Cambodia - Phnom Penh
After a fly through visit to Siem Reap, I needed to slowly make my way back to Phnom Penh to catch my connecting flight back to Bangkok to organise my visa for diving and yoga time in lovely Lembeh, Indonesia.
I was so careful with my bus selection this time lol! Traveling friends - wherever possible travel with Mekong Delta Express Bus. It is a teeny tiny bit more expensive but worth every single dollar. Normal to the non traveler perhaps, but absolute heaven to the backpacker ;) Comfort as if first class travel, with AC, wifi, soft non plastic seats that almost fully recline, toilet on board which means we don't stop in a zillion places along the way, my knees don't touch the seat in front (I had never considered my legs to be that long until I started all these bus journeys!), amazing English speaking staff, free water, hand wipes, gentle music (I have experienced plenty of hideous party buses in Borneo and Nepal!). There is also a flat screen TV, westerners are not shoved to the back of the bus or shouted at. So nice, a smile goes so far for me :) I wanted to hug them for providing these small creature comforts and I felt huge amounts of gratitude that morning :)
On our way we did stop once - haha and guess what I saw on all of the stalls everywhere on my way to the cafe?!? BUGS! For sale, to eat!! Horrible! I remember seeing them last time and wondering when they would appear! So many of them everywhere!
I made it safely to my amazing hotel - thank you so much Tanya for the recommendation! I decided to keep the flashpacker part of my travels going throughout Cambodia and no regrets at all with this decision. My room wasn't ready initially so the manager offered me a free 90 minute whole body massage, it was just incredible!! I had, of course, planned a crazy busy sight seeing packed afternoon so this was fates way of ensuring that I sit still, relax and chill out for the afternoon. I felt so zenned out after my massage that there was no danger of me ignoring these key hints ;)
The hotel was a funky little boutique hotel with amazing colours everywhere, flowers, small touches which made it so unique and special. I had two four poster beds in my room, a mini bar basket filled with wine, chips, sweet, nuts, chocolate and more. There was a TV, DVD player, laptop to use, speakers for my iPod, and a selection of books and DVDs to choose from. Each bed was covered in petals again, such a nice touch :) The bathroom was as big as my bedroom in Bermuda too.
So funny, I decided to take a small walk after my massage and found myself walking into a smoke filled corridor, so I ran like crazy to reception to tell them "fire, fire!". A member of staff found me wandering around the swimming pool and grabbed me and dragged me to the street - they had actually been spraying for bugs! So after being mildly embarrassed for not remembering this from my last time in Cambodia, I grabbed my map, gave him and his colleagues a cheeky grin and boldly walked off down the street in the opposite direction with my best "I know what I am doing" expression on haha!! I pulled out my map as soon as I could to find this chic little cafe (Gastrobar Botanico) I was determined to find, and a cute Australian guy on a huge motorbike pulled over to ask if I was ok and knew where I was headed. He gave me some simple directions and I headed off towards the Independence Monument, where I found a French son and father and asked them if they would mind taking a photo of me doing my daily handstand. They were intrigued and amused by the #handstand365 challenge :) After getting lost once more, and a security guard finding me and redirecting me I finally found the street I had been looking for.
