After about 5 days in Siem Reap Kate and I decided to go leave for Phnom Pehn. Since my first impressions of Cambodia were of Poipet and Siem Reap, I didn't have much hope for really liking Phnom Pehn. Luckily I was totally wrong....

We started our day out very early. 6:30am (Early when you are on vacation!) We bought our tickets before hand and someone was supposed to pick us up at our guesthouse to bring us to the bus station. We waited and waited.....and waited.... no one every came. Then someone finally told us that the bus station was just a couple blocks away! So we ran there and made the bus just in time. The trip wasn't bad. The roads weren't great but it was a lot better then the trip from Thailand into Cambodia. There were points however where the dirt road was so dusty that I could not see the road or the vehicles in front of us! It was litterally a whiteout on the road. I felt bad for all the people on bikes and scooters driving on the side of the road. Must be hell on their lungs. We also had to wait for water buffalo to cross the road every once and a while.

Our bus was old but at least had airconditioning and it was fairly comfortable. My only two complaints were that the bus driver was fanatical about honking his rediculously loud horn every 20 seconds (literally) and, about an hour outside of Phnom Pehn, the person sitting in the seat behind us kept throwing up. :(

Here is a picture of a ferry crossing we had to take about 30 minutes outside of Phnom Pehn. Those are temples on the hill all the way in the background.

Here is a common site in Thialand, Cambodia as well as any third world country. Loading as many people into the back of a pickup as possible.

Once we got to Phnom Pehn I was still expecting the worse but we lucked out and got a *huge* room with a *huge* balcony for only $7 a night right on the river!
Here are some pictures I took from our balcony:
The main drag along the river. Lots of nice restaurants and very pretty sunrises.

Full moon on the river with fishing boat.

Sunrise on the river with fishing boats.

It is very common to see 3,4 or even 5 people on a scooter. Once I even saw
6! 4 adults and 2 children. Here are 4 on one bike.

Baby monkey!!

Phnom Pehn is a very laid back city with lots of incredibly friendly people. There are a lot less beggars and people harrasing you to buy stuff then in Siem Reap. With the exception of the moto taxi drivers. They are relentless. One will pull up on his scooter and ask you if you need a motobike. We say "no" and he is on his way. Then immediately another one pulls up knowing full well that we just said no the the first guy and asks us if we need a moto driver! Then maybe a guy parked on the side of the street who witnessed all of this will ask us if we need a moto driver! Incredible. :) The rickshaw drivers are just as bad but I kind of feel bad for them. The are often old, incredibly skinny guys who LIVE in their rickshaws at night! I say a whole street full of them sleeping one night. They tie a hammock onto it and maybe throw on a mosquito net and sleep right there! Here is a picture of one sleeping durring the day.

Phnom Pehn also has some very interesting French Colonial architecture. Here is one of my favorite buildings.

Here is a pretty common market place you see everywhere here.

Here is the park at dusk.

The next day we went to the killing fields and the torture camp s-21. Please read my next blog for that.