Our last few days were spent in Phnom Penh.  We stayed at a little boutique hotel called, Teahouse Asian Urban Hotel.  Our tuktuk driver was waiting for us and showed us where the ATM was.  In Cambodia you can withdraw US cash which was handy.  As we drove away he warned us to hang onto our small bags and put our backpacks between our feet.  This made me a little nervous but I think it was mainly because we were travelling on a freeway and he said the motor bikes sometimes drive by and snatch smaller bags.  We arrived at our hotel without incident.  It was a lovely hotel and the best part was the room fridge had a bottle of red wine in it.  Yay!    It was late and dark and we didn't know the area so we opted to have dinner at the hotel.  Wasn't great but we were tired.

Out of respect, the only photo I took was "The Buddhist Stupa", a memorial erected in memory of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime. Thousands of skulls arranged in order of age and sex fill the memorial, many of which display visible signs of trauma.  

We only had one day to tour Phnom Penh so we hired a tuktuk driver and started early the next morning.  Our first stop was the "Killing Fields"  Choeung Ek is the most well known of over 300 killing fields throughout Cambodia.  It is located about 15km southeast of the city.  Mass graves of over 8,895 bodies were discovered here after the fall of the Khmer Rouge.  Once you arrive you are given a headset and a recorder.  There are 19 stops as you silently walk through what used to be a peaceful orchard.  Each stop tells you a piece of the horrific history of what the people of Cambodia endured during the Khmer reign.  Pol Pot was in power from April 1975 to 1978.  It's impossible to comprehend the horrors that transpired in this place which wiped out 20% of Cambodia's population and claimed approximately 1.7 million lives in a 4 year period. It's difficult to describe the incredible sadness that surrounds the site. 

Visitors wander around in silence with tears streaming down their faces.  Nothing can prepare you for this type of tour, but the reason the Cambodian people have created this site was to increase awareness throughout the world via tourists so this type of thing doesn't happen again.  We left with profound sadness realizing how lucky our lives have been.

We also decided to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum or more commonly known as the S-21 Prison.  This was the secret center of a network of nearly 200 prisons where people were tortured by the Khmer Rouge.  Between 12,000 and 20,000 people were imprisoned here.  There were only twelve confirmed survivors. 

Again we were given audio sets and a map of stops to listen at.  Each room had it's own terrifying story of torture, suffering and death.  Cambodia was liberated by the Vietnamese after a 17 day campaign.  The leaders of the Khmer Rouge took refuge in Thailand 

In 2006 with the backing of the UN, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was founded to investigate the crimes against humanity during the reign of terror.  In 8 years there have been just five indictments and one conviction.  Two days before the 23rd anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Phon Penh, shortly after it was announced that Khmer Rouge had agreed to turn over Pol Pot to the international tribunal, he died while under house arrest.

Today was very educating and sad day of travel, but it is a part of history that should not be forgotten.  As we were travelling through the city the rest of the day it was interesting to note that there were very few people over the age of 50 as most of them had not survived the horrible living condition's.  The Cambodian people are very resilient and forgiving people.  Once the country was liberated they had to learn to live among one another again.  The victim and the enemy were from the same country.  

Our lunch stop was at Daughters of Camboda.  This was an organization that helped young girls get off the streets and out of the sex trade.  

When we arrived back at our hotel we decided to treat ourselves to a spa.  Bill had a full body massage and I had a facial.  It was a great way to relax after a full day of touring.  

For dinner we wanted some good seafood.  So we chatted with a tuktuk driver out front and he convinced us to go to a local restaurant not too far away.  He said he would drop us off and pick us up in a couple of hours.

We were seated and ordered a couple of beers, which were warm so they put the next round in a bucket of ice to get cold.  

Our wonderful server was very friendly and helped us order food due to the fact there was no English on the menu.  

The food was very fresh, right out of the tank out front.  I made Bill peel them!  Tasty Tasty.

It was so much fun dinning with the locals. 

Tomorrow we start our long flight home.  Phnom Penh to Hong Kong, to Vancouver and then Kelowna,  The sleeping pills worked great and we were both able to sleep for about 5 hours.  However this did cause some issues with swollen ankles.  Next time we either have to break up the flight or wear compression socks!


Our trip was incredible but as I always say, "its good to be back home in Canada"!

Cheers!

