Palmira is going on a 2 months trip to Sout East Asia. She is sharing her experiences and adventures with us

Phnom Penh

Leaving behind Angkor Wat, we headed to the capital of Cambodia by bus. I think that it was six hours long that went by quickly with beautiful landscapes and interesting stops. In one of them, some nine years old children were waiting for us to come out the bus to sell different kind of fruits for one dollar. What it was interesting was that on their chest they were carrying around a huge spider! In the end like an official tourist we bought some fruit from one girl and we took photos with her and her peculiar pet. Later on we regretted to not have taken photos of those same spiders fried that were sold between chips and oreos.

When we got to Phnom Penh, a bunch of tuk-tuk drivers were already fighting over who would the one to sell his services to the arriving tourists. We got out the bus and we crossed to other side of the road in order to buy the tickets for the express boat to Chau Doc. After buying the tickets for the next day, we went off with our bags to look for a reasonable price tuk-tuk that would take us to our hostel.  In constant fear of being ripped off we were closing following the route of our driver on the map.

When we got to the 5$ hostel the driver offered to wait for us in order to take us wherever we wanted to. The first stop was Toul Sleng, a former high school transformed into a high security prison where people were tortured during the Pol Pot times, a must see if you want to get an impression of Cambodia´s very recent history.

Still being shocked by the atrocities that we had seen in Toul Sleng, we went to the tourist area at the riverfront to a place called the “Foreign Correspondent Club”, a bar with river views and outrages prices for Cambodians that Rasmus´ brother had recommended. We also had some cocktails afterwards until 10 trying to push back the return to our uncomfortable hostel. Now we can say that it wasn´t the worst that we would see in our trip.

The following day, the same driver picked us up early in the morning in order to take us to the highlights of the city. We only had three hours so we were in a rush. We went to Wat Phnom, the outside of the Royal Palace, the independence monument and the Russian market. After finishing that we stepped by the hostel, picked up our bags and went straight to the port. We took the 12 pm express boat that was supposed to arrive in Chau Doc at 4pm. The boat arrived it almost one hour and a half later because the immigration didn´t accept the visas of two Spanish people who were in the same boat . Apparently they didn´t let one of them in because the signature on the visa had been erased by a rain shower. Taking advantage of the situation some guys offered this couple to take them back to Phnom Penh for a outrages amount of money.

Once we arrived in Chau Doc, we realized that we didn´t have any idea how to continue this trip and it was getting late already. Desperately looking for a travel agency who would organize a trip through the Mekong Delta recommended by the Rough guide, we took a unique vehicle, a rickshaw. After finding the travel agency we saw the blue sky again when the woman offered us a three day tour that included everything that we wanted to see in the Mekong Delta. Back then, we didn´t know the consequences of that decision.

Would you like to join us? Calling all seasoned backpackers!

Willing to share your hidden gems with your fellow backpacker enthusiasts?
If so, we’re willing to share our love in the form of some well-deserved cash!
Email us at backpackreporter@iwannagothere.com to learn more.