Vacation Recap: Phnom Penh

Maybe for the first time the whole trip I was truly hot in the afternoon sun in Phnom Penh.  Thankfully for $2 we got a tuk tuk ride to a little hole in the wall guesthouse that thankfully still had room for us, and maybe more importantly boasted air conditioning!

After throwing down our gear we headed back out in the heat to check out the Killing Fields and S21.  If you know nothing about the Cambodian Genocide here is a brief synopsis.  Rebel army wins civil war, wrecks havoc on the population, basically enslaving and causing mass starvation for a period of almost five years.  The Killing Fields were an area where political dissidents were, well, you can fill in the rest.  S21 is a former school turned prison for "enemies" of the ruling regime, the Khmer Rouge.

Yes, they are real.  Creepy.

Victims of the Khmer Rouge.

A cell at S21.

Tired and incredibly hungry, we had a delicious Cambodian dinner near the river and went back to crash.  We slept in a bit and then wondered out in search of breakfast before checking out the Royal Palace.  However, we ended up having to trek back to the hotel because we forgot that you can't wear shorts in the palace.  Whoops!  The palace itself was neat, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I expected a little bit more. 

I think I could have spent one more day in Phnom Penh.  There were a couple more things I would have liked to see, including the markets.  But we had greater plans yet and had an afternoon bus ride to Siem Reap to catch.

Note to self: in the future, avoid bus trips over five hours, if at all possible.  We opted for the nicer of the two bus options.  It had a bathroom sans toilet seat, a semblance of air conditioning (it cut in and out) and seats that reclined.  However, they played non-stop Vietnamese dramas, comedy performances or music videos at a blaring level and the seats were not build for anyone not of the smallest of Asian builds.  Not a fun seven hours, but we made it to Siem Reap in one piece and had a tuk tuk driver waiting for us, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Next up: Siem Reap.