We settled down for a bit. Freshen up and taking whats important and went down. We haven’t had anything to eat other than drinking the bottled water, so we had our lunch + tea at the guesthouse.
I had a Lemon Soda as well as a Cheese + Egg Sandwich. And later a 7UP. The sandwich was goooooood. It really was. And the price pun jugak, boleh tahan. But I forgot to jot down, so I couldn’t remember the exact amount, but for just a sandwich, it was a lot. We saw on the board behind the receptionist saying that we could get a ticket back to Siem Reap and they would send us to the bus station so everything is pretty much included. [Phnom Penh->Siem Reap: GST Express Bus/US$8]. So that’s done, at least we don’t have to think about it anymore.
At 1615, we started walking. Initially, we wanted to take the tuk-tuk, but we figured Phnom Penh was not big, so we could go on foot and actually see for ourselves the environment, first hand. The weather was excellent at that time, so we had no trouble, other than getting use to crossing a road with the vehicle coming from the other side of the road.
Along the way, we were trying to find some things that maybe we could relate. There were the Malaysian Embassy on the map, but we came across only the Singaporean Embassy at that time. I have no idea where the Malaysian Embassy were, or maybe it was just a small rundown mill somewhere, entah lah.
Our first stop was the Independence Monument which was situated in the middle of a big roundabout. For the most part of the impressively simple structure, is close to the public. But there were some that climbed the steps to the structure to get a better picture. I was alone, so I did the vain-angle shot. Supposedly, on the east side of the Independence Monument is a long stretch of garden-like walkway. But I missed that one out. Was not aware of its existence, and we straight away continue our journey by foot to the next place.
We walked down the same road, trying to find the nearest way to get to the Royal Palace. Of course we managed to get there. We came around the back part of the Royal Palace, and missed the Silver Pagoda altogether because we head the opposite way. The Royal Palace is right in the middle of another two attractions, which were the National Museum and the Silver Pagoda. And it is surrounded by this high raised thick yellow coloured wall. You can’t really see much though from the outside. But all these Asian countries sure love bright colours. And I know that Yellow is the royal colour for, I don’t know, most countries? But I’m telling you, bright bright neon yellow for the gate? Oh come on..
Later we walked along this road, with the Royal Palace on the right side, and the National Museum on the other. By the time we got there, it was closed, so meleleh air liur tgh dari luar saja. Tak ke rugi, for not visiting both (atau tiga, including the Silver Pagoda) places while I was there, you ask me? Well, such a waste, tapi nak buat macam mana lagi kan? It wasn’t by choice though, so biarkan aje lah.
Right in front of the National Museum is, well, I don’t know what it was. It looked like a garden, but it had a sort of dirtpath. Horses goes around and around it, I think, but one think I know for sure, is that cat and dogs poop are all over the it. And there weren’t that many people there. Tengok ramai orang kat nun, jauh depan sana berkumpul, so dengan gaya Japanese tourist, we head on to see whats all the fuss.
At first I’m guessing this is the River Front, but now I doubt it. I think the River Front (where the night scene is at) is a couple of kilometers away from where we were at. We were at that time, at a gazebo like mini temple, and there we a lot of people there. Seriously, memang banyak. And we sat near the banks of the Tonle Sap River, trying to find out what are all these people doing and looking at. Looking down into the river, there were local kids swimming in it! It didn’t look clean at all, I mean the river. But they were definitely having fun (which reminds me of the local kids in Pulau Mabul jumping of the pier in their jeans and dresses). Later on my way back, I realised, there were two of those mini temples, and I think, most of the locals are there to pay respect, maybe its because of the Khmer New Year, I never really got the answer.
Later, my travelmate NN insisted on going back to the guesthouse because it was getting dark. So we walked for a bit, trying to find a tuk-tuk and ask the driver to send us off at the guesthouse. we arrived at 1930, and NN dozed off instantly (patutlah kan). I unpack some of my stuff for the night, and watch some Cambodian TV. Of course I couldn’t understand one bit. And most of its local channel, macam cerita rakyat, ala Legend of the Condor (?!). But they do have AXN, StarMovies, ESPN, so not bad ah! Tengok-tengok kejap around an hour or so, then I too, fell asleep.
