View complete fotopage
|
|
| Sunday, 17-Feb-2008 09:00 |
Email | Share | Bookmark |
|
Phnom Penh (Feb 17-20 and March 16-20 2008)
|
 |
|
Asia Hotel - popular with Asians
|
|
 |
|
Holiday Inn - popular with Malaysian
|
|
 |
|
Central Market
|
|
 |
|
Mamak Corner
|
|
 |
|
King Palace
|
|
 |
|
Street in Phnom Penh
|
|
 |
|
Seafood buffet USD 12
|
|
 |
|
Seafood buffet with friends
|
|
 |
|
Killing fields
|
|
 |
|
Killing fields
|
|
|
Cambodia, Phnom Penh (17-20 Feb 2008) & (16-20 March 2008)
Work took me to Cambodia in February and March 2008. Both times from KLIA using Malaysian Airlines and flight time was 1 hour 50 minutes. I was impressed with the new airport, much better than Vientiane and Yangon airports and perhaps similar in size and facilities to Saigon airport. The airport is managed by a French company. So welcome to Khmer country…
The taxi charged USD 9 for one way trip to the hotel, most drivers do not give you back the change when you give them USD 10, that USD 1 can give you a glass of Teh Tarik at Mamak Corner. We arrived at Asia Hotel in 20 minutes. A standard room is USD 25 and bigger rooms at USD 40 per night. At the ground floor of Asia Hotel there is a Malaysian operated KFC just opened in March 2008. I moved hotel the next day as the hotel was too noisy at night. I stayed at Asia Palace Hotel, new and clean and just across the road, 50 meters away. Malaysia Airlines office is just a stone throw away.
During the next two days in Phnom Penh, met a lot of Malaysian friends who were working in Phnom Penh. There were people in packaging business, food and beverages, oil and gas, timber, investment and tax consultants.
During my March trip, I stayed a Holiday Villa Hotel at Movivong Boulevard, it is the main road in Phnom Penh. I have a nice 6th floor room overlooking the Mekong river and Tonle Sap. Business meetings and industry visit took almost 2 days and I have a bit of time to explore Phnom Penh.
For sea food enthusiast, a must go place is the Tonle Bassac Restaurant where you pay USD 12 per person and enjoy yourself to a full-fledged seafood galore of fish, crabs, prawns, cuttlefish, shells, dim sums, soups, noodles, sushi and salads etc. It was so good that I ate two large prawns and 3 crabs (all grilled) plus the desserts. On the last day, I invited some friends to go there again….Compare to Malaysia, Crabs are RM 32 per kg in Kuching and in KL probably double that...
A visit to Phnom Penh is not complete if you don’t go to Killing Fields!!
Killing Fields of Cheung Ek is situated 15 kilometers south-west of Phnom Penh and made famous by the film of the same name "Killing Field". it was a place where more than 17,000 civilians were killed and buried in mass graves; many of them transported here after detention and torture in Toul Sleng. This place is a chilling reminder of the brutalities of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. In the center of the area is a 17 story glass stupa which houses 8,000 skulls exhumed from mass graves. Entrance Fee is USD 2 per person. See my photos…
I also visited the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, cost USD 6 per entry. Familiar exhibits of royal costumes and ornamentals , more of the same thing if you have frequently visited royal museums elsewhere. It was nice to take photos of golden colored buildings, no activities or performance prepared for tourists.
I was having quite a difficult time looking for Muslim food in February but not any more as I uncovered more muslim cambodian restaurants. Go to Malaysian Restaurant at Street 130 Phsarkandal District and a Cambodia Muslim Restaurant just across the road. Two other restaurants are located opposite Holiday Villa Hotel, the Malaya Café at #20Eo Street 130 and Mamak Corner at No. 17 Street 144 Sangkat Phsar Thmei 1. Malaya Café serves daily buffet for USD 3.50 per person, nice food combo…even served Patin masak lemak and asam pedas !! Ulam and sambal belacan and udang petai…likewise Mamak Corner served you teh tarik and roti telor for USD 3 only. Holiday Villa Hotel provides you with buffet lunch at USD 10 per person…
Nothing to buy for me in Phnom Penh, I am not into jade, stones, emeralds, gems, sapphire etc. just a simple Cambodia T-shirts to bring home. By the way, I visited the Central Market (Psah Thmei). This unique, art-deco building is a Phnom Penh landmark. Inside is a dazzling display of jewels and gold. Electronic goods, stationery, secondhand clothes and flowers are also in ample supply. (Phsar Thmei means ‘New Market’, but ‘Central Market’ has caught on in English.).
The other popular market is the Russian Market (Psah Toul Tom Poung). This market is of far less architectural interest but has a larger and more varied selection of souvenirs, curios and silks than the Central Market. Like the Central Market, it has a good selection of silver, gold and jewels, but also carries huge selection of curios, silks, carvings, etc. The Russian Market offers the largest selection of bootlegged VCDs, DVDs and CDs of all of the traditional markets. Most of the CD vendors are located on the south side near the southeast corner of the market. It’s also a good place to buy fabric for business and casual cloths to take to the tailor.
Bye Khmer country….
[i]
|
|
|
View complete fotopage
|
