Siem Reap to Phnom Penh.

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Originally uploaded by theslaad.

We got up nice and early to get in breakfast before catching our 'limousine bus' to Phnom Penh. After waiting around for about half an hour past the time they were supposed to come and pick us up, this tiny run down minibus turned up! We giggled nervously, knowing our legs would be too long to fit behind the seats and wondering if we would be in that bus for the whole 6 hour journey! The guys on the bus obviously saw the scared looks on our faces and told us it was ok - they were taking us to the bus station - phew!

The limousine bus was an ordinary coach, not too shabby! They gave us a box with 2 pastries in, some water and a refreshing wipe - and we settled in for our journey. The roads are a lot less scary form up in a bus - things tend to get out of your way more.

We are quickly realising that visiting countries that have a rainy season at the end of that season doesn't mean that it won't rain! It rained steadily for the whole of our journey!
We arrived safely in Phnom Penh and despite warnings from the guy at our last guesthouse, there was a little bus waiting to pick us up. It was a real relief since the throngs of tuktuk drivers wanted to know where we were going, pushing and trying to vie for our business.

Our hotel was nice enough for $13 a night, and in a convenient part of the city. PP didn't really feel that much like a city at first though, more of a big town - and certainly not a capital. A far cry from Beijing or Bangkok in size and traffic. There were very few cars on the roads, whole families choosing instead to ride on one scooter. The roads were full of bikes & tuktuks.

We looked at our guidebook, which showed the main bar & restaurant street being just a couple of streets from our hotel, and opposite the river.
We mostly spent the evening going to a couple of touristy/expat bars and treated ourselves to some western food in the Frog & Parrot! Chris had a particulary good steak for less than 3 quid and I had a great bowl of chili.

While we were out it started throwing it down again so we got a tuktuk back to the hotel. We keep paying a bit too much for our tuktuks! A notice in the bar said if you wanted to buy a waitress a drink give them $1 as they only get $2 wages a day. We paid our tuktuk driver $2 to take us 3 roads! But I think he probably needs it more than we do - we're quite happy to pay 1 pound to get back to our hotel in the rain in the dark!