Cambodia Day 1

Day 1: Phnom Penh, Cambodia (05/12/06)

We were supposed to meet at 5.30 am at Changi Airport T1 but most of us were late and there was a very long queue at the counters. Quite a number of SMU students were heading to Phnom Penh for community service and we checked in at 6.50 am, 15 minutes before departure.

There is a new system for Singaporeans to scan their thumb prints at the departure gate and we rushed to the boarding gate just in time. Many people boarded the plane late due to the inefficiency at the counter and our plane was delayed by about 20 minutes.

The plane only took slightly less than 2 hours to reach Phnom Penh International Airport.

Phnom Penh International Airport

Me and Meibin alighting the Jetstar plane

Our tuk tuk driver had been waiting for some time at the airport and we set off for Sunday Guesthouse, a guesthouse which i've booked 1 and a half months prior to the trip. The trip there was memorable coz it was the first time i sat on a tuk tuk and the traffic is horrible yet exciting. I believe that 99% of the tourists will not want to drive any form of vehicle on the roads of Cambodia. There is also quite some dust and fine sand in the air and we were trying to shield our eyes from the dust and smoke and trying not to breathe in too much air at the traffic junctions. Also, the locals stared quite a lot at us when we were on the tuk tuk. We were feeling a little uneasy at traffic light junctions coz the motorcyclists would turn and look at us like they never see tourists before. We were also clutching our bags tighter in case they decide to snatch away our bags (which is just another extra precaution). The airport is 20 km away from the city centre and we took half an hour to get to the guesthouse.

On top of Sunday Guesthouse at St 141

We rented a tuk tuk for almost the whole day which costs US$15. After getting some recommendations from the guesthouse, we headed to a local eatery and had local Khmer food. The soup and noodles were tasty and our stomachs were satisfied for around US$2 per pax.

At the local eatery

Our next stop was S21, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. The site used to be a high school and it turned into a torture and massacre prison during the Khmer Rouge regime. We were given pamphlets which described the horrific sins which the Khmer Rouge inflicted upon their own people.

The graveyard of some of the victims


One of the numerous torture chamber for the victims


The faces of the unfortunate people who perished at S21


The photos and the description of some individuals who had been killed by the Khmer Rouge


The prison cells of the victims


The weapons used to torture the victims


A memorial to respect the dead (skulls in the cabinet)

For more information on the Khmer Rouge regime, please click here for more detailed information. The atrocities they committed are astounding and they killed more than 1 million people during the regime. The worst thing is that it happened less than 30 years ago and no one intervened until the invasion of Vietnam in 1979 which ended the 4 year regime. Khmer Rouge actually evacuated the city of Phnom Penh and ordered them to live in the countryside, capturing the educated, the powerful and the rich, executing most of them in cold blood.

After the sad history trip, we headed to the Russian Market and there are plenty of foodstuff, silk, cloth, fruits, motor parts, cds, etc.... It is like the assorted pasa malam with more cramped alleys in a sheltered building. We bought some silk scarves as they were very cheap at only $1.50 to $2 a piece.

Russian Market

We then passed by the Independence Monument which commemorates the departure of the French in 1953 (Cambodia used to be a French colony).

Independence Monument


We passed by an impressive Wats (means temples)

We headed to the National Museum next.

National Museum

The entrance fee is US$3 and we spent some time looking at the statues of Buddha, the ancient Khmer culture artifacts, religious artifacts and some carvings and stuff. We did not really know how to appreciate all these and we spent some time there resting instead.

Within the compounds of the scenic National Museum


One of the 2 statues guarding the entrance


Derrick and Me

We then headed to Sisowath Quay for dinner at the expensive FCC (Foreigner Correspondent Club). We had the set dinner (US$10) which consists of the incredibly delicious appetiser, and a rather normal main course and salad. There were quite a lot of houseflies flying around and it was rather distracting when we were having our meal. The seaside view is rather nice though.

View from FCC of Sisowath Quay


Dinner time!

We headed to Central Market next and the architecture of the building is rather unique. It has a dome-shaped structure which has outlying arms at the corners. There are a lot of shops selling clothes, jewellery, bags, cloth, food, fruits, etc. However, we came at the wrong time and many of the shops were closing by the time we reached.

Art Deco Central Market


Spiders, cockroaches, worms, beetles on sale for consumption!!! We did not try eating them of course! I feel gross even just looking at the fried insects.

We headed to Sorya Shopping Centre next and bought some fake-but-look-very-real Nike dry-fit t-shirt for only US$5. We then bought some chicken wings and headed to the supermarket to buy some water before heading back to Sunday Guesthouse.

We played Bridge in our rooms for about an hour as we did not know what to do at night. We then headed downstairs for some supper at the restaurant. By the way, Cambodians cook very slowly but their food is tasty and does not feel mass-produced. We will normally spend around 1 hour for each meal.

One of the 2 rooms which we are staying

End of Day 1, which is not too hectic nor too relaxed.