Day 14 - to Phnom Penh

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We set off for the capital with a drivers brother, who unfortuately didn't speak any English. This meant that we had a long 5 hour journey ahead with not much conversation. We did pass several pigs in baskets on the back of motorbikes, but they were going too fast for us to get a picture. The driver made a couple of stops for us, and at one of the stops, they were selling fried spiders, cockroaches and frogs. There were several young girls selling fruit, one of which had a very large hairy spider in her bag which she showed us!

We arrived at the hotel and the lift wasn't working but they promised it would be fixed that day. Unfortunately there was no swimming pool that we had been hoping to go in that afternoon, so instead we picked up a tourist map from reception and headed out to explore the city. We followed the map, and ended up at the bridge that had been the scene of the Water Festival disaster. It was all cordoned off, and there were people arriving to pay their respects and lay flowers.

We then continued down along the river where there were bars and restaurants along the front, so we stopped and had lunch at the Happy Herb Pizza place. We ordered sub sandwiches in different flavours, but in true Cambodian style, we all got the same. We spotted the venue for the night market, but it was a bit early for it to be open. We returned to the hotel by tuk tuk, and agreed to re-convene and head back to the Riverside for something to eat later on. Our guide had left a message to say he would meet us in the lobby the next day at 8.30am.

We got a tuk tuk to the Riverside, and had a look to see what there was about. We ate at a noodle bar and asked about the night market. The waitress said that it was only on at weekends, so we were set to miss out. Instead, we agreed that we would check out the Russian Market the next day instead. After we had eaten, we went down Pub Street, which was the capital's version of Bar Street, but less impressive. After a couple of drinks, we headed back to the hotel.

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