Arrival in Phnom Penh

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I did not know what to expect, having limited experience traveling in Asia alone, but the moment I landed, I felt that it was gonna be great. After the second worse landing ever, I got through Immigration quickly and headed got my baggage off the belt the moment I reached, Cambodian efficiency? Having arranged a pick-up from the airport to the place where I’d stay for the following days, I looked around for someone with a piece of paper with my name written and boy were there many people waiting for other people. It’s probably the first time that going from the airport to town was that simple, besides KLIA, Changi and Zürich.
Got into the taxi and sped of to join the chaos: the roads of Phnom Penh. Motorcycles were everywhere and no one was wearing a helmet and they were weaving in and out. There was not much visible since it was dark, but the chaos was nice. Reached Bodhi Tree opposite the Tuol Seng Genocide Museum, which was a house decked out in a guesthouse. Checked in and just in the nick of time, I managed to place my order for dinner. The kitchen was about to close and I made it in 15 minutes.
My room was upstairs and it looked real cool. A huge bed inside a mosquito net, a fan, chairs, a huge open space between the rooms and the bathroom and cats! Yeah, there were cats running around, but the place was so inviting.
My first Khmer meal was a dry curry with chicken and vegetables with a huge side of rice to go along with it and I was attracted to a mangosteen and mango shake. I just had to get the shake. I’ve seen mangosteens back home, but I’ve not seen it in a shake. The shake by all standards was superb. Very thick and frothy, with very little ice and not watered down and sweetened. Cool! As for the curry: superb! It could easily feed two people, but I was ravenous. I hadn’t had a thing since lunch at one and it was 9 in Cambodia. The amount of chicken was generous and so were the veggies, which were crunchy. Seriously, if this was how Khmer food tasted like, it blows the socks off food on the tiny island not too far away. After being stuffed I headed up for an early night because tomorrow was gonna be a long, long day.

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Photos

My first Khmer meal.
The mangosteen and mango shake on the right and the huge serving of dry curry with chicken and wonderful crunchy and crisp vegetables.

My room
My room for the next few days in Phnom Penh