A month in Cambodia Part 1: Phnom Penh partying and pensiveness

I took off from Bangkok on an Air Asia plane for Phnom Penh on Oct. 9 for what was supposed to be a quick visa run. My work in Bangkok had just come to an unexpected end after the organization I was working for at the time ran into financial problems. So I needed to make a quick move to renew my visa and I thought about Bali, but ultimately opted for Cambodia as I have a couple of friends in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital city, and I thought it would be fun to pay them a visit, and, of course, it would be cheaper than Bali.

View of Phnom Penh from BJ's

I imagined the trip would last 4 or 5 days, so I booked a room for $25 at BJ's, which is right on the river, and, contrary to what the name might imply to some, the hotel provided a very clean, wholesome and safe environment, located a block from the river, with a nice balcony, a flat screen TV, free breakfast, safe wifi, which made it a pretty good deal.

Kenny G shop in Phnom Penh. Sorry to say I 
have no idea about the back story behind this.

I basically went out drinking every single with my aforementioned friends, Will and Chad, who both work for the Phnom Penh Post. I normally am not such a major drinker, but I figured that I might as well live it up while I was away, not to mention that beers are generally a buck each, which made it easier on the wallet to party like a Khmer rock star every night. I met their friends, who were a friendly bunch and I enjoyed getting to explore the city a bit.

I had been to Phnom Penh with my old friend Rob once before, five years ago, but I was kind of turned off by it at the time. However, it genuinely seems to have come a long way since then. The riverside is nice, and there are some wonderful streets around town with good food and chill spots. One thing that is a major annoyance is that every single tuk tuk driver, and I mean every single one, will bother you about taking a ride with them, even if you are on a bicycle, or even in a tuk tuk already! Well, maybe I'm exaggerating with that last example.

Last time I was in Phenomenal Penh (Rob's brilliant tagline that the Cambodian tourism industry should adopt), it was only for a couple of days and I didn't get a chance to go to Tuol Sleng, otherwise known as S-21, which is a former Khmer Rouge prison where thousands of victims were tortured and killed. I also didn't get to the killing fields, which most people at least know from the movie of the same name, and its former purpose is rather self-explanatory from its name. So this time I went to both, which was a most heavy experience since it really doesn't get more depressing than genocide.

Here are some pics of my experience.

This sign posted at S-21 gives you an idea of 
how twisted the Khmer Rouge was.

Victims of the Khmer Rouge who met their demise at S-21

Victims' cells

More photos of frightened victims

If I can add one moment of levity to this depressing post, it was this sign at S-21.

OK, back to depressing. Victims' skulls at the Killing Fields museum, Choeung Ek

Speaks for itself

Mass grave site of victims who were left without heads.

Other than being utterly floored by the horrific information I learned through the audio guide (I'll refrain from the gory details here), I did admire the grounds at the Killing Fields, which are actually quite pretty these days...

After about four or five days, I started to read about how there were floods on the way to Bangkok so I thought I might as well extend my trip in Cambodia by a few days and wait it out.

However, I was getting a little tired of Phnom Penh, so I didn't want to stay there, but wasn't really sure where to go next. I had been to Siem Reap before, but it's always cool to go to the nearby ancient temples of Angkor Wat, plus I had a good friend there from Bangkok. But there was a problem, Siem Reap was flooded at the moment, so I had to scratch that off the list.

I had been to Sihanoukville beach area before and was thoroughly unimpressed and kind of grossed out by the filthy beaches and other dirty things that go on there. I looked at Kamphot, which seemed OK, but the main highlights were that it is a chill riverside vibe and that there is good pepper to be found there. Hmmm, sure it's great, but next?

I noticed Battambang as a possible destination and asked Will about it and he gave it the thumbs up. He told me about how there is a nice little art scene developing there and about some of the other interesting attractions like nearby ancient temples and a beautiful countryside - it's considered to be the "rice bowl" of Cambodia, and also known for its oranges. It was on the way to Bangkok anyway, so I figured that could stop off there, wait out the flood a few days and then bus it into Thailand. Or so I thought.

So I bought a one way ticket to Battambang...