Party Mixed with History in Phnom Penh Cambodia
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Following a relaxing day in Siem Reap, my friends and I decided it was time for a change of scenery. We talked it over and choose our next location, Phnom Penh, which is the capital of Cambodia.
One thing that I love about staying at hostels is how easy it is to make a change of scenery. You simply walk up to the reception desk, ask them about transportation to a location, and they will help you book it. That being said, there are limitations. I’m not totally sure they can book flights, but I know they can help with buses, taxis, and trains.
Getting from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh
Mad Monkey Siem Reap did just that. We simply walked up to the desk, told them our final destination, and selected the bus time. They had several options and times available for the journey from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. We ended up selecting the time that would get us into Phnom Penh at a reasonable hour, without having to wake up at the crack of dawn.
Let’s talk about this bus journey. According to the website, 12go.asia, the drive should only take about 6 hours. Well, welcome to Southeast Asia. Our drive ended up taking about 7-8 hours. It included making EXTRA stops, turning off the A/C and rolling down the windows because our van kept OVER HEATING. In addition, a lady had been car sick the ENTIRE ride and was making very nasty noises. Let’s just say, we couldn’t stop laughing. It was quite entertaining but also extremely gross.
If you thought that was enough entertainment for the ride, it’s not over. When we were less than 3 km away from our final destination, our van COMPLETELY DIED. Seriously, right in the middle of a major round-a-bout. It was just another adventurous component to our journey across Cambodia.
After we exited our van and hailed down a tuk-tuk, we made it Mad Monkey Hostel Phnom Penh. That’s right, we decided to stay at another Mad Monkey hostel.
Mad Monkey Phnom Penh
Mad Monkey Hostels would be what you could call a chain hostel. In fact, their are several hostels, Mad Monkey included, that have locations throughout Southeast Asia. One benefit is that when you stay at these chains, you learned a lot about how the company is ran and the expectations of the hostels. It was a pretty easy decision to make, to be honest. I know what I’m getting whenever I stay at a Mad Monkey Hostel.
Once we arrived at Mad Monkey, we did the normal routine of checking in. Except we couldn’t stop laughing and talking about our bus journey adventure. At the time of check-in, there was another traveler checking in at the same time. He just happened to be in the bus directly behind us when our van completely blocked traffic. The four of us couldn’t stop laughing and talking about our very eventful journey. The party started right here and then, in the lobby of Mad Monkey Phnom Penh.
We headed up to our 12-bed dorm, and immediately upon entering, the three of us just felt at home. We walked into our dorm to our fellow dormmates having a mini-party! Within 5 minutes upon entering, the guy from the lobby, Dean, walked into our room. It was fait. We becaming one giant group of friends almost immediately! It was the absolutely greatest dorm room I have ever stayed in during all of my travels.
For the two nights we stayed in Phnom Penh, we didn’t really do much sightseeing. I had done quite a bit of online research, I didn’t really find many points of interest to me. So, I choose to just veg out for a couple of days.
My routine was pretty simple. During the day, I’d hangout near the pool and talk with hostel friends. At night, I would hangout with my dormmates and go out with the hostel.
I can say this. Phnom Penh has a pretty decent party scene. It wasn’t the BEST I’ve been to in the few countries I’ve been to in SEA, but it was still good. I couldn’t even tell you where we went, but it was walking distance from Mad Monkey. It’s always a perk having the hostel close by to where you go out.
The Killing Fields
It’s not like I did NOTHING i. One of the thing Phnom Penh is known for is the genocide center or killing fields.
Before traveling to Cambodia, I could not have told you anything about these fields. I truly didn’t have ANY clue about Cambodia as a whole, except for Angkor Wat. Thankfully, staying in hostels mean you get opportunities to talk with fellow travelers who have traveled to where you are staying. Many of which recommend the killing fields when in Phnom Penh.
Another friend, who I meet in Siem Reap, happened to be overlapping with me in Phnom Penh before we depart in different directions. We both decided to venture to the Choeung Ek Genocide Center together.
Choeung Ek is the location of a former Killing Field, which is one of many sites the Khmer Rouge used to execute over one million people. It is also mass grave of the victims killed during this regime between 1975 and 1979. Four years is what it took for this horror story of over 1 million Cambodians and foreigners killed by this regime.
It was an extremely somber morning listening to the history of the Khmer Rouge and the terror they instilled on Cambodians. It is still extremely hard to put into words, the feeling I felt wandering this sight of nearly 9,000 humans.
This dark moment in Cambodia’s history still haunts them today. It was only 40 years ago that many were in fear of their life. Throughout the country, landmines are still being located and people are still dying from them. My thoughts are that any traveler, who plans to spend time in and around Cambodia, should learn about this block of time in their history and should try to make a trip to Phnom Penh to visit Choeung Ek.
Off On Another Adventure
After the morning at the killing field, I met back up with my two guys friends and together, we ventured further south via bus to the city of Kampot. Stay tuned as my Cambodian Adventure continues…
***7 Months Later I realized I barely took ANY photos during my time here. oops***
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