January 16th, 2023
We got on our bus Jan 14 around 8am to go to Phnom Penh. We immediately realized this was not like the local “cargo” busses we had been taking so far - they gave our bikes their own compartment and gave each person water, coffee and a snack. There was a stop for a bathroom every two hours - it was different.
We got to the Cambodia border around lunchtime and they handled everything for us pretty painlessly, but it took a while. Finally, we were back on the bus and we made it to Phnom Penh around 5pm. We checked into our hotel, had a quick shower, and went to get food at a place called David’s Noodles where they made the noodles fresh in front of you. We headed up to the Palace park and then walked along the water, and then all the way out to a cool bar strip called Bussar Street. It was a really fun night!
The next morning, Max was very hungover. We had plans to bike to the killing fields south of the city, so we dragged ourselves out of bed and stopped at the first restaurant that had coffee and food advertised - “Al Medina”. It takes quite a lot to fluster Max, but this restaurant really got him going.
We ordered two coffees and two omelettes. We were waiting for a while and there was this weird ringing from the credit card machine that was driving Max nuts. Also, there was an older man in military garbs who kept talking or singing to us and then bursting out laughing. He was the only other person there and appeared to have brought his own food and coffee.
Next thing you know (more than 15 minutes later), Max announces that the guy who took our order just walked back into the restaurant with a grocery bag containing eggs. Around this point, someone must have told our waiter to stall because he comes out with glasses of water for both of us, and then a jug of water, then two complementary bottles of water, then he asks us to please check our hand temperature using this weird machine they have near the entrance. By this point, Max is approaching a breaking point but he keeps his cool. Then, after about an hour of carrying on, they bring us food but it’s not omelettes, it’s a pile of French toast soaked in oil with some spicy ketchup for dipping. We obviously decide to just roll with it, but Max needs coffee and says so. The waiter looked confused and asked us if we want our coffee now or after and Max shouts “coffee NOW!”. I was crying I was laughing so hard. Max started laughing and crying too. It was so ridiculous. They brought us coffees which appeared to be chai teas (mostly), possibly with a spoonful of instant coffee in each one. We paid and left. I am still cracking up writing this all down - sorry for the very long story.
We cycled to the south of the city to get to the killing fields. Max keeps saying he is amazed by all the big sky scrapers that have popped up since he was here 12 years ago, and just how much the city has expanded into what was previously farmland. The killing fields were incredibly sad. There was an audio tour to guide you through, and they did an excellent job. We left with heavy hearts.
We biked back to the Russian market to look around, and wound up getting some food there. The salad rolls had baby shrimps with full on legs/tails etc… I couldn’t quite swallow them back but Max managed to with a bunch of hoisin sauce.
We got to our hotel and dropped off our bikes, then headed for the royal palace and silver pagoda. We had to wear long pants and long sleeves, and a mask, and it was over 30 degrees out. The buildings and gardens and architecture were all very beautiful, but Max just kept pointing atpeople in shorts and being like “how come the guards didn’t stop them??”. We were both very hot but especially Max was choking with the heat. We left after a bit and went to get ice cream and book our bus for the following day. We also saw there were Mekong river cruises, and we checked the price - $5 each which included a free beer. We couldn’t afford not to! We caught the sunset on the boat and boated up and down the river for about an hour. It was actually really fun!
After, we went for dinner at a place called the hideout, which was up on a rooftop and behind a secret door. It was pretty good food and lovely views of the river. Another good day for sure.
Today (January 16) we slept in and then went for breakfast at Harry’s English restaurant. Max was much happier with this breakfast (eggs benedict and fruit salad). We went back to the hotel, showered, and I cut my hair, then we packed up and checked out. They let us leave our bags with them while we biked to Silk Island. It was really fun! We took a ferry and rode our bikes around the island. We got to see the worms that make the silk and how that happens, as well as threading the silk from the cocoons and dyeing it, and people weaving the silk patterns by hand. It was super cool. There was a place by the river with swings and hammocks where we hung out after for a few hours and read our books. It was lovely and relaxing.
We cycled back to the city for some food. We did another walk along the waterfront, then went to the nightmarket basically trying to “kill time” until our 11pm bus. It was definitely a bit tough - not as easy to relax when you have travel hanging over your head, but so it goes! We will arrive at Siem Reap tomorrow morning.
