Phnom Penh Day 2

We made last minute plans the day before after reading a local advert on what to do in Phnom Penh, and the same activities is ranked the no. 1 activity to do while in Phnom Penh. Quad biking is what I'm talking about.

Outskirts *the lorry behind - there was 12 people sitting on top of vegetables*

I forgot how much exactly it cost, but it wasn't too much. We started our day being picked up by tuktuk arranged by the company to take us to the outskirts of the town nearby the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre almost infamously known as Choeung Killing Fields.

Now, this place honestly shook me up a little. The indentations on the grounds were a startling reminder of how cruel the Khmer Rouge time was, how many innocent lives lost, and how terrifying it was to be living those times.

There is a stupa in the area to remember the victims. A display of skulls on a multistorey structure, clothes of the victims at the bottom stained with blood and other bodily fluids. The mass graves were basically everywhere within the area, the indentations on the grounds were a sad reminder of what has happened in the past. Walking through the grounds, carefully avoiding all the indentations was overwhelming.

After that, we went back on to our bikes and headed out to the nearby village for a look see as part of our biking experience.

:)

Village houses

It really felt like we were at the outskirts, in villages with the vast amount of paddy fields, children playing by the muddy roadside, friendly villagers waving to us.

One of the many paddy fields

The only bad thing about our trip was that it rained while we were there, hence the trail was really muddy and it became a little hard to continue when it became too soft and of course, when one's shoes are soaked through in mud. Like yours truly.

This was after cleaning up :S

But it is definitely an activity that I would recommend to anyone who's got some time to spare while in Phnom Penh. We had a really good time despite the rain and mud, so I expect an excellent experience for those with great weather.

More paddy fields

We had our tuktuk driver dropped us off at another famous local market in the town, Central Market.

Lunch anyone? *Let's see -menu comprises of fried worms, grasshoppers and other creepy crawlies*

The market is made up of two parts, one wet and one dry. The wet market was filled with more locals, purchasing fresh food and cooked lunches, where as the dry market is inside a quaint building selling mainly costume jewelleries and clothes, catering mainly for tourist like ourselves.

Inside the dry part of the market

Central Market at bird's view

We had a fairly quiet day after, spending the rest of the afternoon at a local spa - Amara Spa if I remember correctly. A slightly upmarket massage/spa centre compared to the other spas in Phnom Penh, but definitely worth the money as it was a much nicer, more comfortable place. Like spas in hotels :).

Seeing it was our last night there, we splurged a little on dinner as well, heading to Malis - a fine dining local restaurant in the town recommended by our hotel.

Malis Restaurant

The ambience was wonderful - quiet, relaxing. It felt like we were no longer in Phnom Penh. The restaurant wasn't crowded, it wasn't hot and humid, it wasn't ... like Cambodia. Most of the other patrons were expats, though that's probably because of the prices. Expensive if one's local, but it really wasn't that much more expensive that going for a normal meal in KL itself.

Delicious local starter

My yummy creme brulee :)

And finally, my decent coffee fix in 5 days! :D

The food was pretty good to us, the service wonderful. Though for the food, I am speaking as a tourist and not a local :P. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's heading that way, if they're looking for a less local eating experience.