Today, we enter into the Capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.
But how does squeezing together with up to 4 million people by the quay side, celebrating one of the nation's biggest festival, sound like to you?
Yep! That's what I thought! LOL.
Just so you know, I tend to plan my touring travel period away from any public holiday or festive season as I don't fancy being caught up with extreme traffic congestion (both human and vehicle traffic), and things like accommodation rates tend to be higher too during peak seasons.
So, it was never my intention or to arrive into Phnom Penh on the actual day of Bon Om Touk, also known as the Cambodian Water Festival, which is one of the country's biggest three day festival celebrated on the full moon in November.
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| pc: boray ankor resort spa |
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| pc: cambodiadaily |
I only found out about the festival when I set foot into Cambodia, which is too late hahaha but as much as I don't like the jams and inconvenience of road block restrictions, I was pretty excited to witness the nation's biggest festival celebration! It's definitely going to be an eye-opener!
Phnom Penh was just a short 150km ride from Kampot as we set off from the hotel at about 10:00am.
Spotted a bike with GS look-alike panniers, though this one looks like it could fit way more stuff in it!
How about a closer look ;)
Any similarity? Hahaha.
Traffic started to build up when we entered into Phnom Penh and there were roadblocks everywhere where vehicles were not permitted due to the government's crowd control measures.
There ain't much traffic rules here either. Motorcycles and other vehicles were everywhere, cutting in between or across lanes, going against traffic etc. The colour of the traffic lights don't really matter to the locals too, you've gotta really try and blend into their traffic flow. Ride like the way they ride, confident but not reckless, you know? And don't hesitate.
Despite the road blocks, I managed to find my way to the hotel, dropped my bags off and went around exploring Phnom Penh with Calvin as my city guide!
It was super awesome to have him take me around because even though he's Singaporean, he's been living here in Cambodia for the past 5 years and knows it all almost like the locals do!
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| Independence Monument |
Above is the Independence Monument built in 1958 that represents Cambodia's independence from France in 1953. It's located directly in the city centre and you definitely won't miss it.
We then moved onto the National Museum of Cambodia, which is also the country's largest museum of cultural history and is Cambodia's leading historical and archaeological museum.
Built between 1917 - 1924, the museum houses one of the world's largest collections of Khmer art, with more than 14,000 items including sculptural, ceramics, bronzes and objects from prehistoric times to after the Khmer Empire.
Barely 500m away is the majestic Royal Palace, which serves as the royal residence to the king of Cambodia. It was built since the 1860s and the Silver Pagoda sits on the south side of the palace.
All these architecture truly reflects the rich culture that Cambodia has successfully retained over centuries, and is definitely worth a visit!
After appreciating all that architecture beauty, I left the most meaningful yet depressing historic visit at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
This site was actually a former high school used as the notorious Security Prison 21 by the Khmer Rouge regime during 1975 - 1979 where more than 20,000 prisoners were brutally tortured and killed.
Left the place with a heavy heart, so I told Calvin to take me to have some yummy street food to lift those spirits! :D
Then he took me to the Russian Market nearby for some shopping! That'll definitely help in putting a smile back on any girl's face! Haha.
The Russian Market opens from 6:00AM - 5:00PM, and you can find a wide array of souvenirs, clothing and other local goods. Bargaining is a must here, because the vendor's starting price is always sky high. Your final purchase price should normally be at least 50% off their asking price haha.
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| Cambodia's street style of Yong Tau Fy |
The weather here in Phnom Penh is really humid, so pop by any of the street drinks stall and have a refreshing milkshake or ice coffee!
When night came, the Water Festival Celebration was out in full force by the quay side.
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| pc: cambodiaexplatsonline |
Why is the water festival so widely celebrated in Cambodia?
During the rainy season, large quantity of water is deposited into the Tonle Sap river until it becomes so full, it reverses the direction of its flow and goes upstream instead, into the Tonle Sap lake.
The water festival marks the end of the upstream the flow between the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers where the flow is reversed back into its normal direction, signifying the end of the rainy season, providing the region back with fertile farming land and plenty of fishes.
Ok, so this explains the crowd above.
Calvin and I decided to escape all that human traffic by heading up to a nearby restaurant for some food and beer because the crowd below was just too overwhelming, it was getting suffocating. Just sitting here by the ledge watching all that action going down below, we've already witnessed 3 - 4 ambulances driving in to save somebody who probably fainted inside there.
But overall, boy was it indeed an eye-opener to not only soak in the celebratory atmosphere of the Cambodia's Water Festival, but putting together the entire day of visits around the city and being able to appreciate the country's rich culture just made my whole experience in Phnom Penh such a fruitful and unforgettable one!
And tomorrow, I'm finally heading down onto Siem Reap, where my final destination, Ang Kor Wat, awaits!!
[Singapore. Malaysia. Thailand.Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh, Cambodia]
[Mileage Clocked: 3,002KM]
[Weather/Temperature: Mostly Sunny/34°C]
[Terrain: Road/Tarmac/]
Next stop: Siem Reap, Cambodia
