April 7-15, 2015
Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia. We flew in from Bangkok and arrived in the evening. What should have been a twenty minute taxi ride to our hotel took an hour. For some reason, traffic was brutal. Fortunately, Michael booked a lovely hotel that was hidden amidst the madness.
The Kabiki Hotel was situated inside a guarded (barricaded) section of the city becaue the Prime Minister of Cambodia resided in that area. The taxi was't even allowed to enter. The hotel property itself was a complete oasis. There was a lovely garden area, a pool and restaurant. We were set for the week.
Our small patio outside our room
The pool by evening
delicous salads served poolside
Morning cuddles
Once we were settled and had our fun in the pool, we booked a sunset cruise on the Mekong River. It is the dry season so the water level is low. Some people book a boat to Siem Reap, but it would take much more than the usual six hours due to the lower water levels.
The cruise was lovely and peaceful. We met a lovely couple and simply enjoyed the views. We stopped on a floating bungalow for the opportunity to order an appetizer or drink. When we returned to the dock we found a recommended restaurant and enjoyed a nice supper.
family on the Mekong River
selfie time
enjoying the view
small village on the river
floating houses
Sunset from the floating bungalow
Outside of that evening boat trip and our trips to the Genocide Museum and The Killing Fields, we did not do much in Phnom Penh. We didn't really enjoy the city. It wasn't that easy or nice to walk around. We passed markets and monuments on our tuk tuk rides, but I didn't manage to get any photos.
I decided to visit the Royal Palace on our last day. Even though it was nearby, I couldn't convince any family members to join me.
Walkway to the Royal Palace
One of the many temples and buildings at Royal Palace
Lovely gardens
I like the faces at the top
It was very quiet our last couple of days in Phnom Penh. April 15 - 17 was the Khmer New Year. Many of the locals leave to visit their families and a lot of shops and restaurants close. We heard Siem Reap (the next city we planned to visit) gets quite loud and crazy with the three day celebration, so we decided to head south to a town called Kampot. We arranged for a driver, but had to pay about double since it was during the holiday. We were fine with that since we didn't want to deal with the drama of the bus.
The driver wasted no time. He got us there in just over two hours (should have taken three) and he was quite pleased with himself. All in all, it was an easy transition to our next week in Kampot.