We head to the central market after breakfast. It is really hot today and the walking is draining, but we get there soon enough. The market has changed a little since last year and I cannot find any of the great t-shirts that I bought last year. It’s no bad thing as I have enough for now. Cambodian men love shirts and there are plenty to choose from, but I have 1, which is also enough for now.
We head to the shopping centre for air conditioned relief, before negotiating hard with a tuk-tuk driver and getting a ride right across town to the Thai Embassy.
We get there just as they open for the afternoon and walk straight-in to get our passports. We are now both in receipt of 2 month visas! Woo-hoo! This is great. We should also be able to extend these visas for another month, giving us 3 months in Thailand. We are planning on spending a few days in Bangkok to stock up on things, send things home and then head down to the island of Ko Phangnan to rent a house and spend 2 – 3 months chilling, working, and exploring. We’re both really looking forward to it.
But for now we are in Cambodia and enjoying this bizarre, funny, rich and poor country. Tomorrow we are heading to the town of Battambang and then maybe back to Siem Reap.
After the consulate we head to a cafe where we had great coffee and a Danish yesterday. On the way we see a pickup knock over a guy on a scooter, but right in-front of the police.
We head over to the Royal Palace. It’s a beautiful complex of buildings. The king lives in the complex, but we don’t see him 🙂 The buildings are beautiful and full of very interesting and truly blessed treasures. The Silver Pagoda is the stand-out exhibit, but perhaps the buddhas and treasures inside are the star of the show.
Afterwards we try to the find the Bali cafe, only to find it has moved, just like everything else in Phnom Penh. We find a similarly named cafe, but reckon it’s an impostor. We settle on another cafe, where I have a truly local dish of chicken and banana shoot soup. It’s excellent and now I know what I have seen many locals eating.
We make the long walk across town. Phnom Penh always seem much bigger at night and we find ourselves on some less the desirable streets at times. Some of the buildings are clearly brothels, with the front’s completely illuminated with red lights.
We make it home in one piece and get bus tickets for our bus ride tomorrow to Battambang.