Phnom Penh-Cambodia- December 2019

It has been sometime since I update here, due to too many reasons...Once back from the trip, was busy preparing for cookies, spring cleaning, then CNY Holidays, then dealing with new apartment renovation issues, then then the outbreak of Covid19, and now, found the time to update a bit here.
Actually was in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, cause it is a middle stop way to meet up with two friends from China to discuss some issues and also that is the only country that requires no visa for my Chinese friends during that time, hence we all decided to meet there.
(Just for my own record, I had only a brief stop at Phnom close to 15 years ago, and at that time, the airport was a very small one, and this visit, I saw a bigger and nicer airport). Upon landing, using Malaysian Airlines (MAS), then proceeded to immigration, Clearance for us, the ASEAN community is quite fast here.
After meeting the two friends, we took a cab (via their local apps) and then proceeded to the hotel condo ((Infinity 28) for checked in and walked to the next block of hotel-condo for our dinner.

                                          my room

                                          balcony/living area

                                         a view from the balcony

                                          The pool

                                          city view

Our first night dinner was just an average one, and there was not so much of a choice nearby the place we stay (we stay a bit out of Phnom Penh city centre (I think about 10km away).
After the meal, just relaxed with some drinks at the pool and then back to the apartment condo for our rest and sleep.
The second day, in the morning, manage to see the sunrise from our balcony as we are having the riverview.

Then, we took a local tuk tuk (all via the local apps for transportation), and we went to the nearest to have our breakfast and then to the supermarket to buy some food, fruits and drinks for out meeting cum discussion.

The transport we took to go for our breakfast and on the way back, we stopped by a local market and manage to get some banana, then since this market is just a short walking distance away, we just walked back and on the way back to hotel, we passed by a mosque that was built with funds from Malaysia (I guess from the name of the mosque).

super fresh banana

We had our discussion almost until afternoon tea time, and we went to a cafe nearby for our tea break but nothing much is being offered here though you may order some drinks and meals.

                                         The cafe

 After the tea break, we went back to the hotel-condo, then continue with out meeting, before deciding to take a break around 5pm. we walked from the hotel and took some photos before taking a local taxi or tuk tuk again to the city centre and decided to have our sunset cruise then.

The place where we took our cruise was next to a famous restaurant and later we decided to have our dinner here.

3 of us enjoying our cruise, and also enjoying the beautiful sunset scenery.

 Then, after we had done with the cruise, and after berthing, we went back to this restaurant that looks attractive and interesting from far away, and we settled for our dinner here. Although the price is a little higher than normal restaurant, nevertheless, the food served here is good and taste delicious.

We then went for a walk, towards the palace direction (the palace was already closed during that time), and also a nite market before we call it a day, and went back to our accommodation for our rest. 

                                         The Royal Palace, nite view.

The next morning, we went back to the city, with the intention to visit the Royal Palace, and took our breakfast at one of the local restaurant which has some Chinese influence here. and here you can see this delicacy which is similar to what we have in Malaysia, and we call this Ham Chim Peng.

 After breakfast, we walked to a local market to buy some fruits, and fruits here are very cheap, fresh and tasty.

We have a change of plan on this day, because the palace was closed in the morning and will only open around 2pm, hence we decided to change our plan, instead we walked around the old city a bit, bought some souveniers, then  we went for our lunch at a famous local restaurant. Food was very tasty.

After this, we went to some markets, looking for some handicrafts, before moving back to our accommodation for a rest.

And a day before our departure, we finally made it to the royal Palace. Compared the few palaces that I had visited in SEA countries, this is not considered big, and according to the guide the palace was rebuilt partly after the Khmer Rouge time. The Cambodia king stays in one section of the Palace (A new building) and whenever he is around, a Royal flag will be raised in the compound. Tourists are not allowed to visit this corner of the palace.

Pictures below show the the compound of the Cambodia Royal Palace.

 The few pagoda structures built here are for the ashes of the former Kings, and King Sihanouk's ashes is one of the pagodas.

 After this, we walked around the city, and the pictures we taken along the walk.

The pictures shown below were the local breakfast taken, and it was delicious. It's a kind of local porridge with lots of local vege and herbs being offered together in this meal.

After breakfast (quite late), we walked around various places to look for our souveniers as today is suppose to be the last full day we have in Phnom Penh city. The weather during day time was very hot actually, even though this is end of December month.

And after we were done with our purchases, we stopped by at this restaurant for our lunch, and it was one of the best, a bit pricey but worth every cents of this visit.

After lunch, we will walked a bit to look for some additional gifts to buy.. and then we stopped at a local cafe for a cup of tea...

The best souvenier I got for myself, a local wooden tiffin...

 We went back for our rest at the hotel before coming out for a walk in the evening, and had our massage in one of the local massage shop and our late dinner at a local French restaurant before saying bye to Phnom Penh.

The 3 guys are just superb with their nice service. They have both male and female massuers but the boss in among one of them, hence they are out to send us off.

The French restaurant.....

Phnom Penh, though has progressed and has a lot of big expensive cars (the rich are super rich) and there are many new apartments being built, I still do not like the this city that much in general. It is a bit messy, dirty and disorganized though the local people are nice (personally I still prefer Siem Reap). But nevertheless, visiting a place is always an eye opener, allowing you to see, feel, learn and you just go with the flow. Thanks Phnom Penh city for the kind hospitality, and I am full of gratitude for the opportunity to visit here. Thanks.

Choong
Written at home
26 April 2020