So now my true trip begins. Other than a few days in Bangkok, I am going it alone. In some ways an exciting feeling but in others a slightly lonely one. I took the bus at 8am from Saigon to Phnom Penn using the Mekong Express. I'd heard really great things about this company - free wifi, water and biscuits for starters! I liked the fact that they gave you a tag for your bag so that they knew it was yours!
The border crossing was pretty simple. I'd read a lot of horror stories but thankfully, that wasn't the case for me. This being said, it was made easier by having a tour party an guide on my bus! We were asked to hand in our passports and get off the bus with our bags at the Vietnamese side so that they could be scanned. We then got back on the bus for 5 mins before getting off again to get our fingerprints etc scanned at the Cambodian entry border. I got to the Mad Monkey hostel at about 4pm. The dorms were modern and lovely. At first I thought 12 girls might be too much but in fact it's so well laid out that space was never an issue. Not long after I arrived, a British girl called Laura arrived. She is doing some volunteering nearby. Laura kindly invited me to a gig nearby to watch her brother's friend, Sonny. We stayed there an watched 5 or so sets of different solo performers and I demolished a plate of fajitas (this place did Spanish food) before heading back to the dorm. As we arrived, the dorm was full. Girls from all over the world. As Laura was off to a work meeting, I went to the restaurant with Leanne, Jules and Caiohme (keeva) for a few drinks.
12 & 13 August
Given the intensity of the last few days, Jules, Magda and I decided to explore the city instead of heading to the killing fields with the others. We wandered along the river front and stumbled across a Kasha restaurant. It was an all you can eat...for 8$, so we reserved a table for later. One thing I have noticed here is that food is more expensive than in Vietnam. Anyway, we walked for miles (quite literally) searching for the palace and eventually found it only to discover that you needed to be dressed appropriately (arms and legs covered); we were wearing shorts and a vest top. Magda decide to head off to the museum whilst Jules and I wandered the streets to find some clothes. Just to go off on a slight tangent for a second but how difficult is it to judge a distance? 'How far is it to the market?' There are various answers in a number of different forms - 500m, 10k, or more simply 5 mins? 10 mins? The reason for my slight digression is that we must've asked 20 people about a market or clothes stall all of whom came back with different answers. Over an hour later, just as Jules was about to give up, we found it!! It was like an episode of supermarket sweep, we were running up and down the isles, conscious that the palace shut at 5pm. Eventually we stumbled across some traveler pants (trousers with elephants on them) but a long sleeve t-shirt was harder to come by! We found a stall but the woman wanted 15$ per t-shirt!!! I think not. Luckily for us, her English wasn't great so we somehow managed to persuade her to take $10 for the 3 tshirts. Judging on her facial expression, she had no clue what we'd just done.
We finally got to the palace in time for closing and in our fashionable outfits. We wandered around for an hour or so but considering its a copy of the palace in Bangkok, it really didn't come close. Most of the rooms were shut or out of bounds and then the heavens opened! I think it was a sign that the palace had not been worth the admission fee, let alone the cost of our clothes too!
Arriving back at the dorm, we got ready for dinner and managed to persuade a few lads to come too. Before heading over, we stopped off for a cheeky free beer at the bar (I gave mine to Leanne). I don't think any of the girls quite realised just how far we'd walked that day. The restaurant was miles away!! I'm surprised none of the lads moaned. Thankfully, we arrived and quickly sat down to eat. The food was lush. There was a hot BBQ so you could choose what you wanted to eat and a noodle stand. Amazing! We arranged to meet the Swiss boys back at our bar but when we got back it was closing. Thankfully, mad monkey organise an after party at another bar and everyone follows in tandem. It's such a good idea as it means you don't lose your friends. We headed to love bar, who handed out free shots and played music off YouTube (I kid you not!). Eventually, it was time I head on and we went to Pontoon which is the club. I felt bad for not getting in touch with the Swiss lads but there was no wifi anywhere. Just as we walked into the club, we opened the door and the boys were there. We danced the night away till 4 when Michael and I chose to take the lead and drag Magda home. Such a good night! Fingers crossed for no hangover, although, as I don't drink beer and alcohol is expensive, its pretty doubtful.
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