Day 12: An interesting bus ride, entering Vietnam and meeting someone

12:02 AM BACKPACKING, CAMBODIA, CIRCUIT HOTEL, CROSSING CAMBODIAN BORDER, FROM KL to TAIWAN, HO CHI MINH CITY, HOANG LIEN HOTEL, MEKONG EXPRESS LIMOUSINE BUS, PHNOM PENH, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY, VIETNAM No Comments

Similar to the bus journey from Thailand to Cambodia, the trip from out of Cambodia was also an early venture. 10 minutes to 8 am the pick-up service arrived to bring me to the bus station. This time my seat was not in the front rows, but almost at the end. Since it was nearly the Khmer New Year, many people were taking opportunity to travel out of the city. I noticed that there were also many Vietnamese who seem to be working in Cambodia were on the bus as well (surely they are in “balik kampong” mode).

Shortly before I board the bus, the bus company representative requested for our passport and was busy asking for our names and nationalities. I thought that the passports were collected to ease the procedure at the border later - I was wrong.

I was seated next to a tall and dark haired European gentleman. I saw him on the same pick-up van earlier. He had a small bag, which made me wonder, “Gee…how can this guy travel this light?”

Apparently he has some sense of humour. A brief exchange of greetings led to a very interesting conversation, almost all the way of the journey. I hope to be able to meet him again when I reach Hanoi. It was good to have company while on this trip. It has been quite a lonesome journey ever since I reach Cambodia. Somehow we had something in common, which made it more interesting - we have mixed blood running in our body =.=”

Anyway, the journey from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City was really an interesting experience. Cambodia and Vietnam are known for the extensive river channels which are part of the longest river in South East Asia, Mekong River. Infrastructure is perhaps still a challenge for Cambodian. There is no bridge connecting two towns nearby the country border. I had the opportunity to be on a ferry bringing our bus crossing the Mekong River. After almost 4 hours on the road, the bus reached the city of the border. However, before crossing the border the bus made a stop at a restaurant. I had something to eat and took the opportunity to get myself refreshed. I have to admit that the Cambodian immigration check was very easy and quick, except for the method where the immigration officer was calling name of the passengers before all of us could get into the bus again. Entering Vietnam however was an hour queue before my name was finally called by the immigration officer. The immigration building is a big and seems to have many modern facilities, but the entry systems they have are surely full of areas for improvement. You will need strong legs to withstand the long queue.

The distance between border and Ho Chi Minh City is less than 100 km but since the road was not as good as our highway, the journey was about 2 hours. The moment the bus entered HCMC, it was something new for me. The city had definitely changed tremendously for the last 9 years. I was here back in 2002 and the scene of the city is nothing compared to my first visit. The bus stop nearby a park in District 1, which is actually where the hotel I was to stay, is located. I (and Mr Gentleman) had a drink before saying goodbye. The coffee shop had wireless internet connection, so I took the chance to google the direction to the hotel. I decided to walk from the coffee shop to the hotel after finding out that it was only 800 meters away.

Again, upon check-in, I was amazed by the room provided by the hotel. Minus the window, everything else is far better than Seri Malaysia hotel chain, and the rate is only $18 per night (including breakfast). I took the chance to get myself refreshed and wanted to go to the railway station. Unfortunately due to the language problem, it was almost impossible for me to safely go to the said destination by taxi. Slightly tired and frustrated, I started walking the same route as I came from the bus stop. After about 15 minutes walking I reached at the area. The area is full with travel and tour arrangement service businesses. Greeted by a kind man, I decided to check out the service of the travel service. He was very helpful at getting my train ticket arranged and purchased. The prices however had slightly increased compared to the charges I saw from the internet. For the trip from HCMC to Danang, it cost me 950,000 Vietnamese Dong and for the trip from Danang to Hanoi, the cost was 870,000 Vietnamese Dong. Due to the nature of travel, which will take about 16 hours each trip, I had purchased the soft sleeper coach.

While trying to find a place for dinner, someone had passed me a flyer. Surprisingly it was an Indian and Pakistani restaurant, serving Halal food. Too tired of walking further, I ended up eating at the restaurant – Taj Mahal Restaurant. I had garlic naan with Chicken Tandoori Masala and mango lassi.

