Making Our Way South!

Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh
December 5th 2012

Published: January 29th 2013

The next leg of our excursion was taking us to Phnom Penh. After some breakfast, we all hopped on a bus and took off for a several hour journey to Phnom Penh. I have to say traveling in Thailand looks amazing after traveling in Cambodia. The buses are a bit more janky, you are lucky if you have a bathroom, you usually get a meal, and it rarely breaks down.

None the less we made it to our destination and found our way to Capital Guesthouse. After the amazing way we were treated at Happy, Capital was a disappointment. Not only was it more expensive at $8 a night, but it was ugly and the staff was less than friendly compared to Happy.

We checked in, threw our stuff down and headed out for some food. We found ourselves on the street once more ordering up some of those delicious noodles we had found in Siem Reap. On the table there was also a salad/coleslaw type thing to eat which Erica and I gobbled up. Hey free food is free food and volunteers will never turn down free stuff.

The next morning we were heading out bright and early to go to the Killing Fields. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy morning so we braced ourselves as we arrived. First to arrive, we grabbed audio sets and began to walk around. I hate to admit how naïve I was to the history of Cambodia. I’m not sure if my history class even touched on the issues that went on here and it is horrifying to know that I was nearly oblivious to it all especially when it is such a recent history. I walked from station to station hearing the horrors that went on during the Khmer Rouge time. There were stories of survivors that literally brought a chill to my bones. This is such a recent history, less than 40 years ago and all of it was brand new to me.

From the Killing Fields which provided an extremely informative audio tour which I would recommend to anyone and everyone who goes there, we headed to Former Office S.21. This was a school that the Khmer Rouge had transformed into a prison where they brought people to torture and make confess to things they hadn’t done. Now it is a museum to show the horrors that want on during the era and to teach us about the main characters that were a part of it. It was hard to go from room to room and see where horrible things went on.

To say the least the morning was rather rough. We returned to our guesthouse to decompress and grab some food. With such a touch morning it was going to be hard to transition into the evening which was going to be celebrating Dress’ 27^th birthday!

Ok it really wasn’t that hard. We were heading to Friend’s Restaurant, a place Dress had been talking up for days. The main appeal was the tarantula we were all excited to try. Ok maybe not all of us were excited to try but I sure was! When we got there, however, we were told that without a reservation we wouldn’t be able to get a seat. After some wheeling and dealing from Liz who simply explained that it was Dress’ birthday and she had been talking about this place forever, they made room for us. Friend’s is a really cool place because it takes kids off the street and teaches them how to cook. And cook these kids can! The tarantula had unfortunately been taken off the menu, but there were plenty of other tasty treats to try. First we started with a round of drinks, were I got the Pineapple and Chili Margarita, wise choice because it was delicious. The restaurant has a variety of things to try, but we went vegetarian tapas style and started off with eggplant dip, hummus, and fritters. The fritters may be one of the greatest things I have ever eaten, so during round two we ordered more of them along with pumpkin soup, spring rolls, garden pasta salad and spinach and cheese raviolis. Everything was AMAZING. It was hands down one of the greatest meals of my LIFE and it wasn’t over. To top everything off we ordered a margarita merengue pie. Fabulous is the only word to describe it and every part of this meal.

We weren’t done there, we began our bar hopping hitting up deals like buy one get one free and ladies night (always got to go where the deals are especially after dropping some major cash at Friends). For awhile we chilled at a bar that had $.50 Angkor draft beers that was a super deal! We found a place to dance and that is exactly what we did. Unfortunately we were the only ones, so we moved on to Pontoons were we continued to get our dance on until late into the evening. Then we headed on back to our guesthouse because the next morning we all had a long bus ride.

Koh Rong

Unfortunately this morning Duffy and Meechee had to head on back to Thailand, but the rest of us were continuing on to the South. Our destination was Koh Rong, an island that wasn’t found in our Lonely Planet guide making it either very secluded or not worthy of a Lonely Planet nod. Not one to really care we’re I’m at, I was excited to see what this island had to offer. We found a place to stay the night before and we were off.

Another long bus ride later we found ourselves confused by a tuk tuk driver that was insisting we pay for a ferry that we couldn’t figure out if it was a party boat or simply the ferry to get across. Eventually we figured everything out, purchased our ticket, and we’re off. Two hours later we were arriving on the island and searching for La Mami.

La Mami had some great ratings on Trip Advisor, but once there we had our doubts. There was nothing that made it very special. Worse it was $12 which was a bit rich for our blood especially if we weren’t getting anything worth that kind of cash. So we said our thank you’s and went searching for a cheaper location.