(Backup) Sihanoukville

We arrived in Sihanoukville at around 1 pm and our new home is  set of 11 bungalows with a swimming pool and restaurant attached. It is located just outside of the village up on the hill with a view of the Gulf of Thailand. Our hosts offered to rent us a scooter for $5 per day so that we could tour around on our own. Traffic doesn’t appear to be to crazy here as long as you stay off the highway so we rented the scooter. Bill has his international drivers licence but this was not in the original plan so he did not bring it with him. Ferat, our host told us that if he showed his Canadian licence and bribed the cops about $3 US if we were stopped it should be fine. He said they might ask for $20, but that was way too much. He said just keep the $3 in your wallet separate from the rest of your cash and it shouldn’t be a problem. Great not only do we have to worry about the traffic we now had to worry about the cops!  Bill said, relax honey it will be fine. So off we went to explore until it got dark. That was rule, we had to be back before dark!

It took a little getting used to but everyone drives really slow, 0 to 40 km max. There are no road rules other than singling when you turn. No one and I mean no one looks left when they pull out into the road, the guys coming up behind are responsible for watching, slowing down and letting you enter. That took some getting used to. Ferat, also pinned about 5 key places on maps.me to help us get around and gave me a crash course on how to use it. This proved to be our lifesaver as we just pinned where we wanted to go, hit 'route to' and I held the phone on the back of the bike and Bill listened to the directions. Ferat also created a chat group on “WhatsApp “ so that if we got into trouble we could message him. I learned a lot about these two apps this vacation, seems everyone is using them!  I tried Instagram too, but there is only so much learning I can do on vacation. 

 We managed to make it to the main city 'round about' called the 'Two Golden Lions' and made it through without getting killed. Then we decided to go the Otres Beach to see what that was like. On our way we saw some guy being pulled by another bike side by side and they were going way too fast on this terrible road. As they went by us the guy being pulled lost control and hit the ditch. Not a smart thing to do. There were lots of local people behind us so we didn’t stop. Hopefully he was ok. As we made a turn the traffic was at a stop as there was a dump struck being pulled out of the mud. Bill stopped behind a tuktuk, which we learned in a big hurry was not a good thing to do. The tuktuk started to back up and Bill hadn’t found the horn, so the two local guys who were stopped beside us started honking their horn and the guys stopped. We thanked them profusely and they just smiled back. We then pulled off to the side behind them and not the tuktuk. Riding a bike has it’s advantages as you learn to follow the locals through some tight spaces in traffic and keep going. The bigger vehicles have to stop.




 The Beach was beautiful so we stopped to have a drink and watch the sun go down. It gets dark here around 6:30 so we headed back and made it just as it was getting dark. 

Phew, not bad for our first afternoon. Tonight we stayed at our hotel for dinner, that was enough excitement for one day. 

The next day we decided to take the bike and ride up the coast to a small fishing village and maybe a beach just beyond that depending on the weather.  As part of our hotel package we received two free days at the Independence Spa Hotel on the beach so we thought we might stop there and check it out because it was on our route. We spent the morning having coffee on our bungalow deck, then had breakfast and then headed out on the bike.  Both Ferat and our cab driver had been talking about how the Chinese investors has been buying up property and building casino after casino all over Sihanoukville. At first we thought they were exaggerating, but as we drove though town it was incredible. Entire beaches had been purchased, and the existing structures smashed and huge resorts and casinos were being constructed. All the workers were being brought in from China so really no benefit to the locals. It was really quite sad to see.

 We reached Independence Beach and walked out onto the pier just in time to see a big thunder cloud heading our way. We decided to take cover at the hotel pool for a couple of hours until the storm blew over as being on the bike in a down pour didn’t seem like a good idea.  The infinity pool was lovely and due to weather there were not too many people there. The storm blew over and we decided to continue down the coast.

 From what I had read it should have been a very beautiful rural ride. Well I guess it was once you got through the port and past the oil refinery. By this time it had started to rain again so we stopped and put our rain ponchos on.   The scenery was just staring to get nice and we had about 10km to go to get to the village. By the time we arrived it was pouring again, so we took shelter in a small local store front under their tarps. There was a local guy sitting at a table and room for the bike. They were very friendly, but did not speak any English.

We managed to buy a cold beer from his cooler, luckily I had some Reil with me. When I opened the beer we checked the tab and we won another beer. The little lady was so excited. She brought another beer for me. I opened at and again we won another beer, she was about to bring it but we declined and told her she could have it. Next thing I knew she was giving me money.

