We arrived at the bus station which is a hub of activity and get transported to the hotel. Like all of our accommodations, the hotel is clean, comfortable, has a safe for storage of valuables but a walk-up to our room...room #404...wheew. It feels like late July in Northern Virginia...hot and sticky. We will be here for 2 nights and 1 day---too short a period of time.
I love Phnom Penh already....little traffic noise, all attractions are nearby, costs are reasonable and people appear friendly. An interesting fact...the ATMs dispense US$ and not Cambodian Riels. All prices are quoted in US$...if the price is $6.25...and you use a $10 bill...your change is $3US and the remainder in riel. 4,000+riel = $1US.
We take a motor-cycle tuk-tuk ride to become familiar with the area. I have dinner with Charlie and Frances and head off to the Foreign Correspondence Club which has $1 mugs of draft beer and overlooks Toulo Sap River. What a nice way to spend an hour and cool down. As I am heading back to the hotel, I come across a group of people line dancing and having a great time....see picture...temp down to 75F but sticky.
Go to bed early since tomorrow is a big day since it is the only time we have to see the sites. I want to see the King's Palace, Silver Pagoda, Wat Ounalow, National Museum, Wat Phnom and have a massage...all by 1 PM. At 1:30 PM we are scheduled to visit S21 - Tual Sheng Genocide Museum (a converted high school which became Khmer Rouge torture center) and Cheuong Ek killing fields where 10,000s of thousands of skeletonal remains were unearthed.
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