it never did appear in my mind that i will be visiting Cambodia in my life. i don't have a slight clue what to expect here, being in phnom penh is merely because there's is no direct flight from bangkok to jakarta (thanks to air asia asean pass) so we have to stay a day in phnom penh to catch a flight to kuala lumpur the next day.
i wasn't able to thoroughly go around the city due to lack of sleep the previous day and most of the day here was spent sleeping on my hostel. but i tried my best to tell you about this city.
CURRENCY
first time arriving in the airport i was dumbstruck that even though Cambodia has their own currency which is Cambodian Riel, they prefer to except american dollar as their main currency.
my advice, do bring USD not Riel. its a hassle because everywhere i go they keep giving me prices in USD, and when i ask to pay with Riel they have to recounts the price.
it turns out that paying with Riel is much more expensive compare it if i pay with USD.
so do bring USD with you.
GETTING AROUND
getting around is also hard in Phnom penh, taxi and tuk tuk are their main transport from the airport. in Phom penh airport, they got a fixed price for taxi ($12) and tuk tuk ($7). i was traveling with 4 peoples going to the same hostel and all the taxi/ tuk tuk from airport only accept 3 people max, that means i have to order 2 taxi/tuk tuk. you can bargain, but all the driver there is such an ass, that when you ask for cheaper price they got angry and call all the other drivers to just ignore us.
actually there is a bus from the airport, but there's no sign what so ever to where is the bus stationed.
so i just give up and dragged my baggage outside the airport and found a local tuk tuk that agree to take me to our hostel near royal palace for $5 (for 4 people with 2 big baggages and 2 cabin baggages)
it took us 35 minutes in tuk tuk to finally arrived in our hostel.
while you're in the city, you will notice that there is no taxi anywhere, so going around best to catch a tuk tuk.
renting a motorbike to get around the city is also a good choice, renting cost varies from where you choose to rent.
renting cost from my hostel is $7/day per motorbike and they will need to hold your passport for guarantee.
ACCOMMODATION
DO research your hostel/hotel before hand before you book. two of my friends who booked their hostel separately from us is so dumbstruck-ed to found out their hostel is nothing at all like they're advertise on website.
their hostel merely just a run down house with frequents electricity turn down and the location is so remote inside a very narrow street.
finally they cancel their booking (charged with cancellation booking not to mention) and ask our help to find a better accommodation near our place.
as for my hostel, thank goodness its a cozy little place, with Japanese owner that provides total services to their guests.
the hostel that i stayed called "the share phnom penh hostel", i make a seperate post for this hostel here
the hostel that i stayed called "the share phnom penh hostel", i make a seperate post for this hostel here
FOOD
for food i basically stick to their street food. i did try one of their fancy restaurant called "Malis" which is a good experience if you want to eat fresh seafood, but hey, nothing beats street foods right.
the street foods that i tried mostly is pork and chicken, i did hear that Cambodia best for its seafood, but it hard to get a fresh seafood on their street food. mainly their seafood is dried fish that taste like a jerky, so yeah.. i prefers their BBQ style pork and chicken which is tender and juicy.
and do try their coconut ice cream is so good and refreshing, when you buy their ice cream they will give you the coconut water as complimentary.
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