Day 2- Phnom Penh

As it is, we woke up really early the next morning for our bus trip to Cambodia. We headed to the Singh Cafe office and we rode out of Hanoi at 7 in the morning. Because of lack of sleep, i immediately zonked out upon settling myself on my seat. It was after 1 and a half hour that we were woken up to get down the bus for the immigration at the border. The guide took all our passports and we had to wait in front of the immigration for our names to be called out after being stamped. It was as fast as the usual routine at the airport but it's just confusing waiting for your name to be called without any proper line to follow or a waiting area to actually wait. And so we finished the outgoing part and we entered the Cambodian side. It was much easier to queue for the stamp since we belong to a country that belongs to the ASEAN while the rest of the other nationalities had to fill out visa application forms.

Then we were in Cambodia. The first thing that you notice are the buildings. Most of them are new and in the border there are lots of Casinos.

                                          The bus for the trip from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh

I literally slept most of the way but about 1 hour away from our destination the bus went into a ferry to cross a river before we resumed our journey. The countryside resembles that of the lowlands of the Philippines. It was an endless flatland with fields and houses. I didn't even see any mountain.

                                           The view of the river from inside the bus on the ferry.

Upon reaching Phnom Penh. I noticed again that the buildings and houses are very new and the city is clean.
It is like a bigger and more urban version of Vientianne, the capital of Laos. We arrived at the Singh Cafe office, got off the bus and Tuk tuk drivers came swarming immediately to offer their services. As newbies, we agreed to a five dollar ride to our hotel which I learned later on our last day that it is actually just three dollars.
Anyhow, we were happy that our hotel is actually situated near the palace and the museum, it is just next to the river and near  all the restaurants, shops and hotels.

                                                                  My bed at the hotel.

Our hotel, the Mekong Imperial Boutique guesthouse is located at the tourist street of Phnom Penh, the Sisowath Quay. We had a  three bed room at 11 per person. It was the best for the price. I had a chicken with ginger for lunch and everyone is excited to walk around town but I wasn't really feeling good so I headed back to the hotel to sleep.

In the evening, I was feeling much better that we decided to go out for dinner. I had my taste of the famous Cambodian cuisine, the "Amok fish" it is fish cooked in coconut oil. It was really delicious. After dinner, we visited the night market. It was the typical night market for us since we are asians. There were clothes and stuff for decorations. What surprised me was the food court. It was really homely.

                                                        The night market food court.

I didn't buy anything since I didn't find anything interesting. Most of the things are the same as in Vietnam and Laos so i decided to get from Siem Reap goods to bring back in Hanoi instead. So we ended the day after the window shopping. It was nice to be in a city where it is still alive at 11 in the evening. I guess we were so used to Hanoi where we have to rush eating before 11 pm since almost all restaurants close before midnight. Walking on the streets at midnight with a lot of restaurants still open was a very welcome experience that day.