By this time we had attracted the attention of  3-4 little boys that had come over to the store to join us. They all know how to say “hello” as well as a few other words. We purchased dried peanuts with the Reil the lady gave me for the beer and shared it with the boys. There was an open market across the street so we went over to see what the guy was cooking on his grill. If it would have been fish I might have tried it but it was chicken so we decided to pass and wait until we got back into town.

It was after 4pm by then so we decided to head out in the rain and make our way back home. We had seen a beautiful beach on the way out so stopped there to take a few pictures. If it had been a nice day it would have been a great spot. However as you can see it was pouring rain. But our ponchos were keeping us fairly dry and warm. Since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast we decided to eat dinner in town and then get back before dark.

Bills hands were like prunes from being on the handle bars all day in the rain.  We had found wine in the grocery store so headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the evening on our deck. 

While  we were in town we had purchased tickets for boat cruise for tomorrow and arrange to leave the bike at the tourist information booth for the day. 

We arrived at the tourist information booth and parked the bike.  There was a slight change in plans as the boat we were supposed to go on wasn't full enough so the company arranged a tuktuk driver to take us to Otres Beach to another boat.  We eventually jumped into the boat and headed out to our first stop.  This turned out to be a snorkel stop, but the current looked pretty strong and the snorkeling didn't look impressive.  We opted to stay in the boat and watch as about 4 of our passengers got caught in the current and had to be rescued by another boat.

Next stop was a beautiful beach where we spent some time swimming in the ocean and relaxing on the beach.  They cooked us up a great lunch served with cold beer and we watch the boys fish with their net right off the beach.

Then we headed out in the boat again to a cliff jumping spot.  We again opted to watch the young participants climb the rocks and jump in.

It was a beautiful day to be out on the water and we enjoyed the scenery along the way.

Our tuktuk driver was waiting for us when we landed, but we convinced him to come back in a few hours because we decided we wanted to have dinner on the beach.

 This meant a bike ride home in the dark but only from city center which was well lit and not too far.

 He agreed and we headed down the beach to find a place to eat and watch the sun set.

The prawns were to die for and the sunset spectacular!
 








On our last day we headed back to Independence Hotel to hang by the pool and relax.  After a few hours in the sun we headed out on the bike again to find a seafood restaurant we had heard about.  It wasn't anything fancy but the food was good and the view was amazing.

We flew to Phnom Penh at 6 pm for our last few days. 

Day two in Siem Reap was spent touring the large loop of the temples.  We couldn't get Sarong as our driver as there is a hierarchy in drivers so we ended up with a new driver and a rougher tuktuk with no suspension.

We decided to stop at the Cambodian Land mine museum to learn about the dangers of land mines and how they are still affecting life today.  This was a private museum run by a man who as a child soldier in the Khmer Rouge planted hundreds of land mines and traps.  Once the war was over it became his mission to remove as many of these land mines as he could.  There was no record of where the mines were, the only way they found them was when one was detonated. These mines have killed and injured thousands of innocent people, mainly children playing in the jungle.  There still remains over 5 million land mines today.

Aki Ra the  founder of the museum has also cared for many injured children as well as at risk children at the facility.  To learn more visit www.cambodianlandminemuseum.org

From here we went to a wonderful place for lunch located on the river.  The view was very peaceful, beer was cold and the food was amazing.  Our tuktuk driver was a little crazy and we were driving so fast we were not enjoying the scenery, so Bill asked him to slow down.  He then asked if we were scared!  We said no but we would like to enjoy the ride and see the landscape.  I'm not sure he got it.


Anyway we opened our beer and won a free one, wohoo!  This happened twice and then I switched to white wine.  Our relaxing lunch lasted about 2 hours.

Next we stopped at Banteay Srei Temple or the "Pink Lady".  By this time it was well into the afternoon and the crowds were crazy, but the place was incredible.  Probably my favorite place.  Bill doesn't like crowds, so to amuse himself he turned the video camera on and made a commentary of our walk through the temple.  He made me swear I wouldn't post it.  The color and carvings in this temple were very beautiful.

When we emerged we found our wonderful driver sleeping in his hammock.

Our ride home was very bumpy and we wished we had hired Sarong from the day before.

