The next day we decided to head up Phnom Penh so we arranged a couple of bus tickets through the hotel and got the 12:30 bus. The bus was supposed to take 4 hours but an agonising 5 hours and 30 minutes later we arrived in Phnom Penh city.
A $2 and 10 minute tuk tuk ride later we arrived at the Happy Guest House in the Boeung Kak Lake area. The guest house’s bar/relaxation area was very cool and relaxed with hammocks, bamboo seats and bean bags over looking the green lake, a pool table, cheap beer and friendly staff but the rooms were unfortunately high class prison cells with a cubicle in the corner, dark, smelled of cigarettes, were insecure and infested with mozzies (probably due to the proximity to the lake) so we decided anyway that we’d stay one night and find somewhere else tomorrow depending how we slept. Armed with all the mozzie protection we had – deet spray, plug-in repellent, burning coils and the air con on full blast – we tried to sleep. It wasn’t a great nights sleep but wasn’t bad considering the place.
The next morning I got onto the internet and looked for somewhere else. In the riverfront area I found a French guesthouse called Lyon D’or that had big airy rooms with a balcony and all the little things that are the difference between a hotel and a prison cell such as soap and toilet paper so we decided to move. It was $8 per night more than last nights place. That won’t break the budget plus it’s in the ‘happening’ area of town so hopefully tonight will be good.
Tomorrow we plan to visit S-21 and the Killing Fields. It doesn’t get more shocking and depressing than that but we can’t come to Phnom Penh without seeing it.
R.