I had booked a half day tour from the reception desk that requires me to wake up early. Pick-up from hotel was at 7.30am – lucky the hotel have wake-up call service.

See some interesting pictures snapped for the day here (or click here Day 12 Web Album)

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Day 11: The bachelor, King of Kingdom of Cambodia

12:49 AM BACKPACKING, CAMBODIA, CIRCUIT HOTEL, FROM KL to TAIWAN, PHNOM PENH, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY No Comments

If anyone to ask, I would say Phnom Penh can be easily toured in only one day. A Cambodian friend, who is currently abroad studying, recommended activities (including places) to do while in Phnom Penh which can be completed in a day – he was right. Since I had two full days in Phnom Penh, so I decided to go slow with the sightseeing. Yesterday I was adapting to the dusty town, yet I had managed to experience the sound and smell of Phnom Penh city during the fair share of walking around town.

The day must start with a good breakfast, but I somehow slipped of the alarm. Like it or not, I had to miss my breakfast because my ride was already at the hotel doorstep before I even finish combing my hair. LOL..!!!

I hopped on Mr Vuf tuk tuk heading to the Grand Palace. Yesterday I heard that the King was in China and if I were lucky I could see the King (as he was supposed to return home today). This is my first time seeing a palace, where a King actually resides, that is located in the middle of city. The Kingdom of Cambodia Grand Palace is a significant structure right in the city centre, facing the main river. The entrance fee for foreign tourist is US$6.50 and since I wanted to learn about the history of the monarch and palace, I paid additional US$7 for an English guide. He was extremely jovial and funny – especially when he kept on saying if I am lucky enough, I can marry the King – he is still single.

At the age of 58, the present king of Cambodia is still a bachelor. He was a ballet dancer until he assumed the throne a few years back. Many royal items on the premise had to be changed to accommodate to his royal highness. The palace compound was huge, and I figured his royal highness must be very lonely staying in the big palace by his ownself. The guide had told me that his royal highness could not be that lonely since he has about 1,500 staffs working in the palace. The building of the palace is mainly influenced by the current Buddhist architecture, with a spice of Hinduism touch. Among the many building structure there is one building that was donated by French, and it was completed French architecture. I could see it clearly even though it was undergoing restoration works.

Within two hours of my journey inside the palace I learnt that Cambodia was a wealthy country, rich with gold. The royal gifts or items kept in the palace are mostly made from gold. There was even a pagoda known as Silver Pagoda – the temple floor was made out of pure silver tiles. At the end of the tour I asked the guide, who will assume the throne since the present King is not married? With full confident he answered, “His royal highness has a brother and he will assume the throne.”

I was getting hungry but it was nowhere near lunch time. Immediately after the palace, I head to the Russian Market. Apparently, Trip Advisor rated Russian Market visit better than going to Central Market. As I wanted to see the local in action, my trip to the Russian Market was the closest I could get to be with the local. If you are a shopper, this would be heaven. You can find almost everything here, from jewelries to clothes and from fresh ingredients to cooked dishes. If I were to go on a shopping spree, I would need more than 2 hours in this market. After roaming around to see all the dry stuffs, my feet brought me to the food section. Struggling with language, I was very happy to finally buy a local delicacy – banana wrapped with sticky rice and banana leave (similar to Malaysian pulut dakap but this is bigger). Outside the market there was a street vendor selling another local delicacy. This time I tried the thin pancake with crushed peanuts (tasted like apam balik but a crispy one). It was not easy to find a food shop around the market area, but there was small make-shift vendor selling drinks. I sat down at the place, sipping coconut juice, while waiting for my tuk tuk driver.

Cambodia is a country of flat land. So far I have not seen any elevated land (not even a small hill) ever since I came to Poi Pet. I am still at awe trying to imagine the looks of the country during the flood season. There is a man made hill in the city that also house Wat Phnom. It was not a high climb, but the fact that the temple was on an artificial elevated land somehow creates an excitement. On the way heading to the stairs, I saw a friendly elephant waiting for people to ride him. The elephant seemed very happy when people feed him bananas. You can pay the care taker of the elephant US$5 to take pictures while feeding the elephant. It was a good exercise for me climbing the stairs.