The next day I woke up not feeling very well so we opted to spend the day resting around the pool.  It was a nice sunny day and it felt good to relax.  Later that evening we decided to go to "Phare" the Cambodian Circus.  It was a small version of Cirque du Soleil.  The acrobats were street kids that had trained and became entertainers.  The tent was small and only had fans but the entertainment was top notch.  We were not able to take pictures because the flash was a distraction to the entertainers.  We were mesmerized for 2-3 hours watching them maneuver there bodies.  It was very cool.  Afterwards we decided to eat at the hotel and then have an early night as we were flying to Shanookville in the morning.

This afternoon we flew from HCMC to Siem Reap, Cambodia.  We arrived on time and our tuktuk driver was waiting for us.  We stayed at the Rose Apple Boutique Hotel.  It was a lovely little place with a pool and restaurant and breakfast was included.

After we settled in we went out for a walk to explore the area.  Just down the street we found many restaurants and street markets as well as many tourists.  We had decided to purchase a three day pass to the temples of Angkor so we were not pressed for time.

We booked a tuktuk driver for the next morning at 5am so we could experience the sunrise over Angkor Wat, the most famous temple of the city.  The hotel packed us a take away breakfast and we set out in the dark.  As we arrived into the parking area we realized it could be a challenge to find our tuktuk when we were finished as there were hundreds of similar bikes all over the place.  Oh well off we went in the dark in the direction Sarong told us was the best spot to watch from.

The sunrise was not spectacular but it was a very cool experience to sit in the dark and watch a spectacular temple emerge as the daylight came.  Once it became light enough to see we wondered through the temple for a few hours until the crowds started.

We managed to find out tuktuk and we set off for the next temple which was Bayon.

Bayon was also amazing.  It is best known for the stone smiling faces which look out in all four directions.

 

My favorite of the day was Ta Prohm.  The twisted trees that grow over the ruins give this temple a very eerie feeling yet they are beautiful at the same time.

Each temple was very different from one another and completely unique.  The architecture and vision of the people that created this city was unbelievable and the fact they are still standing is incredible.

By about 2pm the crowds were growing and we were getting hungry so we asked Sarong if we could take him for lunch at a local restaurant where no tourists would be.  He agreed and we went to a small local place and he ordered food and beer.  This is where we learned that you could win free beer if the tab of your beer can had a certain picture on it.  We were not lucky that day.

After lunch Sarong took us to meet his wife and son.  His two room apartment was just around the corner.  It consisted of  large bed the four of them slept in and fridge, tv and dresser and bathroom.  It was very basic but he was very proud of it.  He was a great young man, struggling to make a living.  By 3pm we were done and headed back to sit around the pool to relax.

(Backup) (Backup) Saigon/ HCMC

 We arrived in Saigon with no delays and our driver was there to meet us. We jumped into the van and were introduced to the traffic in HCMC. It is like nothing we have ever seen before. The driver told us there were 13 million people and 7.5 million scooters or motor bikes.  It appears to be organized ciaos times ten. WOW!  We arrived in one piece to a very nice hotel called the Grand Silverland Hotel and Spa, located right next to the night market. Our welcome drink was very refreshing.  Our room was very nice except it had no outside window which was a little weird. It provided complete darkness and it was very quiet. Once we got settled in we had afternoon tea provided by the hotel ( not very good) so we went out into the street so search for something better and local.

We didn’t have to go far as the food market was literally across the street and you could smell it from outside the hotel so we just followed our noses. It was kind of touristy in that there were no locals eating there however the beer was cold and the food some of the best we have had.   We wondered around the streets and found a pub to have a drink in. The humidity was around about 80% so it was rather warm.

 We decided to take advantage of our hotel pool and cool off and relax as our next couple of days were on tour seeing the Mekong Delta.

 Jason Superstar was our tour guide for the next two days and was right on time for out 7:30am departure. We had about a four hour drive to get the the Mekong from HCMC. We traveled from District one were we were staying through districts 3 and 7.  The city went on for miles until we got out into the country side made up of rice fields and other crops.

We stopped about half way for a bathroom and coffee break. The ice coffee is the best.

When we reached the Mekong Delta we jumped into Jason’s purple hammock boat and traveled through a very small floating market and up to a mangrove. The Mekong Delta is a huge maze of waterways that create many islands. Some you can reach by bridges but most you have to take local ferries that run between the islands, or local boats like the one we were on run the tourists around.

