Blogs from Phnom Penh, South, Cambodia, Asia - page 193

Habitat for Humanity... read more

Battered and bruised we got out of Kampot the next day to get a bus to Cambodia's capital city Phnom Penh. Walking down the road with your bags your an instant target for touts trying to get you in their taxi's/buses/motorbikes that you just end up having to be rude too as they will not take no for an answer! We managed to get on a national bus, that we would share with the locals and were told we had air con and a TV, happy days! Well the bus stopped for any tom dick and harry that waved at it, we literally went about a mile in the first hour, we were happy when the bus was full and we could start to move but oh no, they kept picking people up, they just got ... read more

Avec mes compagnons de voyage, nous nous attendions a trouver a Phom Penh une atmosphere plus relax que dans les grandes villes vietnamiennes, avec une economie un peu moins developpee. C'est bien parce que finalement on connait peu de choses sur le Cambodge qu'on pense ce genre de choses. Phnom Penh est une ville debordante d'activite, et qui est meme sous bien des aspects plus modernes qu'Hanoi. C'est egalement une tres jolie ville, grace a de nombreux monuments et une architecture coloniale encore tres presente, plus encore j'ai trouve que les villes decrites comme typiquement "French-style colony" comme Hanoi ou Dalat. Pour les voyageurs, une petite ruelle sur le bord d'un lac regorge d'hotels pas chers et de bars et de restos sympas. Certes, ce n'est pas tres couleur locale, mais l'ambiance est fort agreable, et ... read more

The road to Phnom Penh is paved and so the bus ride wasn't too much trouble. We pulled in to the hectic bus station around noon and I said goodbye to Sarah and her friend, and headed off on foot to find a place to stay near the center. After about 20 minutes of walking (often in the road because the sidewalks were full of motorbikes) I arrived at the Tat guest house where I got a single room for an astounding $2! The guest house had a nice rooftop restaurant and so I hung out there for a bit before heading off to find one of the reputable travel agents listed in the Lonely Planet. After 30 minutes of walking in the midday heat, I arrived at the address to find a barbershop. Some helpful ... read more

The trip to Phnom Penh was, for me, the history class that I never took in high school or college and, unfortunately, never taught at Global Visions. Two weeks in Cambodia has been as eye opening as almost 5 months in China. At first, China seemed normal and not too far off from America, but the longer I am there, the less subtle the differences become. But, Cambodia, has just been a constant reoccurance of jaw-dropping revelations. The killings of the Khmer, the crazy number of lexus driving through a 3rd world country where most people don't have fresh water. Here is some wikipedia info...something i couldn't get in china. The Khmer regime is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people, estimates range from 750,000 to 3 million, under its regime, through ... read more