Phnom Penh, Cambodia

After a long and tiring journey, we landed in Siem Reap and caught up on some much needed sleep in the Siem Reap Hostel. Next morning the five of us piled into a tuk tuk with our rucksacks and headed to Angkor Breeze Guesthouse. The tuk tuk driver had a bit of difficulty finding the hotel and we drove up and down the same road numerous times looking for the correct turn. After the third or fourth time, people sitting in the restaurants were laughing and waving at us, probably wondering what kinda crowd we were. To add to the dramatic drive, at one point when we were doing a u-turn, one of the rucksacks fell off the tuk tuk. As we shouted 'bag down', the driver jammed on the brakes so we could retrieve it. We were glad to eventually arrive in Angkor Breeze, with all our possessions intact! Next we went for brunch at the lovely 'Blue Pumpkin' before getting a tuk tuk back to the airport. We caused a bit of a stir as we stood in arrivals with our personalised signs, singing and dancing while we waited for Jess, Margaux and Mollie to arrive. After a beautiful reunion, we went back to Angkor Breeze where we sat and chatted for hours, catching up on all our life stories. That evening we had dinner in the lovely Khmer Family restaurant on Pub street, where we had our first taste of Cambodian cuisine.
Next day, after returning to the 'Blue Pumpkin' for breakfast, Nina and I went for a walk around the city and visited the local markets and the Wat Preah Prom Rath temple. That evening we all got a tuk tuk to Angkor Wat and watched the beautiful sunset at the temple, built in the 12th century.
Next morning, while the girls went to attempt to watch the sunrise on a hot air balloon, Nina and I got a tuk tuk back to Angkor Wat at 5.30am to watch the sunrise inside the temple. There was such a peaceful and spiritual atmosphere as we watched the colour of the sky change from purple, dark blue, red and orange as the sun rose. We walked around the temple and took in the amazing views. Next we got a tuk tuk tour with our guide Dara who drove us to various temples in the National Park. First stop was the Bayon Temple which was made up of pillars with four faces facing North, South, East and West. Next we visited Ta Keo temple which translates as 'crystal grandfather' with very steep steps up to the top. Then we visited Ta Prohm which was made famous in the Tomb Raider film with the tree branches and trunks growing through the walls of the temple. Our final stop before returning to town was the Banteay Kdei temple which was made up of multiple square chambers. It was really interesting visiting different styles of temples and seeing different features of each one. That evening we revisited the Khmer Family restaurant for another lovely dinner.
After an emotional goodbye to Roisin, Margaux and Laura, we got the VIP minibus along the bumpy road to Phnom Penh, where we stayed in the Mad Monkey Hostel.
We had an educational filled day visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide museum and the Chaeung Ek Killing Fields. During the audio tours we learned about the genocide that occurred from 1975-1979 during the Khmer Rouge Regime. The graphic details and stories were really stomach renching and upsetting, learning about how over 20000 people were killed.
That evening we went to 'Friends the restaurant' for Asian and Western style tapas. The restaurant is NGO run and serve some amazing food, with the profits being invested into social projects for young people.
Next day we hit the spa for manicures and pedicures, before we had another emotional goodbye to Jess who was off back to Singapore. That evening we had a cheap trip to the cinema ($3) in Aeon mall to watch Ryan Reynolds in 'Deadpool'.
The following day, Nina and I visited the National History Museum where we learned about the ancient history of Cambodia. Then we went to the Royal Palace and walked around the beautiful grounds and visited various temples and buildings. That evening we went to the Mount Everest for a lovely Indian dinner. The staff were very helpful and we got lots of food. We were each given a glass of water which the staff were constantly refilling it. Once you had taken one mouthful the glass was topped up immediately. No trouble of being dehydrated anyways. To finish off the lovely meal, we were given free banana slices for dessert.
Next morning after breakfast, we said farewell to Mollie, Kate and Rory before Edel, Nina and I got the Great Ibis bus across the border to Vietnam.
Cambodia was a beautiful country and surprisingly one of my favourite we've visited on the trip. Obviously the uniting of old and new Irish friends made it extra special and fun times were had all round.Read more