Phnom Penh

We arrived in the city of Phnom Penh at 11pm (4 hours late) on Friday 13th and caught a tut tut to our guest house C’est Wat. We were given a lovely warm welcome by the owners only to find our reservation hadn’t come through early enough and they had since booked our room out! They gave us a beer to ease the pain of moving to a hotel around the corner. Taking it easy in Phnom Penh the next day, we strolled around the city which is much quieter than most but still has thriving streets, busy market places and a nice promenade stretching along the river front. It was the King’s birthday, so on Saturday evening, fire works were let off over the river. The fire works went on for ages, which Jody enjoyed. Then it was time for some Indian food, yes Indian on our first night in Cambodia, Jody had a craving for it. We’d heard of a bejewelled buddha and solid silver tiled floor in the Royal Palace, so the next morning we headed for it. Only to find that Jody was not allowed in as she had her shoulders showing even though she had brought along a shawl to cover up. So she had to buy a t-shirt to wear. Inside the palace was okay, but not very impressive, and although the outside of the buildings seemed to be well kept the insides we not kept clean. Everything needed a good polish. As for the bejewelled buddha and solid silver tiled floor, well the tiled floor was covered in carpet so you could not see the floor and again the buddha and artefacts around needed a good clean. En route to the palace we did meet up with a Tuk Tuk driver, Sar, who we got on very well with and agreed with him that he could take us to S21 and the Killing Fields for the next day. C’est Wat Guest House Room rating: 7/10 Location: 8/10 - The city is all over the place, but this is about the best location to be in Staff: 9/10 - Very welcoming and friendly Value for Money: 6/10 Other comments: Despite them letting out our room, so we had to stay in the Riverview Guesthouse for the first night, it was a lovely place to stay. Stay again? Would definitely consider it Overall experience: 8/10 Loved Phnom Penh City. It isn’t as crazy as Ho Chi Minh but it has a great buzz about it. not as much to see and do here though