438 replies to this topic

[dixon cox]

On the evening of the 23rd of April it rained & rained, flooding several streets in the City, including mine :|

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[Uncle]

Great pics DC, thank's for your time and effort.

I've had several stays in Phnom Penh myself and as your pictures show it's a real feast for the senses.

[dixon cox]

Sihanoukville

Kompong Som, aka Sihanoukville, aka Snooky, is Cambodia's primary beach town.

An easy bus ride south down the decent Route 4 from Phnom Penh.

Having acquired our tickets the day before from a travel shop, for $7 each, our pre-arranged noon pick-up from the Circuit Hotel to the main Paramount bus was late. But once at the transfer point near Riverside and Street 106 the main bus which would take us the rest of the way was only about 20% full, nice one.

This pleasantness was very short-lived as on the outskirts of Phnom Penh it pulled over into a shabby bus station (I use that term loosely), where we top-up to capacity with locals, yokels and a sprinkling of wildlife.

As often seems to happen, the noisiest family group plonk themselves directly behind us and begin to chatter away. But at least the soundtrack from 2 Khmer movies which blared out for what seemed like the entire journey at least out stiffled the constant noise from their mouths.

Halfway through the 4+ hour journey we pulled over for a pitstop.

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[dixon cox]

Great pics DC, thank's for your time and effort.
I've had several stays in Phnom Penh myself and as your pictures show it's a real feast for the senses.

Cambodia may not be to everyone's liking, but it's always nice to find another fan of the country, cheers Uncle

This is undoubtedly the best thread I have ever read on Phnom Penh DC, very entertaining and highly informative.
It shall certainly serve as a useful educational tool for me prior to my next visit in 2012

High praise indeed and much appreciated, many thanks PT.

There's still alot left yet to come, we're only in week 2 of 16

[eslmiker]

Love the 'satellite bus terminal' and the 'obligatory wildfowl'! Was that fowl indeed foul? Really looking forward to the next 14 weeks... Really!

[dixon cox]

There's still alot left yet to come, we're only in week 2 of 16

Delighted to hear that, this thead could become the C&D substitute

Get comfy... There's still a year to go on "The Last Millenium" too :o

[Woof1]

Enjoy this reading, part of Cambodia I never saw, as I prefer the Greener pastures up North. Any chance you make it to Siem Reap?
If you do and make it to Angkor, hope they are done with the Scaffolds around the inner part of the City so you can have better shots that I did.
And Oh, If you go, the better shots are in the late afternoon as the stones are so black looking otherwise

[dixon cox]

Enjoy this reading, part of Cambodia I never saw, as I prefer the Greener pastures up North. Any chance you make it to Siem Reap?
If you do and make it to Angkor, hope they are done with the Scaffolds around the inner part of the City so you can have better shots that I did.
And Oh, If you go, the better shots are in the late afternoon as the stones are so black looking otherwise

Yes Woof, I did make it up to Siem Reap and Angkor again, it will be covered later in the report at the end of June 2011.

But to answer your question, yes there was some work underway, which included green tarpaulin over parts of Angkor, such is life. But I imagine some sort of work is always in progress there.

I will go back again for the third time someday in the future.

[dixon cox]

After arriving at a bus station in Sihanoukville we chose our tuk-tuk from the myriad of overly keen drivers at the bus depot and chugged off towards Serendipity Beach where, just past the Golden Lions roundabout on Serendipity Beach Road, we checked into the Beach Road Hotel.

The day before we were quoted $20 per night for a room by the pool, which included TV, AC and fridge. A pleasant enough room which, for Cambodian standards, was pretty good.

The evening arrived and I was peckish so decided to try their own Beach Road Hotel Restaurant upstairs, I chose their cottage pie, which was dry. In between mouthfuls I gazed at the street activity below the restaurant, enjoying being at a level where I went unnoticed by the moto and tuk-tuk drivers for once. Service in the restaurant was adequate at best, as the staff on the night seemed more interested in chatting amongst themselves than serving customers.

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[soulboy]

Did the chicken behave well on the bus ? They can be bad travelers .