Phnom Penh, Cambodia or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the City
The Story
I woke up late. The previous day I was up extra early to catch a 7AM bus from Ho Chi Minh City for a 6 hour ride to Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh
Kompong Chhnang, Cambodia: Bad food, aggressive tuk-tuk drivers, and floating villages.
We booked a bus from Phnom Penh to Kompong Chhnang with Phnom Penh Sorya (15,000r/US$3.75) whose buses leave from Psar Thmei. The bus was supposed to leave at 10:30am but didn’t end up leaving until 12:30pm. While we waited we tried to feel the benefit of the Phnom Penh Sorya bus terminal “cool down zone”.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Mind the Crap
Oh, Phnom Penh. Such a shithole. The butt crack of the world — where the scum settles in the tourist area. So many beggars and ruthless business people selling their everything (including their children). I felt generally unsafe in Phnom Penh. Maybe because of the horror stories I had read. Maybe because on the first night a child, who we wouldn’t buy a bracelet from, followed us through the streets and called us shitheads. I’m not sure. What I am sure of though, is that Phnom Penh is not the most accurate or pleasant introduction to Cambodia.
