Sugarcane drink with a twist of lime in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

DAY 1

Touched down at the Phnom Pehn International Airport at 4.20pm (5.20pm Malaysian Time) on 26^th July 2007. We were pleasantly surprised by how modern the airport was.

Paid USD7 for a cab ride to the hotel in Sisowath Quay overlooking the Tonle Sap river. On our journey there, the sight of 5 people on a motorbike caught our attention. But it was a sight that we would soon get used as we stayed on in Phnom Penh.

We had booked our hotel via the internet. Judging from the positive reviews posted by several tourists, we thought that it would be a good place to stay…but we got there, it turned out tobe rather disappointing.

Freshened up and headed down to check the place out before dinner. Found another hotel not far from our hotel – Cozyna Hotel. Looked impressive from outside and decided to ask for the rates. USD25. Not bad! Checked the rooms out to avoid another disappointment….nice! Immediately booked a room for the following 3 nights. Feeling more cheerful with our discovery, we looked for a good place to eat. Since it was our first night there, thought we’d splurge a bit and try out the stalls and street food during the next few days. Found a nice place that served Khmer food (as well as Thai and western food) – Lemongrass Restaurant - located just next to a halal shop selling Malaysian food!

The food was excellent. Had rice with pork, chicken in peanut gravy and a kind of seafood salad! Ordered a Cambodian cooler (a non alcoholic beverage made up of pineapple, mint, coconut milk..etc – all blended together to form this perfect smoothie).

Explored the place a bit and found a café which screened documentaries on the Khmer Rouge era. Booked our tickets and to kill time, we sat on the riverbank watching people go by.

Finally it was time to watch the documentary. It gave us an insight into the history of Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge period. It would prove to be useful for our trips to the Killing Field and Toul Sleng the following day.