Phnom Penh Trip 2017

Went to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with a good friend over the labour day long weekend. We talked about going to Phnom Penh since 2 years ago, and finally it materialized before we turned 30. At first, we were looking out for land tours. Eventually, we hired a Tuk Tuk driver [TripAdvisor] to drive us around most of the places on our list. We wanted more nature-related activities, so we went horse riding and hiking as well.

Click on the "Expand All" to view the itinerary details and "Collapse All" to see an overview of the daily happenings.

30/04/2017	Check-in to TEAV Boutique Hotel [TripAdvisor] The hotel is awesome. Check out the review on TripAdvisor. It is mainly written by my friend :D AEON Mall We walked to AEON Mall! We got a bit stuck at the roads, but some kind locals helped us cross the road. When we reached AEON Mall, we window-shopped around for a bit, and was quite surprised that the items were generally expensive.
01/05/2017	Areyksat Equestrian Trail Rides [TripAdvisor] This was one of the highlights of the trip. We went on a 2-hour horse riding at the country side. Our guide, Guillaume, said that more and more people are realizing that they can get to the countryside just over a 10 minutes boat ride. Soon, the countryside will just be as developed as the city. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum [TripAdvisor] Visiting this place was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit Phnom Penh. Daughters of Cambodia [TripAdvisor] Visited the cafe twice during my stay in Phnom Penh. The food and products were great quality, and the spa was pretty good as well, though not the cheapest around. Daughters was a great programme to help sex workers to exit the industry in a sustainable way. Job training, counselling and medical help were provided to help the girls in transition, so that they can work in other industries such as café, customer service, spa etc.
02/05/2017	Choeung Ek Genocide Museum (Killing Fields) The mass graves, killing tree, victims clothing, bones and skulls were well preserved. The audio guide was informative, included real accounts from survivors as well. Russia market This is a more touristy market, sellers generally can speak simple English. Some haggling is ok. Orussey market [TripAdvisor] A local market, hot and cramped so maybe not everyone will like it here . However many locals do not speak English, so we communicated prices by typing on a calculator. Bought some nice snacks too. I bought the jackfruit glutinous rice which I really liked! National Museum of Cambodia [] Dinner: Genki Sushi To be honest, we ate here becausae we were too tired and just wanted to eating something quick near our hotel. One thing that was cool was that the food was delivered on an "Express Train" beisde the table! I heard that this can also be found in the Genki Sushi in Singapore as well, but the first time I tried it is here.
03/05/2017	Chiso Mountain [TripAdvisor] This place was added to the itinerary only during the trip, but it was surprising good. The temples could almost pass off as Angkor Wat, and they were even older. The large reclining Buddha was quite a view too. The best thing is it is totally not touristy at all! We climbed up the stairs and was rewarded with a nice countryside view. During our trip, we also noticed that a lot of locals like to chill out on a hammock. So we tried it out by buying a drink at the rest point which came with a hammock, overseeing the view on the mountain, it was real cool! Lunch [] Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center [TripAdvisor] [] Tonle Bati [] Dinner: Malis Restaurant [TripAdvisor] We came to this place due to recommendation from the hotel, which is known for good authentic Cambodian food. Indeed, this was one of the best meals we had in Phnom Penh. The indoor portion of restaurant was fully booked when we arrived, so we were seated at the outdoors. The food was pretty good!
03/05/2017	Udong Mountain / Oodong Mountain [] Wat Phnom [] Daughters of Cambodia (Repeat visit) []