- Arrived Phnom Penh airport at about 0800 Cambodia time.
- Step out of the Arrival gates, there are 2 rows of booths which have the different telecom providers, travel agencies and also a Tuk Tuk/ Taxi stand.
- Bought my 3G data sim card from SMART provider. Cost me USD 1 for the card and additional USD 5 for 2.5GB of data. Details here
- Walk over to the Tuk Tuk stand and get a ticket from the person and walk towards the road, there will be A LOT of Tuk Tuk drivers waiting for you. Pass them the ticket which indicates USD 7 and tell them your destination. Mad Monkey seems to popular, so no worries here.
- The journey takes about 20-30 minutes.
- Mad Monkey only allow check in after 1230 but they allow you to leave your bags there.
- Mad Monkey is situated among the wealthy district. Many different hostels/hotels/restaurants/cafes/fast-food joints.
-Settled lunch at a nearby cafe called Champei Café
Champei Cafe
#35 Street 57 Corner Street 322 (BKK1), Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
6:00AM - 10:00PM
Tel: 023-990609
- Check in and took a short rest.
- Walk towards Independence Monument while en route to the Royal Palace.
The Independence Monument (Vimean Ekareach) was inaugurated in November 9, 1962, celebrating Cambodia’s independence from foreign rule.
The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh was constructed over a century ago to serve as the residence of the King of Cambodia, his family and foreign dignitaries, as a venue for the performance of court ceremony and ritual and as a symbol of the Kingdom.
Map of the Royal Palace
Entrance fee is about USD 6, dress decent and apply sun block and pack a bottle of water. It gets quite humid in the afternoon. You can also engage a tour guide which they will explain the history about the Royal Palace to you, giving you a better understanding of the palace.
Wat Phnom
A small hill crowned by an active wat (pagoda) marks the legendary founding place of the Phnom Penh. The hill is the site of constant activity, with a steady stream of the faithful trekking to the vihear, shrines and fortune tellers on top and a constellation of vendors, visitors and motodups at the bottom.
From Wat Phnom, you can actually do a walking trail of the US embassy, French Library, Raffles Hotel, Train Station and then walk over to Central Market.
You can find all sorts of things in Central Market, from clothes to knock-off soccer boots to wet market. When I was there around 4pm, most of the stalls were either closed or packing up so do drop by earlier to get your shopping done. As usual, please take care of your belongings and not flash your fancy gadgets or money. There will be pickpockets sneaking around but most locals are very friendly and will mind their own business.
Day 2 (Killing Fields, S21, Russian Market)
-Breakfast was at Brown Cafe (5 minutes walk from my hostel)
- Basically brunch meals were all less than USD5 and it's pretty filling. Did I mention their coffee is pretty good? ^^
Brown 51: St. 51 Corner 302 Near British International School.6:30am to 9:00pm(855) 69 737 567
-Mad Monkey Hostel has a package tour which they collaborate with Tuk Tuk drivers to bring you to the Killing Fields and S21 and it costs about USD8 per person. It's pretty safe as the price is set by the hostel so the drivers can't try to cheat you.
But we managed to find a Tuk Tuk driver by the roadside on the previous day, he is quite eager to get our business when he approached us on the previous day but we didn't wanted to take a Tuk Tuk that day so we told him to come back tomorrow. And the next day(today), he waited for us at the same spot and smiled and waved at us when he saw us.
So we set a price with him, 2 person for USD 12 for the same tour - Killing Fields and S21. He agreed and we hopped on. He tried to introduce new attraction places to us but just politely reject him and he will stop bothering you.
The journey took about 45 minutes and PLEASE BRING A FACIAL MASK along with you. As the road is very dirty and filled with sand and dust. So you will be breathing in sand and dust like me if you didn't bring your mask.
Entrance fee is USD 5 inclusive of an audio guided tour. Having Khmer people narrate your exploration of the grounds will have you nearly in tears and is a much more powerful way to convey the atrocities than signboards ever could. The whole memorial center tour should take you back about an hour or so.
The tour includes stories by those who survived the Khmer Rouge, plus a chilling account by Choeung Ek guard and executioner Him Huy about some of the techniques they used to kill innocent prisoners and defenceless women and children.
After the Killing Fields, you just proceed outside to find your Tuk Tuk driver. I found mine and he asked us if we are hungry but the condition of the restaurants there were not ideal (dirty) so we said we proceed to the next destination - Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21 Prison)
Entrance fee is USD 2 and you can pay a tour guide so that they will explain to you the history of this place while giving you a tour.
Prior to 1975, Toul Sleng was a high school - a set of classroom buildings in a walled compound. When the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975 they converted into the S-21 prison and interrogation facility, administered by Kaing Guek Eav, a.k.a. ‘Duch.'
There will be a book stand where you can get historical books of Cambodia but PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM THEM. As you will be able to get a cheaper copy of the books in Siem Reap. Walk out and proceed for lunch at a cafe recommended by my Tuk Tuk driver - Tuk Tuk Cafe.
Food prices are affordable but on the high side as it's a tourist cafe. But you can still find food choices that are within USD 5.
Tuk Tuk CafeStreet 350 | #38, south gate of Toul Sleng museum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
We proceeded to Russian Market after the meal. Russian Market is more for local Khmer so you might be able to score a cheaper deal here but as we are tourist, it's a bit more difficult to haggle. I saw knock-off products of Burberry, Polo Ralph and GAP and they are quite authentic if you ask me.
Went back to the hostel early to book our bus tickets to Siem Reap. Chose Giant Ibis as they have a morning bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and they do pick ups from our hostel to the bus station. Prices are at USD 15 per person.
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