The Façade of The Cambodian Royal Palace
After spending about 3 days in Siem Reap, I headed to Phnom Penh which is 6-hour-bus-ride away from Siem Reap. Actually, when I planned for this trip months ago, I didn’t put Phnom Penh on the list and intended to go directly to Ho Chi Minh City instead. However, a friend of mine who works in Cambodia told me that taking a bus from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City takes very long time and all buses serving both cities normally go through Phnom Penh. So why don’t I give Phnom Penh a try? Then I decided to include Phnom Penh in my itinerary.
The bus which I took arrived at Phnom Penh about 5 hours (1 hour ahead than previously predicted) after the departure time from Siem Reap. Since I only spent one day at Phnom Penh, I booked a guest house which is close to Phnom Penh’s major attractions so that I could optimize my time in the city. The guest house which I booked is located approximately 100 meters away from the Cambodian Royal Palace. But, first thing first. Since I didn’t have a decent breakfast when I left for Phnom Penh, the first thing that I did after arriving was, of course, having a very decent meal. I chose a restaurant near the guest house and ordered Lok Lak, a Khmer traditional food.
Lok Lak (A Khmer Traditional Food)
After a satisfying meal, I walked right away to the Royal Palace (more story and pictures of the Royal Palace on my next post). After strolling around the Royal Palace, I went to the adjacent building of the Cambodian National Museum. You cannot miss this building since it is painted in bright reddish color. The museum has a huge collection of Cambodian artifacts which were collected from all over the country. Camera is forbidden though, and in my opinion, the Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap is much better in providing information about the history of Cambodia. Technologically speaking, the Angkor National Museum is also much more sophisticated. Nevertheless, the Cambodian National Museum is still worth a visit.
Cambodian National Museum
Before the night fell, I walked at Sisowath Quay (which is just in front of the Royal Palace) to watch people enjoying their time with friends or families. There are so many interesting things that I saw, such as: people playing takraw (a traditional Southeast Asian ball game which is a combination of soccer and volleyball) with some sort of modified shuttlecocks (instead of takraw balls), colorful offerings and other daily life activities of Cambodian people.
Sisowath Quay along The Banks of the Mekong and Tonle Sap
Colorful Offerings
All in all, Phnom Penh didn’t disappoint me at all, eventhough I was there for merely a day. You might also want to consider stopping at Phnom Penh if you go overland from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap or vice versa.
Related Post: The Cambodian Royal Palace
What an Amazing World! 
cambodia is a real appeal to me i would love to go…
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Cambodia is really worth a visit!
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khermer is a vegetarian food or non veg?
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Wow.. you must be REALLY happy with all your trips! I can see that traveling is your passion in life. I am sure you enjoy it MORE THAN anything..
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All I can say is that I do really enjoy seeing new places and meeting new people. By the way, you were in Bangkok last week, right? Share us some stories then!
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Cambodia looks like a great place to explore!
So much to do and see there. 🙂
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When you visit Cambodia, make sure you don’t miss Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. Some travelers call it the 8th wonder of the world.
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Where was your favorite place to visit in Cambodia?
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I like Angkor Archaeological Park the most, especially Bayon.
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You’re an inspiration for me. I hope I can blog as well as you do when my time comes!
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Wow, thank you very much! what a lovely compliment! I believe when you travel the world, you’ll have your own interesting stories to share. Good luck, Jodi!
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The promenade along the Mekong and Tonle Sap river is my favorite. Selalu suka dengan tempat-tempat yg memadukan air, pohon, dan peradaban manusia.
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Sama. Buat saya air memberikan nuansa ketenangan dan melihat pohon bisa jadi penangkal stress.
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