We were greeted with cool towels and fresh drinks while we checked in. The hotel had made a mistake and pout us in a double room as apposed to the superior room we booked but this was immediately corrected and we changed rooms. This hotel had only opened a month prior and was in very good condition with new amenities, it was busy but only had 13 rooms with a lovely pool to jump in on a hot day.
We arrived in Cambodia in Feb/March time and it was extremely hot around 40 degrees Celsius every day, which sometimes was unbearable to go out so we stayed in our room with the air-con on.
We were situated very near to the Independence monument which sits in the centre of the traffic circle so if you get lost this is a good point to head back to as your only 5 minutes away from The Royal Place and shopping area.
Phnom Penh is full of history and this can be seen within the buildings around the city, if you hire a Tuk Tuk for the day they will take you round the city to see different temples. The main attractions of course are the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, the S-21 Prison and The Royal Palace. There is deep history in these places so show respect and really listen to the story's told, some can be quite moving. It pains me to think of the terror and torture that occurred in such a beautiful country.
Attractions:
We hired a Tuk Tuk for the day to take us round the attractions, they are cheap but of course you have to barter for the right price but the drivers get lunch at each stop if they take someone so better to use them than a corporate company that may rip you off.
- Choeung Ek Killing Fields:
Here you are given an audio headset to listen too as you walk around, it is in sections and you just press play when you move into each new section, which means you can walk round at your own pace and really listen to the stories. The cost to get in is $6 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £4.20)
Between the years of 1975 and 1978 around 17,000 men, women and children were brought to the killing fields from the over crowed S-21 prison. A lot were tortured to death so not to waste bullets. There is estimated 8985 peoples remains were exhumed from the killing fields in mass graves, some of the human remains and clothing are still present in the fields. While on the tour you will here stories from the victims who survived the Khmer Rouge and from Him Huy who was a guard and executioner at the fields.
A Memorial Stupa of clear glass was erected in 1988 to house bone fragments and skulls all arranged by sex, age and how they killed.
- S-17 Prison also known as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum:
This was not always a prison, it started off as a high school before Pol Potts took over in 1975 and it soon became the largest centre for detention and torture in the country.
The leaders kept detailed logs of each prison who walked through the gates by taking their photograph, name and where they came from. Most of the photographs you see in the prison today are of people who were later killed. When the Phnom Penh was liberated in 1979 only 7 prisoners were found alive, they had used their skills in photograph and painting to do this.
- The Royal Palace:
(This is a small section of the Palace)
Admission here is $10 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £7)
NOTE: you MUST cover your shoulders and forearms. A scarf or shawl will not do it must be a t-shirt or jumper, we did not actually visit the Palace as i had my shoulders exposed.
There are many more attractions and temples to see around Phnom Penh, like the Independence Monument I described earlier, the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument (picture) which is in between the Palace and the Independence Monument and the large markets in the centre of town. Be careful at these markets as they are very tightly packed and very busy so there are a few pick pockets around. It all depends on how long you are staying in Phnom Penh as to what you see, also it was extremely hot when we were here so doing a little is tiring.
Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com.
The Sam Boutique Hotel: $302.40 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £ ) for 7 nights including breakfast. Although the cooked breakfast wasn't that great as it was very small, you could also have cereal. Very clean bright hotel, great swimming pool and the rooms were very clean and modern. i would definitely stay here again as the staff were brilliant and it was in a good location with lots of eateries around to choose from.
Moving onto Sihanoukville we booked a 12:30pm Giant Ibis minibus from their head office in Phnom Penh (street 106) which is situated in the night market and cost $10 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £7). It took 4 hours with stops along the way to Sihanoukville. When we booked the bus we asked to be picked up from the hotel but as this was a new hotel they didn't know where it was so we had to give the name of the hotel next door which they were fine with. There are only 2 bus companies that run to Sihanoukville these are Sorya and Capitol Tours, they are classed as typical Cambodian bus companies which are cheap but only good for short trips, and then there are 2 minibus companies called Giant Ibis and Mekong Express
NOTE: We did a lot of research on TripAdvisor to see which is the best company to go with, and Giant Ibis had the best reviews. It was comfy big seat in only a 16 seater minibus. (Sorya company tend to break down often and have falling apart buses, which make the trip longer.)
BEWARE: Please be aware the roads in Cambodia are not all finished in lovely tarmac, so if you are getting a bus please get a day time bus and NOT a night bus around Cambodia. If you have ever been before you will know what I'm talking about and if you haven't well, hold on to your seats your in for a treat. The roads are sometimes narrow, or have huge holes in them so through the day at least the driver can see where he is going at night he can not. The night buses are also most prone to accidents. See this link (Night Bus) for 5 reasons you should not get night buses.
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