After slight panic attacks at the top of the street after seeing a PwC sign on a building, I found my way to the cafe :) Thank goodness the australian guy had stopped and told me how it looked from the outside as I would have walked straight past. I entered a jungle, it was a beautiful setting! I ordered a huge sangria and some tapas and sat back and completely relaxed. Such a nice place to just sit and be. I had totally escaped the craziness of the city by sitting inside my own little jungle garden. I reflected on all the articles and tourist brochures that the waiter had handed me to read, and decided that I absolutely love this city and wish I had more time. There are so many coffee shops, cafes, and organic restaurants, and places where they do yoga in the parks or tai chi for example. I would never have thought this of Phnom Penh and was pleasantly surprised :)
I had the most chilled time ever in Phnom Penh, I wondered from coffee shop to cafe to book shop down side street after side street which is absolutely my favorite thing to do. I could have spent hours in that book shop just looking at books, debating which one to buy, and missing all of my books I left behind in Bermuda :( I found so many little places I would like to go back and explore. I retired later that day to the swimming pool and swam lengths before relaxing in my bedroom with a movie and bottle of delicious red wine. I caught up on some of my journal and tried not to look at my ever growing 'to do' list. I didn't think a backpacker would ever have a to do list, I thought I would be free of all responsibility and organisation, however I find myself with the longest to do list ever and there is always a flight to book or a hotel to research, or a destination to find out more about. Tough things in life I have to deal with I know what you are thinking, but trust me sometimes these simple things cause me the biggest headaches in my day! ;)
I slept in the next morning which cut down my options of how to fill my remaining hours in Cambodia, so I sat by the pool and had a very slow and lazy and really delicious breakfast at the hotel. I decided racing around was not going to be part of my Phnom Penh experience and I allowed my body and mind to enjoy the peace and calming surroundings. In my truly unorganised Caroline fashion I managed to miss the opening hours of the Royal Palace which I had actually really wanted to see, particularly so I could do a handstand in front of the silver pagoda. A local tuk tuk driver instead took me to Wat Phnom, which is a Buddhist temple built in 1373. It is 27m high and the tallest religious structure in Phnom Penh so this became the venue for my handstand picture instead. I didn't get a good vibe from the place or the people from the moment I arrived, which was unpleasant. Really nasty energy there :( My handstand did manage to amuse a Russian woman who made me show her the photo while she exclaimed "I just love it too much darling! Here show my husband...".
Following this crazy little moment of not feeling safe I quickly made my way back to the sanctuary of my hotel swimming pool and garden. I should probably have asked someone to take a photo of me, right there, sat in my little garden chair with a book in one hand and a cold beer in the other doing nothing. Well, my version of nothing. Not something that I do very often at all, as much as I really do try to sit still. I envy people who can still for long periods of time. There wasn't anyone around so no photo to prove it so you will just have to trust me. I sat there all afternoon stealing precious moments of calmness before making my way to the airport.
Cambodia, what a beautiful country you are. I am so pleased that I found my way here to explore, and I wish I had more time, but know that for sure I will be back again. I have loved every single second of my adventure :)
After a fly through visit to Siem Reap, I needed to slowly make my way back to Phnom Penh to catch my connecting flight back to Bangkok to organise my visa for diving and yoga time in lovely Lembeh, Indonesia.
I was so careful with my bus selection this time lol! Traveling friends - wherever possible travel with Mekong Delta Express Bus. It is a teeny tiny bit more expensive but worth every single dollar. Normal to the non traveler perhaps, but absolute heaven to the backpacker ;) Comfort as if first class travel, with AC, wifi, soft non plastic seats that almost fully recline, toilet on board which means we don't stop in a zillion places along the way, my knees don't touch the seat in front (I had never considered my legs to be that long until I started all these bus journeys!), amazing English speaking staff, free water, hand wipes, gentle music (I have experienced plenty of hideous party buses in Borneo and Nepal!). There is also a flat screen TV, westerners are not shoved to the back of the bus or shouted at. So nice, a smile goes so far for me :) I wanted to hug them for providing these small creature comforts and I felt huge amounts of gratitude that morning :)
On our way we did stop once - haha and guess what I saw on all of the stalls everywhere on my way to the cafe?!? BUGS! For sale, to eat!! Horrible! I remember seeing them last time and wondering when they would appear! So many of them everywhere!
I made it safely to my amazing hotel - thank you so much Tanya for the recommendation! I decided to keep the flashpacker part of my travels going throughout Cambodia and no regrets at all with this decision. My room wasn't ready initially so the manager offered me a free 90 minute whole body massage, it was just incredible!! I had, of course, planned a crazy busy sight seeing packed afternoon so this was fates way of ensuring that I sit still, relax and chill out for the afternoon. I felt so zenned out after my massage that there was no danger of me ignoring these key hints ;)
The hotel was a funky little boutique hotel with amazing colours everywhere, flowers, small touches which made it so unique and special. I had two four poster beds in my room, a mini bar basket filled with wine, chips, sweet, nuts, chocolate and more. There was a TV, DVD player, laptop to use, speakers for my iPod, and a selection of books and DVDs to choose from. Each bed was covered in petals again, such a nice touch :) The bathroom was as big as my bedroom in Bermuda too.