First we stopped at a place that had just one room. There was no way all four of us were going to fit in there so we moved on to the Coconut Hut. Here they had two rooms if that is what you can call them. Really they were nothing more than a room with a janky bed in it. It had no fan and no electricity and a mosquito net that had a hole or two in it. Now I’m not one to complain, heck give me that kind of room each and every time, but don’t give it to me for $8. That is the most we had paid for a room and the least we were getting for it. The shared shower hardly even worked! But we were in a pickle considering we were on an island and the last ferry had already gone so stuck we were staying at the Coconut Hut. I thought all would be forgiven when I saw Salmon Salad on their menu, only to learn that their chef had left and the restaurant was closed until further notice.

Oh well, what can you do but suck it up and go for a run and that is what Erica and I did. After a quick beach run and an even quicker “shower” we joined Dress and Liz for dinner. Here I ordered myself some grilled squid with a salad. I’m not sure what lead me to the squid, but out my mouth came the order and when a full grilled squid showed up before me I dug on in. Turns out it was delicious! And the salad was just as tasty.

The next morning I got up before everyone else, including the Coconut Hut staff. I fought with the door in an attempt to open it and finally managed to get myself out onto the beach. The morning was beautiful and I did a bit of yoga to warm up my body. Sandy from my yoga I hopped into the ocean which was crystal clear and warm. A delicious breakfast of museli, milk and fruit with the tasty Cambodian coffee made it a winning morning.

However when I ran into my friends after I had eaten I learned that half of them wanted to peace out. We had spent so much time on the move that I really just wanted a day to relax on the beach, even if we were in hippy capital of Cambodia. It is true, every where you looked there were hippies, and blunts being passed, and pot leaves waving and we were paying an absurd amount of money for a crappy little room but I liked the little beach, I liked all the hippies I was meeting, and I enjoyed just relaxing. So two of us took off and two of us stayed behind saying we would meet them the following day.

Before they took off, however, we decided to go on the Jungle Trek the island offered. I didn’t really know what to expect but it ended up being a pretty good trek. We headed up a mountain and then in true trekking form headed down it hopping from stone to stone. It was really an awesome trek taking us about 45minutes all together. And once on the other side of the island we were rewarded with the beautiful beach and not another soul in sight. We hopped on in and enjoyed the warm water and the occasional company of a school of fish that would swim on by and hop out of the water now and again.

Hungry after our trek we headed up to the little restaurant we’re we grabbed delicious salads. Now salads are hard to come by in Thailand and when you do they are usually drenched in strange yogurt/mayo/sweet dressing. Here however salads were prevalent and delicious and even had feta cheese and olives in them. It was our heaven!

Trekking back wasn’t as hard as we thought it would be. We had originally thought we would grab a boat back, but being the adventurers/cheap skates that we are we decided to hike back. After a bit of a turn around we found our way and hiked back to our side of the island were we got a refreshing coconut to replenish ourselves. I must say that these coconuts were the biggest most delicious coconuts I had every had!

After our coconut, half the girls headed out and Erica and I took this time to do some relaxing. We took a “shower” and sat in the comfy chairs right outside of our guesthouse. I journalled away while she took a nap until once more our bellies were rumbling and it was time for food.

Monkey Hut was recommended to us by the owner of the Coconut Hut so off we went to check out their food. We were instantly excited to read Greek Salad, Vegetable Enchiladas, and mushroom and garlic side dish. And because we love eggs so much we got an egg dish as well. I’m not sure how but the two of us are capable of packing away quite a bit of food. We’re both rather tiny people now and still we can stuff our faces better than most dudes I know. So out came our food accompanied by our Klang Beers and stuff our faces we did. First there was the egg dish with the most amazing mushroom and garlic side dish thing. This was shortly followed by the vegetable enchilades. Realizing we had forgotten to order the Greek Salad, we did just that with another round of beers. Each part of our meal was tastier than the last. And to finish it off we got some Banana Fritters which to be honest was my least favorite part of the meal not being what I expected but it’s all good, you can’t win them all.

Kep

The next morning after some yoga and breakfast, Erica and I hopped on the ferry and headed out to meet Liz and Dress up in Kep. We took our two hour ferry not really knowing how to get to Kep and just assuming we can hop on the next available bus. Not the case, as it turns out the buses to Kep stop running shortly before the ferry from Koh Rong comes to the mainland. Not wanting to spend the night in Shinakookville we chose the only option we had, a shared taxi.

After paying our money we realized we were really sharing this taxi. In front the driver and two other people sat and in the back Erica and I piled in with another Cambodian couple. Now again I try not to complain and always say that if there is a good story involved that craziness such as this is worth it, BUT this Cambodian couple was a bit ridiculous. As Erica and I were shoved into 1/3^rd of the back seat, she sprawled herself out as if we weren’t even there. After awhile of this it was time to start scuching over and trying to reclaim at least our half of the back seat, which we successfully did after several attempts.