The day was supposed to end early – I wanted to do some packing for my early morning bus ride, the day after. At around 4pm, Yusuf, my guide from Siem Reap called me to ask if I wanted to join him and his small group for a dinner on boat. How could I say NO when my original intention was to have dinner on boat..?? I had joined a couple of ladies from Malaysia and it was a good time when all of us where talking in my native language.

My last tuk tuk ride cost me US$2, from the night market (last pit stop after dinner) to Circuit Hotel. I just had to quickly pack all the stuffs because I need to be in bed by 11pm. I can’t remember what time I actually doze off.

Click album cover below to see Day 11 pictures from the web album >>

Day 11 - Tour in Phnom Penh

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Day 10: A recovering city, Phnom Penh

3:29 PM BACKPACKING, CAMBODIA, CHOEUNG EK, CIRCUIT HOTEL, FROM KL to TAIWAN, KILLING FIELD, PHNOM PENH, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY, TUOL SLENG GENOCIDE MUSEUM No Comments

Breakfast was the same menu – toast, egg and coffee. The evening before, I saw list of attractions in Phnom Penh, on the tuk tuk. History had many stories about Pol Pot and devastation caused by the Khmer Rouge to Cambodia. I wanted to see for myself so I opted to go and see the famous Killing Field and S-21.

Advice for others if you are going to Phnom Penh on traveling around the city – either you hire a car/taxi service or if you choose to ride tuk tuk, gear up yourself with a protective mask. The city is indeed a dusty city; even the locals are seen to be wearing protective mask.

Killing field is located outside the Phnom Penh city centre, which took me more than half an hour of tuk tuk ride. I managed to snap a few pictures of Independence Monument, while I was on my way that morning. It would be nicer if I could snap more pictures, but since the monument is the main structure of a very big roundabout, it was not so easy to get the tuk tuk stop in the traffic.

The Khmer empire was huge during ancient civilization. Even during the French colonization era, Cambodia was still prosperous with promising development of both its people and country. Sadly after the country’s independence, and like many other South East Asian countries, the country was torn by civil war and soon after was affected directly by the influence of communism. The term Khmer Rouge will always be remembered by history and especially the Cambodian people. During the reign of Pol Pot regime, the country had to witness a complete meltdown of the growth Cambodian people had been working hard for centuries.

It was more than a crime, whereby almost half of the Cambodian population was slaughtered during the Khmer Rouge era. Killing field was the place where all prisoners from the S-21 prison were executed. When I entered the Choeung Ek gate, I thought I was anxious, thinking of how would the ambiance be. I hope all the souls buried here had found their solace. Although it was a sad view seeing all the remaining skulls and some clothes; which were dug out from the mass grave, I felt serenity walking around the compound.

Coming back to town was not an easy ride, especially with the dust from the road. I arrived at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum after traveling about 30 minutes. It was a high school which was turned into a prison (S-21) during the Khmer Rouge reigned. The compound was not big, but you may need about 2 hours to go through everything. Since the International Crime Court had just settled, there was also exhibition on the inhumane crime trial of the four highest administrators of the Khmer Rouge. One thing that would give impact to visitors is the massive display of photos of all the prisoners held, tortured and killed here at S-21. I was trying to search for fear in the eyes of the people photographed, but many seemed not to show the sense of fear even when they already know their tragic fate, back then.

There were 7 graves in the compound for the last 7 bodies found after Pol Pot regime defeated and the army fled of the S-21. Among them was a female prisoner. I took about 15 minutes seating at the bench facing the buildings in the area trying to reflect how lucky my country was for not having such heinous experience like Cambodia had to endure.

After a dusty day, I went back to hotel for a shower and short rest. Determined to see Mekong River in action, I started walking (helped by a map) trying to reach the riverside. After about half an hour of walking, I reached to a big road intersection. I could see the big river in front of me. Another objective while in Phnom Penh was to ride the water of the big Mekong River. The hotel staff told me that I could find the boat ride service along the river side. Somehow I could only see many boats cruising the river, but no sight of the boat stop or pier. I continued walking, but after about an hour walking and losing sight of the river bank, my worry surfaced.

