Cambodia: The Final Frontier

Going through my photos I realized I completely skipped over the photos we took when we went to Phnom Penh!!!

We didn't stay long, only a day.
We really wanted to go shooting bazookas but didn't have enough time.
Our bus trip from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh took about 8-10 hours (as opposed to the 5 hours we were expecting) so we lost a whole day.

[TRAVEL TIP: If you're pressed for time in a new country spend a few extra dollars and take a taxi or fly instead, this massively long bus ride cut our already short holiday even shorter.]

On our last day we woke up really early and headed to the Royal Palace so we could at least see something here.

The day we were there huge protests were going on so I'm not sure if we got to see the whole palace.
Some bits were off limits, though I wouldn't know if they're always off limits or not.

The Palace is a beautiful example of Khmer architecture.
A nice relaxing, cultural thing to do before an early afternoon flight.
[Though the temples of Siem Reap take the cake over this 10 to 1.]

TRAVEL TIP #2: Ladies (and men), make sure your shoulders and knees are covered when you go to this place.

This is really important when packing clothes for Cambodia!
You can buy some really funky, comfy (cheap) pants at the markets here that can keep you cool in the warm weather (as opposed to jeans which are thick and tight).

I had trouble finding any information on the dress code for this country so here it is:
Keep yourself covered up. (Both men and women)
No bare shoulders and no bare legs; people here are quite conservative and when you're on their turf you will do well to play by their rules.
Unless you plan on staying at your hotel the whole time you're here don't bother packing more than 1 pair of shorts and definitely no tank tops.
You're welcome.

I'm itching to fly off someplace again.
We have a huge trip planned next month... but I might sneak a shorter one off someplace before that!

Floating Village II

Floating Village

I have never seen anything like this in my life. It's a village, a whole village with a school, police station and restaurants, built on (in!) the river.

The ride to the village was great as well.
We have so much missed seeing green grass and blue sky with no skyscrapers/tankers to block out any of the view.
We started off from the hotel and through the city.

But soon the city ended and the countryside was all we saw far and wide and we couldn't be happier.

There are two floating villages relatively near by.
One literally floats and the homes move up and down on the river based on the rain that month.
The other is build on stilts just a little bit higher than the river is known to reach (however there's a few of the first kind here too).
Reading reviews we found that the first one tends to be a bit of a tourist trap and the boat guys may pressure you to buy rice/milk/give money to the village.
We decided on the second one.

We stopped at a restaurant on the water for a quick drink/meal.
Coconut was on the menu, and coconut is always a great choice.
A few moments later man pulled up on a boat and dropped a whole bushel of coconuts off for the restaurant.

Along the way we passed a boat that had broken down.
Our two drivers stopped to help them out.
The engines were turned off and the two boats "tied" together by a rope so they wouldn't float too far away from each other.
The boats were allowed to float where ever the current took them.
We bumped into a home once.
Nobody even blinked an eye.
And then a few kids jumped over onto our boat and pretend to drive it.
A few other children had a life vest they were playing with.
At one point a women selling lunch and drinks from her boat pulled up and one of the drivers bought 3 cigarettes off of her.
Not 3 packs, just 3 cigarettes.

On the way back to the hotel we ran into a herd of water buffalo.
I don't think I've even seen any, at least not so close I was able to pet them as we went by.
Some kids were riding them, others walking alongside the herd.
Everyone we saw smiled and waved at us.

It was a fantastic day on the river. Most people that go during the rainy season don't get to see the activity of the villages because people tend to stay in during storms.
We had a perfect sunny day and for a few hours got to be part of village life.

Do any of you think you can live in a house on the river?