A few hours later we had made our way to Liz and Dress and found out that they had only beat us by a short margin of time and had only saved a few bucks. Despite the discomfort of the shared taxi it was worth it. BUT Erica and I weren’t about to lay down the cash the other girls were for this place, even though it really was quite nice. So instead we called up another hotel, made a reservation and hopped on a tuk tuk. We made it to our location only to learn that no we hadn’t made a reservation here. In fact the lady we had made a reservation for was actually back in the other direction. The old school Lonely Planet had tricked us, but in the end we ended up at Brise de Kep where we were paying just $7 AND getting hot water even if we were in the strange dungeon room.

We met up with the other girls at the Crab Market. Here there are literally restaurants lined up over the water each selling the exact same thing. We chose one that seemed to have a bit cheaper food (by a whopping $.50). The dish that the area is known for is Crab with Kampot Peppers so that is what we ordered with another crab dish and some spring rolls. The spring rolls came out first and they were highly disappointing tasting old. Then the two crab dishes came out and it is true that the kampot peppers were delicious but the crab itself left something to be desired. I suppose we had images of grader when it came to these crabs but they were quite small and didn’t have a whole lot of meat. In the end after the two crab dishes and the spring rolls we were literally eating the shells of the crab still hungry. The only solution, to get dessert, but not at this restaurant. So we hopped over to the random French restaurant and ordered up banana flambé and chocolate lava cake. These two desserts absolutely made up for the rest of the meal!

The next morning Erica and I went for a run before meeting up with Liz and Dress. While waiting for them we ordered up some refreshing shakes. My banana and peanut shake was off the chain amazing and really tasted like I was drinking up banana coated in peanut butter. YUM.

When the girls arrived we ended up walking back to where our guesthouse was. Here we relaxed by the beach which isn’t much of a beach but there is water and sort of sand involved. Kep is where all the Cambodians like to visit so we stood out just a bit being the token white girls. While relaxing a Cambodian man came up to us and began talking to us. Turns out he lives in Washington and left just a day or two before the Khmer Rouge took over. He told us about his time in America and how now he returns to Cambodia to visit his remaining family.

Hungry like usual we headed into our guesthouse restaurant to order up some food. That morning Erica and I had ordered up the American breakfast which got us an AMAZING cheese and mushroom omelet, fruit salad, baguette with jam, and coffee. I don’t know what it is about Cambodian coffee but it is so good! It taste sweet although they insist that they aren’t adding sugar and I can attest to the lack of sugar (sometimes) when I ordered more coffee at lunch. It dripped into my cup sugar free!

From lunch to dinner we sat in the restaurant ordering food when we got hungry. I started with an amazing spinach soup that was amazingly thick and creamy. Later for linner (lunch/dinner) I ordered beef tartar. This is something I would never had ordered two years ago, and now here I was ordering raw meat cooked in lime juice and you know what, it was delicious! To finish off the night I ended with a huge Greek Salad that may have had only one olive but it had plenty of feta cheese.

The next morning Erica and I were heading to Rabbit Island while Liz and Dress were biking to Kampot. Erica and I had a quick run to the Crab Market where we picked up some veggies and fruit for our trip to the island in an attempt to save money. And save we did, dropping just $1 on our veggies. We then kept our bread from breakfast (and added it to the bread that I had pinched from another table the night before, don’t worry the lady had already left) and had ourselves a splendid variety of food for breakfast.

We took a tuk tuk to the dock and then a longboat over to the island we’re we sat protecting our faces with our scarves like proper Thai folk. On the island we grabbed ourselves a seat away from most people and chit chatted the morning away. It was probably one of the most relaxing days we had had on this entire trip and it was Day 10. We blew the money that we saved on lunch by getting iced coffee and then ice tea later on but it was worth it because just as the coffee is splendid so was the tea.

There was a jungle trek offered here as well but try as we might we couldn’t find the trail if there was one. For awhile we followed what may have been a path lead by a dog. Yes I know that sounds odd, but that is exactly what we did we followed a dog. Realizing that this was a less than enjoyable trek we turned around. And what does everyone need after a trek but a massage. Already being well versed in the ways of a Thai massage we decided to try out the Khmer massage. Turns out they are very very similar which is fine with me because that means it is just as enjoyable. How refreshed we felt when we were done, and in perfect timing after finishing that up it was time to head back to the mainland.

We were meeting up with the girls back at the Crab Market, but hungry now we decided to order up some food. I tried Barracuda, just like the squid I’m not sure what drew me to it, but something was calling me to order it and order it I did. It was in a lemon and garlic (and lots and lots of butter) sauce and it was really amazing. It wasn’t fishy at all and I dove into it and the delicious steamed vegetable it came with. Then we walked it off making our way to the Crab Market and being ready for more food we ordered up a vegetable with fried potato dish. It was less than spectacular, this Crab Market was just not working out for me despite the fact that this evening we went to Kim Lee’s which was ranked really well on Trip Advisor. Although my dish wasn’t the greatest the Crab with Kampot Peppers and the Fish Amok the other girls ordered wasn’t too bad, although the Amok was nothing like any amok we had eaten thus far, this one being the paste I had mentioned earlier.

Making Our Way South!

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