 Many people live on the boats until they have sold out of product and then they leave the water to restock.

Each boat has a large pole at either the front or the back with a sample of what they are selling attached to the top of the pole.

We changed boats to a much smaller which was powered by a small Vietnamese women standing with long narrow paddles.






It was so peaceful and beautiful as we quietly floated down the canal past huge jack fruit trees, banana trees, small villages and a pagoda being built. There was an artist high up on a pillar working on the most intricate carving on the entrance to the pagoda. Jason said the locals had raised funds to have the pagoda built and it would take about 1 year to finish.

We past by chickens, local dogs and a few birds but not a lot of wildlife. Too many people I guess. At one point deep in the mangrove it got very warm, so Jason took off his purple hat and started to fan me   Lol. It helped a bit but not much. Soon we came to the exit of the canal and got back into the purple hammock boat.

 From here we went through the main river and down a different waterway. We stopped at the dock and got off on one of the islands. Jason walked us around the island to see how the local people live.  They are very very poor, living in tiny rooms with maybe a bed but sometimes just a mat or mattress. Grandma's or Grandpa's look after the small children as there is no daycare and both parents are working just to survive. Jason handed me some candy to give to the small children but I wished I could have given them a bag of rice. Rice and noodles are the main diet here, if they are lucky some fish or eggs and they grow their vegetables if they have space. They also have local fruit.  

From here we went back to the car and traveled a short distance to Jason’s Auntie's house for a home cooked local meal. We started by helping roll spring rolls made of ground pork and veggies which were then deep fried in oil. We ate them right out of the pot and they were delicious. The rice paper was very tender and didn’t hold the oil, so I asked Jason the brand and he showed me the package. I was going to take a picture to see if I could find them and the next thing I knew Auntie was handing me a package to take home as a gift.

As we were eating spring rolls we had our first taste of home made rice wine. They drink it in shots and it was actually quite good. But after three shots we had enough.

 The food consisted of a sweet and sour fish soup which we had not tried before. It was yummy, the fish was very tender but I have no idea what it was. We also had fried pineapple with pork and a chicken dish with rice and another sour soup which I did not care for. The last dish was tiny shrimp which had been fried and were so small you did not peel them. Just popped them in your mouth and chewed. Mmmm. Had a few but not many. Lol.   Jason was also running a simultaneous tour with his cousin so we enjoyed lunch with two young Australian boys. After spending a little while at Auntie's we drove into Can Tho and Jason gave us a quick tour of the river area we were staying in and then to our hotel.

 

 Jason upgraded us to the penthouse suite on the 7th floor woohoo. Once we checked in and had a shower we decided to check out the area. We walked down to the river and had a drink on the Mekong, then headed to the lotus bridge and then ended up on a roof top bar overlooking the Mekong River, amazing. It was a warm beautiful night so we hung out there for a while and then decided to go for dinner at one of the local restaurants Jason had recommended.  By the time we walked there we were both dying of heat. The restaurant was small and opened aired which means no A/C.

We walked in and they tried to seat us in the back, the heat was so intense we asked to be moved onto the street seats but the young boy directed us to the seat by the door and showed me a portable A/C unit right by the table.  He then proceeded to fill it with ice and turn it on, wow now that’s what I call service. The food was really good as well. We ordered a beer, which was on the menu but they had to go buy it from the corner store and served it on ice, not great but it will do when you are dying of heat and humidity.   They tried extremely hard to make us comfortable so they deserved a big tip. We headed back to the room afterwards as we had to get us at 5am to go see the sunrise at the floating market. 

The floating market was great fun. We travelled by junk boat down the Mekong for about 30 minutes until we came to the entrance of the Chi Rang Market as the twilight was emerging. As we entered this section of the river there were larger boats carrying produce and advertised what they were selling by spearing the product on the end of a stick and displaying it at the bow of their boat. They were selling mostly root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, pumpkin, as well as pineapples watermelons.

 

 The best part of the market was getting to try the food from the food vendors floating among the larger boats. We had Vietnamese ice coffee, Bahn mi, BBQ pork with noodles and pineapple as well as deep fried banana pastry.

 It was all very good and fun to get from the vendors, one of which was Jason’s sister.  Most of the people buying were other vendors that would take the product inland to resale. We made two passes through the maze of boats and then headed back to the city.









