Cheoung Ek Genocidal Museum – Pnhom Penh travel log

Should you pass by Pnhom Penh on your way to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) you must not pass on the chance to visit this museum.The location is an easy 15 to 20 min ride in a tuktuk in an isolated part of the town.

Entrance fee is $2/person.

In the middle of the sprawling land lies a stupa for the dead. We gave a small amount of donation and the person in charge gave us incense to offer to the dead.

I was dragging my feet to see the burial grounds. It was spine tingling and creepy at the same time. We were out of words.

And we were horrified by the fact that there is a certain tree where babies/kids are bashed up against with until they die.

It was truly an experience to treasure. Seeing how these people suffered and died in the hands of their fellow Cambodians makes me and the rest of us lucky.

On towards the fun part now. We went to visit the other museums around Pnhom Penh before heading back to Saigon again.

Ican’t smile anymore coz it’s so freaking hot.

One last stopover is the Russian Market to do what else? shopping!!

This market sells cheap souveinir shirts – 5 pcs for $ 5. And the quality is so good that i bought too many. There are many surplus abercrombie, old navy, lacoste, ralph lauren shirts for so much less the price in a retail store. But beware of fakes. The surplus are all original for export but they cut off the tag. Who cares? they’re still super cheap.

We also bought tons of north face and kipling bags (10 for me, 10 for erick, and 10 for jojo)

We don’t know where or when we will be needing the loot but we just bought anyway. The North Face bags cost us around $ 5 – $ 8 each . Although it’s not original but it can pass.

After shopping, we decided to eat heavy lunch before going back to Saigon. We ate inside the market and ordered food fit for a platoon which cost us a mere $10!!

Khmer food is nothing to rave about. The dishes are simple but tasty. But i so love their waffle with fresh coconut sandwiched inside it. Very yummy and cheap.

These are the faces of happy stuffed people.

Well, our journey in Phnom Penh ends here. This is the bus station where we will board our bus and endure a 6 hour ride going back to Saigon. While waiting for our bus, their office offers us free usage of the internet.

In Saigon, we will fly to Singapore to visit Universal Studios! Can’t wait…

Phnom Penh finally!!!

After 6 hours on the road we finally arrived in Phnom Penh City Cambodia. One thing that i’ve noticed instantly is the luxury cars plying its streets. Compared to Saigon where cars are scarce (except for the taxis) here in PP you will see so many Lexus, BMW and the likes. Considering this is a third world country.

We are intending to stay overnight in PP and soon as we checked into our guesthouse we asked our guide (cum tuktuk driver) to bring us to S-21 Tuol Sleung Museum.

Before anything else, this is the room we got at Koffee Korner guesthouse Phnom Penh Cambodia. The owner is a Malaysian. He gave the triple sharing room for $ 18/night. Room is quite big and with a balcony overlooking Russian Market. We were satisfied with the room but the toilet is so small but cannot complain with the rate we got.

Now on to Tuol Sleng Museum (Genocide Museum). . . I will not elaborate on how i felt that day but surely my heart is filled with grief and sadness. On the walls of the building there are reminders posted on the wall that smiling and laughing is not allowed to show respect for the victims.No need for reminders.

The tour left us astounded, flabbergasted, dumbfounded, and speechless. The interior of the buildings are somewhat creepy and i can feel the hairs at my nape stand on end. The air was damp and cold inside the cells or was it my imagination? All i can offer is a prayer for the restless souls of the victims .

On a brighter note, we went to Phnom Penh’s newly renovated Central Market to see what souveinirs we can bring home.

See the yellow big domed structure? That’s the Central Market of Phnom Penh. You may buy anything under the sun in this market. There is a wet section where they sell seafood , pork, beef, vegetables, insects . The dry section sells fake designer bags (lots of them), beauty products such as face creams , hair colorant, soap,shampoo etc. The Cambodians are very keen on beautifying themselves so there is one floor full of beauty products !

I was able to buy face cream for $5 for my mom and she swears by it! Too bad, wasn’t able to hoard LOL!

Jewelries such as gold, silver, titanium etc are plentiful in this market. Just haggle , haggle, haggle.

All kinds of preserved fruits.

After a day of walking and sightseeing the boys wouldn’t pass up on sampling the local beer. They actually had to try 2 local beer brand! And we heard that pizza in Phnom Penh is something to die for.
We found out that it is not ( you will not die after eating it. hahahaha)

Angkor Beer from Cambodia.

Beer Lao from Laos.

We ordered the best pizza HAPPY HERB PIZZA RESTAURANT can offer to match the beer. Sorry but i forgot its flavor. Just ask them. This restaurant is located overlooking the Tonle Sap River. Just ask your tuktuk driver to bring you there.

