Ho Chi Minh - Phnom Penh (276km)

We were up bright and early to check out of our hotel and board the Giant Ibis bus from HCMC to Phnom Penh. The bus staff were very organised and we left on time at 8.30am.

The journey took about 6.5hours including our stops at the border.
It all went pretty smoothly, the bus staff were friendly and we got a snack and a water bottle to keep us going. We stopped at the Vietnam border to exit through immigration which was no issue.

(Photos: on the bus; snacks; tuk tuk).

We all just handed over our passports to our guide on the bus and he arranged everything. All they did was call our name, we went up to the front of the line to collect our stamped passport and then we exited the country.
The bus then drove us a short way up the road to the Cambodian border area. We had lunch at a restaurant before heading through Cambodian immigration to enter the country.
Once again Matt and I did not have any hassles, although this is probably due to the fact that we each paid the bus company $35 USD for the visa when they only cost $30 - the extra $5 is to make sure "everything goes smoothly" (i.e. a bribe).
The only person in our group who seemed to have an issue was an American traveller who had limited space left in her passport (although there was clearly space for a stamp and new visa). After some back and forth it was decided that they would issue her visa but only if she paid another $10 USD. She didn't really have a choice so once she forked over the extra cash we were on our way again. We have only just entered the country and we can see why Cambodia has earned the title of 'most corrupt government in the world'.

(Photos: an orchid farm at one of the rest stops along the way to Phnom Penh; room, pool, lighting and library at Hotel La Librairie).

We arrived in Phnom Penh about 3pm and checked into the Hotel La Librairie, which is absolutely luxurious compared to other places we have been staying recently. After checking in we got straight into the gorgeous pool and enjoyed some happy hour drinks before heading out for some Cambodian food at Romdeng restaurant right around the corner. Not only does Romdeng do amazing and authentic Khmer cuisine, they are also an NGO/training centre where they provide hospitality training to at risk local young people to help them get work.

Poverty is much more obvious in Cambodia than in Vietnam, from the people living in slums and begging in the streets to the lack of infrastructure such as rubbish collection and roads. Still we both enjoyed Phnom Penh much more than HCMC and we like Cambodian food and people much more than in Vietnam.

The only downer is the obvious presence of creepy sex tourists. When we first checked in we saw a portly middle aged American guy in the pool with a Cambodian guy maybe 20 years old (I hope). They looked very friendly in the pool. Late that night we heard the same American arguing with a third Cambodian guy telling him to "take your fucking clothes and get out of my fucking room, I'm not giving you any money". What the fuck.

We spent a full day exploring Phnom Penh on foot the next day, which was a feat (pun intended) on foot as it was ridiculously hot. We checked out the central markets which was similar to the Ben Thanh markets in HCMC except different types of souvenirs and the people were not so in your face trying to sell stuff. It was nice.

(Photos: central market flowers & building,;around Phnom Penh town).

Then we walked up into town and purchased bus tickets to Siem Reap from the Giant Ibis office before heading to check out Wat Phnom.

The story goes that an old lady name Penh lived by a river and after the big monsoon rains a flood from Laos brought a large tree trunk to rest near her house. Inside the trunk she found 4 Buddha statues. Wat Phnom was built to house the 4 statues and the town was named after the old lady.

Around 3pm the day was at its hottest so we returned to the hotel for another swim and more happy hour drinks. We had mexican again at Cucina Cartel for dinner (amazing) and had some interesting cocktails. We enjoyed a peaceful sleep with no tourists arguing loudly with Cambodian prostitutes in the wee hours.

On our last day in Phnom Penh we went to the National Museum of Cambodia which we both really enjoyed.

(Photos: Wat Phnom)

The museum had a huge number of relics and artifacts from the Angkorian period including statues, household items, jewellery etc plus information about archeological studies done around the Siem Reap airport. But they also had an exhibit about the Cambodian contribution to World War I which was really interesting.

We had lunch and walked back towards our hotel along the Tonle Sap riverside walkway. This sounds a lot nicer than it actually was as the river level is low due to lack of rain and there is the ever present odour of sewage that kind of ruins the atmosphere. However it was really interesting to see all the boats along the river with people living and working on them.
We then went to visit the Royal Palace but it was very expensive and they had some crazy rules for entry (e.g. must be wearing proper shoes not thongs, but then must take off shoes for entry to all buildings). So once again we went back to the hotel to swim during the hottest part of the day and to partake of happy hour.

(Photos: on the riverside; Matt and his cocktail).

We liked Romdeng so much the first night - plus it was right around the corner from our hotel - so we went back for some more Cambodian curries on our last night in Phnom Penh. I also enjoyed a glass of the fruity rice wine.

Next morning we pottered around the hotel until we checked out at about 11.45am and headed to the bus station for our 12.30pm bus to Siem Reap.

(Photos: exterior of National Museum of Cambodia).