Breakfast was available at the hotel but we were still full from our morning on the floating market, so we opted for coffee and a bit of fruit and then went up to our room to have a shower and get ready for our 4 hour car ride up to the Cu Chi tunnels.

Jason provided a couple of documentaries movies for us to watch, one was called the 'Napalm Girl'. This was a movies about a young girls life after she was hit with napalm gas in her Cambodian village during the Vietnam war. There was a very famous picture taken of her running naked out of the village having 1 degree burns to over half her body.  A reporter helped her and was able to get her transferred to a burn unit. She survived 17 surgeries and because of the photo that was publicized she became quite famous. She eventually defected to Canada and became a refugee when she stepped off a plane in Toronto with her husband with just the clothes on their backs and didn’t re-board to go back to Cambodia. She is still living in Canada today. The area the tunnels are located in are very close to where here village used to be. The area was part of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the war which ran from China to North Vietnam and was used to move supplies. The Americans could not destroy the trail so napalm bomb it in an attempt to stop the supplies. The publication of the picture was a turning point in the war as it brought to the forefront the human suffering of innocent children. 

At the halfway point we stopped at a local roadside noodle shack and had some really good noodle soup and another iced coffee. Then we carried on to the tunnels. We had the option of shooting AK47 and M16 guns at a shooting range but Bill decided not to. We opted to just watch the Australian boys. So we put on our ear protection and watched the boys get their adrenaline rush for the day. It shocked me at how loud they were, which was also the boys reaction. 

The tunnels had been enlarged and modified for tourism, but still gave you a sense of what it would have been like. They were designed in three levels the third being the deepest at 10 meters. There were air holes every 15 meters and were designed to look like mounds of dirt.  There were more than 250 km of tunnels with places for dining, living, meeting and fighting.

 A whole society of people lived under ground for 20 years. The cooking stoves had long ventilation holes so the smoke from the fire dissipated before it escaped. There were drainage wells and slides out to the river.

These tunnels were dark, damp and very hot.  They also had nasty booby traps made of very rootamentary parts but were very effective. These people new how to survive in the jungle, using it to their advantage.  Some of the entrances were so small you wouldn’t  even think a small child would fit into it. 

 We followed Jason through the maze of tunnels bent over at the waist trying to see where we were going. I definitely would not have survived these living conditions, I couldn’t wait to get out. 

After we toured through the other areas of the park we jumped back into the car for our 2 hour ride back into HCMC. On the way home we watch Good morning Vietnam. It was still funny but very thought provoking as well.

 During the last part of our afternoon the Vietnamese football semi final of the 'Asia under 23' cup had started. At one point Jason had checked the score and the team was down 1-0. Jason basically gave up on the team and said the game was over. I reminded him that a game is not over until the last whistle blows and he should not be so pessimistic. He blew me off, however a couple hours later he checked the score and the game was tied and going into an overtime shootout. Now he was excited. As we neared the city the streets became more and more congested.  Every cafe, restaurant and bar that had a TV had more and more scooters parked in front. So much so that the street became almost one lane instead of two. Jason’s data kept cutting out but we were driving so slow you could tell what was going on by just watching the crowds in the street. As the shoot out began, Vietnam was up one, then tied and then went ahead. As this was occurring more and more people were pouring into the streets on their bikes. As we got closer into town the traffic was at a crawl and people were selling Vietnam flags from the street. Vietnam won the shootout and the crowd in the street went crazy. Hooting and chanting, singing and cheering.  I’m not sure how our driver did it but he managed to get us back to our hotel and it only took an hour longer than scheduled. We unloaded and said goodby to Jason and checked into the hotel. In the hotel everyone was excited and smiling. They just wanted to be involved in the street activity. 

 We dumped our bags off in the room and headed outside to be part of the excitement. The street food market was very busy so we just grabbed a cold beer and walked down the street. People were setting up speakers and playing music and banging garbage can lids together, waiving flags and having a whole lot of fun. You couldn’t walk to far due to the number of people in the crowds so we decided to try and get something to eat.



 We ordered from three different stalls and eventually found a place or sit. A live band was playing so we sat and enjoyed our delicious food while we listened.

After a while we decided to go up to our hotel roof top bar and enjoy the activities from there. All in all it was a very fun ride into the city and evening, something we will never forget.  Tomorrow we are flying to Sihanoukville for 4 days on the coast of Cambodia.