TIP 1: It is best to hire a tuktuk driver for the whole day. It would cost you $ 15 for whole day tour. Just agree on to the rate before you start the tour.

TIP 2: Do not bother to exchange your usd. Almost all establishments will accept your usd.

TIP 3: Don’t forget to haggle .

TIP 4: Wear very comfortable clothes for it can be very hot in this country.

TIP 5: The locals do not understand even the simplest of english language so pls be patient with them.

We will be visiting the museums and the Cheoung EK Genocidal Center tomorrow. Come and follow us.

Crossing the border from Vietnam to Cambodia

5am is too early for us but we’ve no choice coz our bus going to Pnhom Penh Cambodia will be picking us up at 6am. Never mind, we can continue our sleep with the 6 hours travel time we have.

Bus tickets cost us $ 12/person/way Saigon to Pnhom Penh and back Saigon. Total $ 24/person 2way. I originally wanted to book Mekong Express bus but our hotel receptionist sold us Kumho bus company. Maybe he has more commission for Kumho than Mekong express but what the heck. All buses plying the route from Saigon and Pnhom Penh is just same same. They’re all comfortable with reclining seats and toilet inside the bus.

One thing funny though, everytime the conductors announces something , like we have to go down for immigration or stopover, he always talk in cambodian language which leaves every passenger dumbfounded. Hahahaha how in the hell can we follow what he says?

Finally, after 4hrs or travel , we arrived at the Vietnam border of Moc Bai .

The Moc Bai (Vietnam) to Bavet (Cambodia) is the longest established border crossing which is mainly used as bus route between HCMC and Pnhom Penh.

The bus parked in front of Moc Bai immigration office and us passengers had to go down for checkpoint and for our passport exit stamp.

In this picture, the bus is now leaving the Moc Bai border to go to the Bavet border.

Upon entering the Cambodian Border (Bavet) you will see a big sign.

And this is how the Cambodian Immigration office looks like.

And the road just after exiting the Cambodian border is a haven for casino lovers.

There is a stopover for lunch at the Cambodian border but if you’re not that hungry don’t bother eating there at all . Food is crap and overpriced. Tip:Better yet bring something to snack on before boarding your bus going to Pnhom Penh. Bottled water is served free of charge inside the bus.

One hour before getting to Pnhom Penh City, the bus will have to cross a river by barge.

I was taking this picture while i was inside the bus. You may get off the bus during this 10 minute ride but you will be hounded by beggars and street vendors.

Do tell me what this is.

Walking along Dong Khoi st Saigon , we sighted this unique thing.

It’s like a UFO just came and attached itself to a building. Btw, the white building is Duxton Hotel Saigon.

Can you tell what this is?

Day 01 in Saigon continues on . . . City tour

It’s amazing how you can do and see so much in one day in Saigon. We’ve tried eating pho bo and banh mi on the streets of Saigon, drank Saigon beer in Crazy Buffalo (one of the hottest hangout in Pham Ngu Lao), toured the Cu Chi Tunnel, and now tour the city sights in under 3 hours.

When our bus arrived in the city (after Cu Chi Tunnel tour), we asked our guide if we could be dropped off at the War Remnants Museum – 28 Vo Van Tan st. We arrived at around 1230pm and it was still closed so we have enough time to eat lunch at Quan An Ngon – a popular dining joint for the tourists and locals alike. As it was just around the corner, we decided to just walk and explore a little. Not knowing it would be a good 15 to 20 minute walk from the museum.

Quan An Ngon new address: 160 Pasteur street,near Reunification Palace.

Experience Vietnamese streetfood at its best. Upon seating, waiters will give you a menu in vietnamese but there is a description of the food in english (don’t worry) but we had a hard time choosing from the menu so we just went straight to the stalls and pointed to something we like.

The ladies are always busy busy preparing and working on the food. Just be patient with them if they do not answer you back when you ask about the food they are cooking. For one, they do not understand english very well and secondly, they’re busy cooking your food! So ask no questions just point and begone to your table.

So here’s our food.

Noticed that they always have greens as side dish to any dish? And i simply love their fish sauce – nuoc mam. Flavored with lime juice, chilies, garlic, sugar.

Full to the brim, we’re ready again for some serious wlaking around the city. Our fist stop is War remnants Museum at 28 Vo Van Tan st.Entrance fee : 15,000VND

Notre Dame Cathedral – north of Le Duan st. – no entrance fee.

Across the Notre Dame is the Central Post Office – no entrance fee

And just a 5minute walk from the cathedral is the Reunification Palace – 135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia st Entrance Fee 15,000VND

That’s just about it. Our last stop for the afternoon is to go to Ben Thanh Market for shopping. It turned out that we hated Ben Thanh Market. We hated all the haggling . It’s very stressful. I didn’t even bother to take some pictures.

