Phnom Penh

So, after the 2 day/1 night boat trip from Saigon, we landed in Phnom Penh. By "landed," I mean "arrived by van." The tour included one night in a hotel, but the catch was that you couldn't have a single. I was the only person traveling alone in the tour group, but a lovely family from Melbourne invited me to share one of their rooms--there were 4 of them, so the hotel was giving them 2 double rooms, but they didn't each need their own bed, so they gave me one. It was super nice of them.

The next day I moved to another hotel (the one included in the tour package was too pricey for me), and took off wandering. Here are the rest of the photos from Phnom Penh.

This photo is from the temple of Wat Phnom, which is a small temple on the only hill in the city. I also went to the Golden Palace and the Silver Pagoda, where the Royal Family used to reign (I think they still do, and that's why many parts of the complex were barred to the public, and why you couldn't take photos inside the buildings). They made me rent a pair of pants to cover up my legs, since I was wearing shorts. They were bright green, and looked smashing with my bright turquoise top. Check out the photo album.

While there I met a guy named Jeff, and we wandered around the city together for the rest of the day. I also went to the Killing Fields, where Pol Pot sent many people to be massacred during the Khmer Rouge regime. That was...bright and cheery. I decided to pass up the Genocide Museum, which is more graphic than the Killing Fields, from which most of the bodies have been removed. So...I opted for one depressing tourist destination, instead of two.

On Sunday, I did my souvenir shopping at the Russian Market, which is called that because the Russians used to shop there. Then I went on the Hash, because I had run out of things to do. It was an adventure--40 km in the back of a truck, and then we got on a ferry to go to an island, where the runners got lost. Good thing I don't run.

Anyway, that's that. More pictures coming soon!