Knowing that language is the biggest barrier, I decided to walk into a 5 star hotel, The Cambodiana, to inquire about the right destination. To my surprised, I had gone to the wrong direction. An English speaking concierge helped me to show the location on a map and advised me to take a tuk tuk, especially because of the distance. I paid US$2 for the tuk tuk ride. Unfortunately, since it was already dark, no more boat with dinner was available for me to ride. I could take a boat by myself – an hour ride cost me US$15. The tuk tuk driver was nice enough to accompany me on the ride; otherwise it would be an extremely lonely journey.

It was indeed a great view of the city from the water. Soon after I hopped off the boat, I knew that I need to get something to eat. The tuk tuk driver brought me to a halal small eatery, ran by a Malaysian. I was lucky that he understood my original request of wanting to eat Muslim food.

Since I still have another day tomorrow, I decided to head back to hotel for rest and sleep. Having to see the city and its history gave me a conclusion – the country is in its recovering mode. They are still at infancy stage waiting for the new generations to start developing the country; since all the intellectuals were assassinate by the Pol Pot regime.


Check out pictures from my web album by clicking the album cover below >> 

Day 10 - Phnom Penh, a recovering city

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Day 9 - Going to Cambodia city centre, Phnom Penh

11:54 PM BACKPACKING, CAMBODIA, CIRCUIT HOTEL, FROM KL to TAIWAN, MEKONG EXPRESS LIMOUSINE BUS, PHNOM PENH, SIEM REAP, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY No Comments

My bus ride from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh was scheduled in the noon. Many reviews found in the internet indicated good comments about Mekong Limousine Express bus services. Since they also operate Siem Reap – Phnom Penh route, I had opted to try out the service. The 6 hours ticket price was US$11/ one way and after safely arrived in Phnom Penh I can say this – unexpected good service =.="

Siem Reap was raining, again, that morning. So, I decided to just stay at the guesthouse for the rest of the morning. Good thing when you are travelling in South East Asia is you can get complimentary pick up and drop off services whenever you purchase accommodation, travel or tour arrangement. Instead of spending extra cash for tuk tuk or taxi, my pick up to the bus station arrived about noon. Siem Reap main bus station is located in the market area, about 20 minutes from the guesthouse.

The bus system was extremely good – with luggage tagging system for bags that are stored at the luggage compartment, refreshment serves during the journey and an English speaking guide on the bus for the entire journey. Along the way, the guide also shared some interesting information about several towns which we had passed through.

The entire trip was relatively smooth, although the road was not as good as in Malaysia. However, there was a 30 minutes rough ride when the bus had to go through an unfinished road route. I was amazed how flat Cambodia land is, along the way ever since I entered the country from Thailand, however, it was a shocking truth to see how dusty Cambodia can be during the dry season. An hour away from Phnom Penh was a route where drivers must be highly skilled. Dust was everywhere on the road, just like the morning mist or terrible smog.

Anyway, I reached Phnom Penh at around 7pm. The bus stop somewhere near the riverside area, and upon coming down the bus we can immediately see a flock of tuk tuk drivers waiting for business. I was lucky to get a tuk tuk driver who was very kind (he was also my guide for the next two days). Apparently my hotel was located nearby the Central Market area. I checked in at Circuit Hotel and my first impression when I saw my room was total amazement. The room was obviously a good bargain for that kind of quality and service – US$15/night. See pictures of the room I stayed in Day 9 album.

Take note that it is not easy to find Halal food restaurant in Phnom Penh. My first meal was vegetable fried rice with egg at a restaurant across the street of my hotel. Somehow it felt weird because of the restaurant name – Arabica Restaurant.

The day ended with me going to be late, as I was trying to upload pictures to facebook and tried to write the previous entries for my journey in Siem Reap. Mr Vurf, the tuk tuk driver will only come at 9.30am for my next day plan, leaving me enough sleeping hours.

Next entry will be about the bustling city of Phnom Penh. 
Check out Day 9 pictures here >>

Day 9 - Going to Cambodia city centre, Phnom Penh

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