Tip: Don’t even bother to go to Ben Thanh for your shopping. Their products are way overpriced. The salesladies are very annoying. It’s very hot inside. better shop elsewhere than this horrible place.

But. . . we loved the Ben Thanh Night Market streetfood. And here are the proofs.

This sumptuous dinner comprising of 8 dishes cost us 350,000VND or roughly
$ 17 in total or a little less than $ 6 per person .

And this meal made us sleepy. We have a long day ahead of us for tomorrow we will be crossing the border between Vietnam and Cambodia . We’re expecting a 5-6 hour trip from Saigon to Pnhom Penh.

Wait! the boys wants to have a nightcap of a few bottles of beer. So before retiring, off we go to Crazy Buffalo.

Jojo seems to like Saigon Beer.

Erick being friendly to our vietnamese waitress.

And i want to go to bed. Very very tired with all the walking we did the whole day.

So, good night for now, we will see you tomorrow when we board our bus bound for Cambodia.

Cu Chi Tunnel Tour

While waiting for the bus to leave for Cu Chi Tunnel. . .

Tip: Bring extra shirt in case you decide to try crawling inside the tunnel. Bring enough bottled water for it can be very hot in the forest. The tour fee is anywhere between $ 5 – $ 7 per person depending on how much your hotel charges you. It does not include the entrance fee of 80,000VND ($4) which you have to pay .

And so our tour begins with a documentary film showing on the history of Cu Chi Tunnels. . .

Followed by a demonstration by a vietnamese on how small the openings of the tunnels are.

Jojo (one in green shirt) looking on and saying he wants to volunteer to enter the opening and guess what the tour guide answered him ? hahahaha.

Erick on the other hand, so happy to try . Look at him beaming with joy!

Fish Trap or shall i say foot trap. This is one of the improvised traps that vietcongs made for their enemies.

And while the cat is away the mouse will play. Vietcongs R&R when enemies are not on sight they would build makeshift hammock to catch some fresh air.

Bombs on display.

AK 47 anyone? Try your hand with these babies for 250,000VND ($ 12) for 10 bullets.

And of course, the highlight of the tour . . . Navigate your way out of these tunnels just like the vietcongs used to do.

Prepare to crawl, get down on your knees and hands, get mud all over your shirt, sweat like there’s no tomorrow. These tunnels are no pace for the claustrophobics. There are not enough lighting inside and not enough oxygen for you to breath.

All in all, we find the tour enjoyable and truly informative. And what a better way to end this tour than a photo op beside Uncle Ho.

Day 01 Saigon

As soon as we stepped inside the Tan Son Nhat International Airport we can almost smell the aroma of freshly made pho bo. Number one agenda for this trip is to eat as much pho as we can. And we intend to do it in the streets just like Anthony Bourdain.

But first, we have to look for a place to sleep and in the wee hours of the morning it shouldn’t be a problem. As i’ve read from other blogs, Saigon never sleeps.

In the arrival hall, we didn’t have a problem looking for a taxi the problem lies in the rate they are trying to offer us. Normal rate from airport to backpacker’s area is 90,000VND ($5) but taxi drivers are trying to con us by giving us double the rate. We ended up agreeing to 120,000 VND since its 100am in the morning and we’ve no energy to argue anymore.

Tip: Look for a Mai Linh or Vina Sun taxi because for one, they always flag down their metre and two they’re honest.

We instructed the taxi driver to head towards Pham Ngu Lao st. specifically Beautiful Saigon hotel but unfortunately it was fully booked. We walked down Bui Vien st and chanced upon an unassuming hotel. Saigon Sports hotel had a very small reception area but the ones greeted us offered a smile that took all our wearies away.

The room they gave us was worth $ 22/rm/night with breakfast. And i can say it was truly worth it. It has a small terrace overlooking the street, ref, tv with cable and fairly sized bathroom with bathtub! But we’re a little disappointed with their lack of imagination in serving our breakfast. Egg and toast and vietnamese coffee for every single day. We couldn’t care less because our favorite Bahn mi can be ordered from the street beside our hotel for 10,000VND ($0.50) apiece.

Hours after our arrival , we got readied for our Cu Chi Tunnel Tour . And while waiting for our tour guide we had a chance to take pictures of some locals.

and their streets . . . in which i know has been documented a million times before.

But it’s just so amazing to witness how the vietnamese can balance their sacks of rice, groceries, big containers, and even a matress! in such a puny 2 wheeled transportation.

Ooops! Our tour guide now instructing us to follow him . I guess we have to leave for the CuChi Tunnel tour. Can’t wait .

If you wanna see Cu Chi Tunnel, follow us.