Thursday, December 26, 2019

A CHRISTMAS LAYOVER IN PHNOM PENH

It was the day of Christmas when we packed our bags and walked 400 meters for what we presumed is the Giant Ibis bus terminal, through a street reeking of vomit from last night's celebration and a narrow alley that earlier was the scene of an all-woman brawl [screw me for not bring my phone!] to a cramped travel agent's office [the "terminal" that is actually the pedestrian lane of a busy street] where we were picked up by an international bus whose facilities does not qualify to international standards but good enough nevertheless, cleared both Vietnam and Cambodia immigration with no hassle, and spent the rest of Jesus' birthday in a 7-hour uneventful ride to Phnom Penh [it was projected as 5 hours] .    


I decided to have an overnight layover in Phnom Penh because the estimated 13-hour bus ride from Ho Chi Minh to Siem Reap is too long and a waste of time, and having an all-fried Christmas dinner [fish, pork, frog, noodles, rice, and of course loklak] in the city of "Lady Penh's Hill" was certainly a good choice from a bus ride, specially since we had an unHappy Pizza too at Pink Elephant [without the grass], got a close view of the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rovers from 3rd floor of the fully booked Five Drunken Men [no available tables so we moved to a bar called Come Here for our Christmas toast], and had an amazing authentic Cambodian breakfast the next day [pork done as soup, noodles and barbecue plus beef curry and jerky that we paired with sweet Cambodian coffee and tamarind juice] at 126 Noodle House where we were the only foreigners dining.    



It was the day after Christmas and since our bus trip to Siem Reap is at 12:45 pm, we made the most of our remaining half day in Phnom Penh with a stroll along Tonle Sap River to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda where we paid a hefty $40 dollar entrace fee for the four us, walked around and took photos like regular tourists, had our de rigueur family photo and managed to steal a forbidden shot of the life-sized 90-kilogram and diamond studded gold Buddha before hitting the road again for the 312 kilometer trek to Siem Reap which took 7 long hours but in a much improved Giant Ibis bus.    



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