Cambodia Day 7 & Day 8

Day 7: Battambang to Phnom Penh, Cambodia (11/12/06)

We woke up early at around 6 am as we had booked a morning bus back to Phnom Penh. Our flight back to Singapore is on 12/12/06 from Phnom Penh.

A minibus brought us to the Capitol bus terminal and we boarded the coach that will take us back to Phnom Penh. Capital Bus is WAY better than GST which we took on the way to Siem Reap. The aircon is working fine unlike the stuffy GST bus and the legroom is spacious. All three of us succumbed to the comfort and gave in to the zzz monster after a while. I slept the least on the bus as i wanted to see the scenery along the way.

A rest stop

After about 2 & 1/2 hours, there was a lunch break and we ordered some food. As we were hungry, the food is delicious considering it is just a roadside stall. Love the spices and flavouring used in the soup. As we ordered quite a bit of food, the bus driver honked for all of us to get back onto the bus and we were the last to board.

I love the shape of the Cambodian coconut trees

The bus reached Phnom Penh at around 1 pm and we wished the trip would be longer so that we can sleep more. Haha..... Anyway, we got off from the Capitol bus terminal and walked back to our Sunday Guesthouse. We had booked our last night there as the staff is friendly and helpful. After unloading our backpacks, we set off for our last day in Phnom Penh. Actually we had visited all, if not most of the tourist attractions. So we decided to have a walking tour around the city.

Our walking plan in Phnom Penh

I was the chief navigator and we embarked on the journey across the city. The city was bigger than i expected and we took longer than expected to walk across the city as we stopped at any aircon places like shopping centres, supermarkets and bookstores.

We were enthusiastic and curious about the sights and scenes in the city. We passed by the guarded Singapore Embassy and asked if we can enter. Sadly, we were denied entry despite the fact that we are Singaporeans.

Victory Monument


Picture of the King or Prince or someone from Royal Family as we couldn't read the language

We headed to Central Market as Terence wanted to buy some fruits and we wanted to do some last minute shopping. I bought a tee, a rattan bag for my sister while Meibin got a bag and 2 pairs of ladies jeans.

We then headed to Boeung Kak Lake in haste as we wanted to see the sunset there. We were in luck as the east side of the lake has the best view of the sunset which is the place we will be visiting. We were walking briskly to catch the sunset between 5.30 pm to 6 pm.

A mosque we saw once we turned into the road leading to Boeung Kak Lake

We were desperately finding entry to view the lake up close but there were many buildings and guesthouses by the side of the lake that prevent direct entry for outsiders. Then we barged into a guesthouse as there weren't people outside preventing outsiders from going in. We made the right choice as the view from the guesthouse is fantastic. We were a little late for sunset though.

Picturesque view of sunset


The late sunset

We enjoyed the view for a cool 20 minutes and we were right up to the lake surface as the guesthouse has a platform that enables people to dive right into the lake. We bought some drinks from the guesthouse restaurant as we couldn't just leave without buying anything from the guesthouse.

After the awesome sunset, we left and headed to Sisowath Quay for dinner. We walked for at least 30 minutes before finding the stretch of nice restaurants along the scenic coastline. We decided on Jungle Bar and Grill according to the list of recommended restaurants which i had previously researched.

Me and Meibin @ Jungle Bar & Grill

We had our sumptuous dinner and chatted there for quite a while before hitting the streets to find a bar to chill out. The price of liquor there is so cheap and even myself who doesn't really like liquor feel compelled to try some of the cocktails. Tried some of the cocktails with some interesting names like Kamikaze, etc.

We headed to a bar with nice deco and had just 1 drink before taking a tuk tuk back to our guesthouse. It was a fulfilling last day for us and we have completed most of the things that we wanted to do in Cambodia.

Day 8: Phnom Penh to Singapore (12/12/06)

Our flight is at 8.45 am and our tuk tuk fetched us from our guesthouse to the airport at 7 am.

We have definitely become significantly darker after our trip

We arrived at Phnom Penh International Airport at 7.30 am and checked in our baggage before boarding our flight back to Singapore.

Singapore from airplane

To conclude, Cambodia is an interesting place for most people and a fantastic place for food lovers. The food is cheap and very tasty and we can get to enjoy restaurant food that is around Singapore food court prices. For people who love shopping, Cambodia is definitely not the place for shopaholics. They probably would want to check out Thailand instead. Also, Angkor Wat is a MUST visit place in our lifetime. The timeless beauty of the temples is unrivalled and i do miss Cambodia for the rich culture, the laid back lifestyle and the food. Visit Cambodia for an exotic travel experience!