Hi friends! Obviously we’re pretty far behind on our weekly wrap-ups here, so in the interest of catching up quickly, we’ll only be sharing two more wrap-ups: One for Cambodia (this one) and one for Vietnam (coming up next). We’ll still be sharing more travel guides and stories on this blog in the coming weeks and months (if you want to see anything specific, please let us know in the comments!), but for now, here are some quick highlights from the final two countries of our trip. Up first:
This weekly(ish) wrap-up covers our journey from February 16 to 24. We flew from Bangkok, Thailand, to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sunday, Feb. 16, and then traveled via bus to Kampong Cham–a quiet riverside town without too many foreign tourists–on Thursday. We headed back to Phnom Penh on Monday evening (Feb. 24) to catch a bus to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the next morning. This was our second time in Cambodia; we previously visited Siem Reap on our honeymoon in 2014, so we were looking forward to visiting again!
Favorite thing we ate: We highly recommend Pacific Hotel in Phnom Penh, not least because of the delicious bar nuts at the restaurant downstairs [pictured above left]. Seriously, Jonathan wanted to go to happy hour every day so we could get some peanuts (mixed with dried chiles and basil and yummy spices). We unsuccessfully spent the rest of our time in Cambodia looking for similar nuts. Megan’s favorite dish in Cambodia was fish amok, which all her guidebooks said was the dish to try in Cambodia, at Smile Restaurant in Kampong Cham [top dish in above right photo].
Favorite thing we drank: Jonathan tried coffee-flavored Coca Cola from a convenience store. Although he didn’t love it, he said it was “interesting” and deserved a shout-out on this blog. Megan had a delicious watermelon citrus mojito [above right] at Eleven One Kitchen in the Russian Market neighborhood of Phnom Penh.
Favorite thing we did: Although it may seem strange to call this a “favorite” activity, as it was very somber, Jonathan chose our tour of the Killing Fields outside Phnom Penh. The audio tour was excellent, we learned a lot about the Khmer Rouge, and we saw several things that will stay with us forever [like the “Killing Tree,” above left]. On a much lighter note, we rented bicycles for $2 each in Kampong Cham and rode around checking out some tourist attractions [including Wat Banteay Prey Nokor, pictured above right], which was Megan’s favorite day in Cambodia. (Note: If you ever visit Kampong Cham, we found this travel guide on Wander-Lush to be sooooo helpful.)
Biggest splurge: We had planned to take a bus from Bangkok to Phnom Penh, but after doing some online research, we realized this option was … not great. So we booked last-minute plane tickets instead. Regional air travel in Southeast Asia is pretty affordable, so our tickets were only about $85 each, but it was still significantly more expensive than the bus tickets ($27 each).
Best deal: We took almost all our clothes to a laundromat in Phnom Penh and they washed, dried and folded them for only $1/kg. (Total: $4!) And by all, I mean all except the clothes we were wearing at the time. After we picked our laundry back up, we dropped Megan’s dress and Jonathan’s T-shirt off at our hotel to be laundered, and it cost $3 just for two pieces. Hehe.
What we’re reading: Jonathan is reading Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha. Megan read The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung, and He Started It by Samantha Downing. She also began listening to How We Fight For Our Lives: A Memoir by Saeed Jones (flawlessly narrated by the author) on the bus ride from Phnom Penh. (Psst: Do you want to read more this year? Check out Megan’s article for The Everygirl on how to do exactly that!)
which means we got a LOT of pictures together. 😉 Here’s one.
Total walking distance: 30.45 miles (9 days)
Up next: We are headed to Vietnam!
Featured image: Courtyard at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
