Blogs from Phnom Penh, South, Cambodia, Asia - page 216

We had a rather civilised journey down to Phnom Penh from Siem Reap; the road was tarmacked all the way down, so it was smooth sailing. However, Phnom Penh was a whole different story. As soon as we were off the bus, we were jumped on by touts offering rides to guesthouses. We have learned to expect this from everywhere we have been, but in this case the bus company shuttled us into their office pronto. Luckily we had been recommended the Top Banana Guesthouse by a Geordie fella we had met in Siem Reap, so we headed straight there. It turned out the be the perfect location for us as we enjoy exploring cities by foot, and the GH was located close to the Independence Monument, and close to the Palace and Museum. After a ... read more

Kambodscha - ein Land, ein Name. Ein Name, der gerade als Kind Begeisterung bei mir hervorgerufen hat. War doch eines meiner liebsten Kinderbücher Mit dem Fahrrad durch Kambodscha. Ein Buch in dem die Geschichte eines Jungen erzählt wird, der mit seiner Rikscha Kambodscha durchquert. Die Illustrationen haben bei mir als Kind Assoziationen hervorgerufen, die ebenso toll und positiv waren, wie sie im Buch bunt waren. Und es war ein sehr buntes Buch! Heute, nach anderthalb Tagen in der Hauptstadt Phnom Penh, kann ich leider nur feststellen wie frustrierend es ist, mein heutiges Bild den Kindheitseindrücken gegenüberzustellen. Zwar habe ich keinen wirklichen Einblick ins Land, aber nach dem Besuch der Killing Fields und des berüchtigten Gefängnisses S 21 in Phnom Penh steht fest, dass ich noch nie so geschockt von einem Land war wie heute vo Kambodscha; ... read more

Khmer weddings are a rather mystified affair. To me, it doesn’t seem like the bride and groom can get much fun out of the wedding. Apparently there is a whole two-day ceremony which I have never been to, however, I have been to the celebration which can be good fun. When you arrive the bride and groom, plus all the bridesmaids and best men and an assorted selection of the family, will stand in a row in the entrance, greeting each guest separately and give them some small present like a key ring (very often a key ring, in fact I have never received anything but key rings). Since there is no set time for when the celebration is to start, and guests are encouraged to just pop in at whatever time suits them the best, ... read more

Phnom Penh has definitely been the biggest eye-opening, shocking place I have been to so far on this tour, and I doubt anywhere else will be like it. The city itself is ok, a lot more developed than I expected, with lots of bars, restaurants, book shops etc etc, the city's exterior doesn't really reveal the shocking secrets it hides within. Our full day in Cambodias capital started normal enough, a visit to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, both of which were very nice and grand buildings, that was followed by a visit to The National Museum which i'm sure was very good but as soon as I set foot into any museum my brain just turns into mush! I just don't do museums! Then on to Wat Phnom which again was very nice, ... read more

April 15 - 17, 2006 - Phnom Penh Written April 17, 2006 in our hotel room Our first day in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, began in Siem Reap. We woke up early, had breakfast at our hotel and caught a tuk tuk to the bus station. Our guesthouse in Siem Reap booked our bus tickets to Phnom Penh and our accommodation in Phnom Penh as well as arranged a tuk tuk to the bus station. It made getting out of Siem Reap and to Phnom Penh extremely easy. Our bus left Siem Reap at 8:30 am and arrived in Phnom Penh at 2pm with the ride including a thirty minute lunch break at a stand alongside the road. After catching a cab from the bus station to our hotel in Phnom Penh and carrying ... read more