So funny, I decided to take a small walk after my massage and found myself walking into a smoke filled corridor, so I ran like crazy to reception to tell them "fire, fire!". A member of staff found me wandering around the swimming pool and grabbed me and dragged me to the street - they had actually been spraying for bugs! So after being mildly embarrassed for not remembering this from my last time in Cambodia, I grabbed my map, gave him and his colleagues a cheeky grin and boldly walked off down the street in the opposite direction with my best "I know what I am doing" expression on haha!! I pulled out my map as soon as I could to find this chic little cafe (Gastrobar Botanico) I was determined to find, and a cute Australian guy on a huge motorbike pulled over to ask if I was ok and knew where I was headed. He gave me some simple directions and I headed off towards the Independence Monument, where I found a French son and father and asked them if they would mind taking a photo of me doing my daily handstand. They were intrigued and amused by the #handstand365 challenge :) After getting lost once more, and a security guard finding me and redirecting me I finally found the street I had been looking for.
After slight panic attacks at the top of the street after seeing a PwC sign on a building, I found my way to the cafe :) Thank goodness the australian guy had stopped and told me how it looked from the outside as I would have walked straight past. I entered a jungle, it was a beautiful setting! I ordered a huge sangria and some tapas and sat back and completely relaxed. Such a nice place to just sit and be. I had totally escaped the craziness of the city by sitting inside my own little jungle garden. I reflected on all the articles and tourist brochures that the waiter had handed me to read, and decided that I absolutely love this city and wish I had more time. There are so many coffee shops, cafes, and organic restaurants, and places where they do yoga in the parks or tai chi for example. I would never have thought this of Phnom Penh and was pleasantly surprised :)
I had the most chilled time ever in Phnom Penh, I wondered from coffee shop to cafe to book shop down side street after side street which is absolutely my favorite thing to do. I could have spent hours in that book shop just looking at books, debating which one to buy, and missing all of my books I left behind in Bermuda :( I found so many little places I would like to go back and explore. I retired later that day to the swimming pool and swam lengths before relaxing in my bedroom with a movie and bottle of delicious red wine. I caught up on some of my journal and tried not to look at my ever growing 'to do' list. I didn't think a backpacker would ever have a to do list, I thought I would be free of all responsibility and organisation, however I find myself with the longest to do list ever and there is always a flight to book or a hotel to research, or a destination to find out more about. Tough things in life I have to deal with I know what you are thinking, but trust me sometimes these simple things cause me the biggest headaches in my day! ;)
I slept in the next morning which cut down my options of how to fill my remaining hours in Cambodia, so I sat by the pool and had a very slow and lazy and really delicious breakfast at the hotel. I decided racing around was not going to be part of my Phnom Penh experience and I allowed my body and mind to enjoy the peace and calming surroundings. In my truly unorganised Caroline fashion I managed to miss the opening hours of the Royal Palace which I had actually really wanted to see, particularly so I could do a handstand in front of the silver pagoda. A local tuk tuk driver instead took me to Wat Phnom, which is a Buddhist temple built in 1373. It is 27m high and the tallest religious structure in Phnom Penh so this became the venue for my handstand picture instead. I didn't get a good vibe from the place or the people from the moment I arrived, which was unpleasant. Really nasty energy there :( My handstand did manage to amuse a Russian woman who made me show her the photo while she exclaimed "I just love it too much darling! Here show my husband...".
Following this crazy little moment of not feeling safe I quickly made my way back to the sanctuary of my hotel swimming pool and garden. I should probably have asked someone to take a photo of me, right there, sat in my little garden chair with a book in one hand and a cold beer in the other doing nothing. Well, my version of nothing. Not something that I do very often at all, as much as I really do try to sit still. I envy people who can still for long periods of time. There wasn't anyone around so no photo to prove it so you will just have to trust me. I sat there all afternoon stealing precious moments of calmness before making my way to the airport.
Cambodia, what a beautiful country you are. I am so pleased that I found my way here to explore, and I wish I had more time, but know that for sure I will be back again. I have loved every single second of my adventure :)
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