I was extremely tired from the whole day’s tour of the Angkor Wat complex. I wanted to stay for another day to rest but I could not afford the time for it. It was a delight though to find out what a Cambodian Hotel bus was.
I hopped on the bus and it was kind of weird. There were no seats, not even recliners. It was like a dorm with bunk beds left and right. The weirdest part was if you are traveling alone, you will have to share a bed with a complete stranger!
I was too tired though to think about being picky, so I searched for my slot and settled. Since I was first on the bunk, I had the chance to take the window side. I shoved all of my things between me and the window wall to secure them. I turned my back to the aisle so I didn’t have to see the face of my bunkmate if I was gonna have any. If you are a solo female traveler, I would not recommend booking a hotel bus. Stick with the regular buses.
As I lay, trying to be comfortable with a stranger beside me, the bus slowly departed the stop. It was a slow night bus, so I tried to get some sleep. I was secure hugging my bags against the window.
It was still dark when we arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. I was extremely disoriented. The stop was nowhere I thought it would be. I tried to find a wifi connection but the bus station didn’t have any. It was then that I saw two Filipino titas who looked a bit more confused than I was. I walked up to them and asked if they need help. We ended up sharing a tuk-tuk going to their hotel.
The hotel was located just behind the grand palace. After exploring the area, I stumbled upon a charming local store with a basket of freshly baked bread. Curious if they also offered coffee, I approached the friendly woman at the store’s front.
The lady asked me where I wanted to sit while she went inside the kitchen to get coffee for me. I guess instant coffee isn’t really that popular in Cambodia. This simple store actually gave me good Khmer coffee, not something from a sachet just to be stirred down.
I waited patiently for my coffee to drip fully. While waiting, they gave me a good bunch of bread that had become my favorite since I first tried it in Thailand. Honestly, at this point, I was clueless about what and how to do anything. My Couchsurfing host is not available until mid-day, and I had no internet. I literally didn’t know where in Phnom Penh I was.
But the traveler in me told me to just surrender at the moment. So there I sat and enjoyed breakfast.
After a couple of hours, I went back to my newfound friend’s hostel and took them up with their offer to sleep in their dorm (they actually booked an entire dorm room). Sad thing is, the hostel said that I can’t sleep there because it is an all-girls dorm. It actually made sense if they did not book the entire room. But I am not one who will argue since I didn’t pay for the room anyways. So I just rest in the lobby of the hostel.
By lunchtime, I walked my way to my host’s agreed meeting point and waited.
My host’s residence was within a short walking distance of our rendezvous.. I was let into his house and was told of some rules before he went back to his work. He showed me his bike that he said I could use, but was also told that it costs $1000 so, lol, I almost did not dare use it.
I relaxed for a bit on the hammock outside. Their house is on the rooftop of an apartment building just right beside the British embassy. It was a posh neighborhood indeed.
Later that afternoon, I went out to see some of the places on my list. I originally wanted to go to the killing fields near the outskirts of Phnom Penh. However, I thought that it was far too heavy emotionaly, to visit it and the S21 at the same day. I concluded that S21 should be enough to learn what I wanted.
S21 was something. If you are coming to Phnom Penh, you need to visit this place. Horrific as it may seem, it will remind you of the things that man can do in the name of ideology. Blindly following one’s order either out of fear or out of ignorance. I do not have the right words on how unimaginable the things that Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge has massacred and tortured countless people for their belief. It was truly, heart breaking.
Back at my hosts’ neighborhood, I went out for a walk and found some food. There is so much street food in my area that I decided to try most of them. Of course, I bought another cup of Cambodian iced coffee. If you have not tried coffee in Southeast Asia, you might think that you’ll get a heart attack from drinking it. It has a full-bodied flavor and is strong enough to keep you away the whole day. The coffee that you’ll find on the streets is also made from coffee syrup making espressos look like they’re diluted.
After eating I felt nauseous. I had to lie down for a bit and eventually puke. I think it was due to excessive intake of coffee. The next thing I knew I was having a fever. I was lucky that my host was really nice. We were supposed to go out and eat but he said that I could just rest and he’ll go meet up some friends. He also gave me some medicine for my fever.
I spent the entire night just resting and recovering. I tried to stay outside on the hammock where it was cool. The room house had one fan, and it was not shared to my host by his roommate. There was no mattress, just a wooden bed platform and some sheets. I assumed that this is just how he really sleep. I mean he can afford a thousand dollar bike, why wont he buy himself a proper bed.
The next morning, I woke up alone in the roof top house. It was a beautiful morning. The neighborhood too was beautiful as it has most of the foreign embassies in Cambodia. I had the urge to buy coffee for breakfast but remembering what happened yesterday brought me to my senses. This time, I simply bought some water and bread.
Later that day, I biked around the area and searched for the bus ticketing office. I decided to buy a bus ticket bound to Vietnam for that night. I also bought some medicine to keep my fever at bay.
Since my bus leaves at about midnight, I had so much time to spare and I did not want to waste it just by staying at my host’s apartment. I went around Phnom Penh’s city center. It was just full of life. People going about their business, strolling, praying, or simply just emjoying the day.
Back at the roof top apartment, I arrived with Nguon waiting for me. He was worried as he didn’t see me when he got home. I broke the news to him that I was leaving for Vietnam the next day. He tried to convince me to stay until I get better. As much as I wanted to stay though, I had already bought my bus tickets, I replied.
Feeling still under the weather, I spent the night recovering. The following morning Nguon took me to the bus station. He was really caring and even though we didn’t bond much during my stay, our chats in their apartment was really interesting. Unfortunately, I was running on a tight schedule. I’ve already spent an extra night in Bangkok after enjoying too much of the city. So I that afternoon, I said goodbye to my caring host and thank him.
