Killing Fields, took us around town, and was very friendly. We paid $25 for the whole day.
3. Make sure you know the exact location of your hotel as some hotel chains have more than one hotel in the city.
Enjoy your travels!
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