I think it was safe to say the whole group was a little anxious about trying the public buses in Asia. Fon had done a good job of lowering our expectations, basically by advising that it won't be what we're used to, so we shouldn’t expect the same level of cleanliness or safety, as we get back home!
We weren’t really sure what to expect after that. However, when we arrived at the station we were surprised to be greeted by a shiney new “limousine” coach.
Fon had also mentioned that we might want to take our IPods with us; in case we didnt fancy listening to Cambodian pop music or watching a Cambodian martial arts film (they tend to show these on full volume on local long bus journeys!), but again, we surprised to find it was actually 80s/90s American and British pop classics instead! Not long into the journey we also received complimentary water and snacks. So far, this beats the Megabus back home.
The journey to Phnom Penh was pretty smooth, with just a couple of questionable toilet stops (I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the public toilets in Asia!). We arrived in a sunny Phnom Penh around 4pm.
Again, the hotel was fantastic. As well as free WIFI and a fully stocked beer fridge in reception, it also had a huge DVD library, with mostly brand new movies.
That night we dined in a small funky local restaurant. Fon recommended it as the profits from the restaurant go to the Streets Kids charity. During dinner, the lights went out in the restaurant for about 5 minutes. This, we were finding, was a little quirk of Cambodia. Apparently during the busy season, the electricity trips in a number of places due to the stress put on the grid by the air conditioning etc. It soon comes back on though, but it’s a bit inconvenient if it happens when you’re in the shower!
Phnom Penh was a beautiful city, with some of the friendliest people we’ve met so far. We would have loved an extra day in the city to explore a couple more of the sights – it would have been great to see round the Royal Palace and the Russian Market.
Our main activity during our stay was visiting the S-21 Prison and the Killing Fields. It was a pretty difficult morning visiting both places, it was even more upsetting to see that it was still difficult for our tour guide to talk about it, but we felt it was an important sight to see and we were pleased we did. We actually got to meet one of the survivors of the prison, an artist, and we bought his book.
After a heavy morning, we spent the afternoon chilling out in the hotel before taking a walk around the nearby Phnom Ping Temple.
Next stop Sihanoukville, this time it’s only a four hour public bus journey!
