Posted by Karbo
When we touched down in Phnom Penh, the first thing we noticed was how much hotter it was than Vietnam. There are also mosquitos EVERYWHERE! However, Cambodian mosquitos seem to be a lazy breed; we always saw them floating around but only received a few bites during our time in Cambodia.
We'd read about the recent garment workers strike in Phnom Penh that had turned violent and weren't sure what to expect. After checking into our hotel, we were told that group gatherings of 10+ people were no longer allowed and that it was safe to go to the main attractions in the city. We spent our first night walking down the riverside promenade (Sisowath Quay) and ended up at the night market, where we had balut for the first time!
Our friends Angus and Sheila, who had recently stayed at the same hotel, recommended a tuktuk driver to us for our time in Phnom Penh. From what they could tell us, his name was Jim, he liked working out, and he wore a blue helmet.
We started out bright and early the next morning with Jim (whose name actually turns out to be Jen but to be consistent, we'll keep calling him Jim). We'd booked him for the entire day, which included stops at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. Both sites were instrumental during the Cambodian genocide under the Khmer Rouge regime. It was an emotionally draining day and we learned a lot of the recent, devastating history of Cambodia.
Genocide Museum
Killing Fields
On a lighter note...
We went for lunch after and had our first taste of beef lukluk, one of our favourite dishes from the Phnom Penh restaurant in Vancouver!
We went for lunch after and had our first taste of beef lukluk, one of our favourite dishes from the Phnom Penh restaurant in Vancouver!
Jim was also nice enough to take us to buy SIM cards. We went to a few places before we found the plan we wanted. Jim translated for us the entire time and was overall a great guy. He speaks great English, grew up in Phnom Penh and is very knowledgeable about the roads and attractions (not always the case as there are a lot of tuktuk drivers in Phnom Penh who are originally from the countryside), and was a safe driver. If you're looking for a tuktuk driver in Phnom Penh - we recommend Jim!
To round off a full day we went to Romdeng for dinner and had deep fried tarantula, a local delicacy. It was a bit tough to chew and I could only get through a leg. Jason went all the way, though, and had a full tarantula.
The next day we went to the Royal Palace, which is partially open to the public. It was a very majestic example of Khmer architecture and we also saw some very impressive Buddha statues. One was covered in over 2,000 diamonds!
I was on a bit of a smoothie fad while in SE Asia so for lunch we went to the Artillery Cafe. The cafe is a bit difficult to find but well worth the effort! It's in a hidden alley with interesting shops and the cafe itself is great. Healthy food was a bit hard to find in Cambodia and the salad and smoothies we had at the cafe really hit the spot. We also had a chance to chat with the owner, who is originally from Oregon.
We also checked out Wat Phnom, a Buddhist temple situated on top of the only hill in the city of Phnom Penh. Legend has it that the temple was erected by a Madame Penh. Phnom means "hill" in Khmer, which led to the name Phnom Penh.
There's an admission fee of $2/pp at Wat Phnom. We were stopped by a security guard at the top of the hill and handed our cash over to him. There's no receipt and no tickets are issued so we don't know whether all the money collected during the day actually goes towards the temple.
There's an admission fee of $2/pp at Wat Phnom. We were stopped by a security guard at the top of the hill and handed our cash over to him. There's no receipt and no tickets are issued so we don't know whether all the money collected during the day actually goes towards the temple.
For our last dinner in Phnom Penh we went for Indian food at Kathmandu Kitchen, which was right across the street from our hotel. We didn't have any expectations and were pleasantly surprised! We'd have to say it was one of the best meals we had in Cambodia - we even bought some naan bread the next day for our bus ride to Siem Reap.