Saturday 21 December 2024 I order an uber to take Mum,
Dad and I to IFC Airport Express. Mum and Dad arrived on Wednesday late
afternoon. Within minutes we are down on the street waiting. I then look at the
map and realise the driver is driving away from us, and just keeps on going.
What on earth!!! Thankfully an empty taxi arrives a few minutes later.
A few minutes later I receive a notification that I’d been charged HKD 30, less
than half the original price. Very odd! Then when we were on the train to the
airport I get another message saying the driver had refunded me. Very very
strange!
There are a lot more people at the airport than I thought there would be. At
Check-in, which is nice and easy, we are told it’s the busiest travel day
today. I’m surprised. I fully expected yesterday to be worse which is the main
reason we didn’t travel yesterday.
Mum and I go into the First Class Lounge for a late lunch, I’d told Dad which
gate to sit by so that I could easily take him lunch. Unfortunately I could
only take one person into the lounge but this worked out well.
We pull back from the gate 13 minutes late. We then have ‘fun’ hanging out on
the runway waiting our turn. Talk about congestion. Finally it’s our turn.
The views over Hong Kong are incredible.
The flight went well, although a little bumpy at times.
We are all at individual immigration counters when I see Mum has been sent back. Eeks what’s going on??! Then within seconds Dad and I are sent back. We need to complete the e-arrival card. Annoying that we weren’t able to do that online prior to arriving. Or that the signs were clear enough. Hey ho. This is one of the joys of being at the front of economy, there still aren’t that many people from the plane here yet.
Take 2 and we are all set!
Half an hour from landing we are walking out of the passenger only part of the terminal to locate our driver. Very impressive considering we all had to go back to complete the arrival card then we had a bit of a wait for the bags.
Our driver takes us towards his car then tells us to wait. Ok, no problem.
Into the streets of PP we go!
A good 45 minutes later we arrive at the hotel. Definitely didn’t feel that
long with so much to look at along the way.
The staff at check-in are super friendly and helpful. We are taken to our rooms
- both huge!!!!
We decide to eat dinner at the hotel - it doesn’t disappoint.
Back to Mum and Dad’s room for a glass of wine and cards.
Sunday 22 December I wake just after 6.30am, too early for being on holiday but hey ho.
There are quite a few people at breakfast when we get there and it’s not even 8.30am.
Booking a tuk tuk through Grab is super easy and within a few minutes it arrives. We are off to Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre (The Killing Fields).
Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre is located around 17 kilometres south of the city centre. It was used as a “re-education camp” by the Khmer Rouge (who ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979). The regime carried out a campaign of mass genocide against anyone suspected of belonging to several categories of supposed enemies. Approximately 17,000 people are believed to have been killed and buried at Choeung Ek.
After watching a movie on the history, we put on our audio guide (which is beyond harrowing) and wander around.
There are just no words. Absolutely brutal.
Our driver is waiting for us as we exit and takes us back to the city to Tuol Sleng S-21 Prison.
Our Tuk Tuk drops us outside a coffee shop / shop. We decide to stop for ice coffee before going into the Tuol Sleng S-21 Prison.
Everything is in USD only which is annoying as I don’t have a huge amount of USD cash.
Tuol Sleng prison, also known as S-21 (Security Office 21), was the largest prison facility run by the Khmer Rouge which was located a former high school. It was a highly secretive center where thousands of supposed enemies of the regime were tortured before being executed. Of the 15,000 prisoners admitted to Tuol Sleng prison only 14 are known to have survived.
As expected everyone is walking around sombrely.
I manage to get on the “coffee shops” wifi to order a tuk tuk grab back to the hotel. Super easy.
We have lunch at the hotel then a few hours relaxing. It’s nice not to be rushing.
Sitting by the pool is super relaxing!
At 5.15pm I find a rooftop bar for us to go too and within a few minutes are waiting for our Grab.
It takes forever for the lift to arrive and when it does we end up going down to basement 1, then basement 2 before going back to the lobby and up to the rooftop.
We get a Grab to Malis Restaurant for dinner (which I had been recommended).
Dinner is delicious!
Getting a Grab back to the hotel is super easy. As soon as I order it a driver confirms then sends a message to say he’s coming and thanks for your patience. It hasn’t even been 1 minute. Talk about fast and efficient!
It’s an early wake up (just after 7am) on Monday 23 December.
Dad and I go out for a walk. The streets are busier than they were yesterday, but not surprising given it’s Monday morning. There is a nice breeze which makes it feel cool (for me).
Back to the hotel for breakfast and packing up.
Ready to face the streets of Phnom Penh again we order a Tuk Tuk to a coffee shop near the Central Market.
Aah they refuse to take my USD 1 note – super frustrating as I’ve been trying to use that since we arrived here. Hey ho.
In the end we decide to leave and walk a couple of blocks over to another coffee place.
We wander into the central market – all you need to do
is glance quarter of an eye at something and we are pounced at. It’s gets
tiring after a while.
I do manage to buy a shower sponge thing, they refuse the USD 1 note as well.
Aaah very annoying.
We leave the market and wander towards the waterfront. Maps.me tells me it’s not that far away but in the heat it feels like longer. We relax at the waterfront before ordering a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel.
I’d researched a coffee place earlier that said it did sandwiches and salads for lunch so decide to head there for lunch. It’s a short 4 minutes walk, nice and easy!
We have the afternoon relaxing by the pool.
Late afternoon Mum and I decide happy hour can be right here – with a glass of NZ Chardonnay.
Jill and Jock had recommended a restaurant to us – Titanic. I order a tuk tuk through Grab. 17 minutes, ummm no thanks! In the end the driver tells us to cancel. The next one is 4 minutes away. That’s much better.
A few minutes into the journey will turn a corner then stop. Ummm what the heck. If I was by myself I wouldn’t not be happy. The driver gets up and walks away. Ummm???! A few minutes later he returns with a big container / bottle thing full on liquid. Aah gasoline, yes that’s helpful to drive! Off we go.
On arrival a Titanic Restaurant we are taken immediately to a table. Thankfully it’s overlooking the Mekong River.
Dinner is delicious!! Thank you to Jill and Jock for the recommendation.
We learn from earlier not to go outside and wait for our tuk tuk until we know that he’s a few blocks away. 11 minutes later he turns up.
It’s nice to be back into the streets again.
Mum and I have a few hands of cards before I decide sleep is needed.
Christmas Eve I wake just after 6am, far too early for a holiday! Dad and I go out for a walk.
Great to see everyday life.
After breakfast I take Mum and Dad to the Royal Palace. I’ve been before and decide I don’t need to go back.
I walk back to the hotel – shower and finish packing.
I just work out how to do two stops on Grab when Dad messages to tell me we’ll meet at the coffee shop. Ok, walk it is.
Mum and Dad are sitting outside when I arrive. The coffee is good.
The sun has some heat as we walk back to the hotel. We have a good hour before we need to check out.
Mum and I sit playing cards in the shade before we order a late lunch.
Our Grab arrives with minutes of ordering.
Check-in, immigration and security are all very easy.
As Mum and I get to the lounge the staff behind the counter believe we are with the lady in front of us. No, but wait can you take Mum in? Yes she says. So, I go off and get Dad.
We pull back from the gate 6 minutes early. Goodbye Cambodia, it’s off to Vietnam we go.
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