Day 44 of The Big Adventure.  
We set our alarm for 7am so that we could get up early and get out and about exploring the city before the temperature got too high. 

We lay around and had breakfast and planned our route – we were planning to visit the major sights but because of Khmer New Year we weren’t sure what would be open. 

  As we set off towards the Royal Palace we could see just how much quieter the roads were and how many shops were closed all because of Khmer New Year. The roads were piled high with rubbish as apparently rubbish collection had come to a halt too….

  

We’ve done a bit of research into it and it looks like it’s the equivalent of our Christmas. They have a Khmer new year fairy who knows if the kids have been naughty or nice. They give each other gifts. They leave out gift offerings for the New Year Fairy. 

 They all leave the cities to go and spend time with their families out in the country. 

We even saw some monks leading some kind of ceremony. 

  A lot of shops and restaurants are closed or have reduced hours. 

  

We set off towards the Royal Palace and when we got to the main gates we could see that there were people inside so we went to see how we’d go about getting tickets.  

 We walked up to the ticket office and the lady pointed to a sign saying no shorts and t shirts must cover shoulders. We were both wearing vest tops. But at least it was open so we vowed to come back later when we’d changed. 

So we carried on our walk to the Independence Monument.

  

  

  It was built in the 50s to commemorate Cambodia’s independence from France. It was a pretty grand monument… 

  
We looked at what else was recommended to see in Phnom Penh and headed to the Aeon Mall. It was a half an hour walk from the monument and we got to get a proper feel for what Phnom Penh is like. There was a whole block of flats which looked like it had had a fire but it was clear that people still lived inside. 

  
  
We finally reached the safety of the aircon of the mall and it soon became clear it was just another shopping mall. 

  It had enjoyably few western shops so it was interesting to see the local shops. 

I got some yummy pastries from the bakery and we decided to walk back to the room for a lie down. 

We walked back via the Sisowath Quay and down Sisowath Boulevard which was in great condition considering some of the other roads we’d seen around Phnom Penh. 

  
It was very hot by this point and we had to take a few stops in the shade to cool down.

We went via a travel agent on the way, and bought our bus tickets to Ho Chi Minh. We finally got back to our room and had a little lie down and I got to eat my yummy pastries (none for Lauren – she has put herself on a very strict diet). 

Lauren had a little FaceTime with her nannying family from Sydney, as it was Fi’s (the little girl she was looking after) birthday. It put Lauren in such a good mood to see her and she was clearly super excited to be going back. It was also so cute to see that Fi, being 2, still remembered who Lauren was and went all shy and quiet. 

After the little catch up, we donned our ‘polite’ clothes (our new wrap around trousers and t shirts with sleeves) and headed to the Royal Palace.  

 
We had a wander around the grounds and it looked like there was some special ceremony because of the New Year.

  
    

One of the highlights on the Royal Palace is the Silver Pagoda, which is misleadingly, not silver at all. 

  

 Or so you think. 

Until you step inside and see that under the carpet is made up of little silver plates. 

  
We had a little wander around and looked at all the artefacts. 

It was along the same lines as the Grand Palace in Bangkok and we’d seen a few other temples so it wasn’t quite as impressive as when we’d never seen them before. But the detailing and the grandness were still breathtaking. And when we thought about all the money and time and money that must have gone into constructing each of these buildings it was still amazing.

  
  
  
When we’d seen enough we headed for the exit and decided to cross another Phnom Penh must-do off the list – The Central Market. 

Another half an hour walk away. But thankfully the sun was low in the sky and it was much more pleasant to walk at this time. As we walked we saw a most unexpected sight…

  
Geese taking a bath in a puddle.
When we arrived it became clear to us that this was more of a locals market, which made an enjoyable change from the usual souvenirs and junk that are in the tourist markets. 

However, it also quickly became clear that none of the stuff there was of any use to us so after a quick rekkie (as Lauren would say) we decided to head home. 

As we were walking down streets we could see families have meals together and general festivities. 
The Cambodian people have been unbelievably friendly and 9 times out of 10, if you make eye contact with someone they will beam back a genuine smile. Some will even wave and say hello, and many have wished us a happy new year! All complete strangers, with no ulterior motive. It was so refreshing and it made walking around the streets such a pleasure. By the end of the day, I found myself smiling at people and I definitely liked the effect Cambodia was having on me. 
We went back to the hotel for another break and looked up where to go for dinner. Lauren found a place on Foursquare that was highly recommended and I’d seen it recommended in other places as well so we had a look at their mouth-watering menu and set our hearts on it. 

We set off knowing that it was only a 8 minute walk from our hotel, with our tummies grumbling. 

We got to where google maps was telling us where it was, but we couldn’t see it. Then we saw the sign over a closed up door with no lights on inside. Damn New Year. 

So we walked down towards the river to try to find somewhere else that took our fancy. 

We settled on a quaint little place that offered a mix of traditional Khmer dishes, Thai dishes and Western dishes. There were so many things that took my fancy so I told Lauren to order for both of us and we could share (it worked out pretty damn well last time). 

She ordered us some fried veggies in a curry paste sauce and a Caesar salad with chicken. 

They were both absolutely delicious and half the price of some of the other restaurants along the river front. 

We were both pretty full after that so we headed home (stopping at Panda Market for some smarties for me) and sat and watched a hilarious, but also quite concerning, documentary on the discovery channel called ‘Welcome to the United States of Paranoia’.

I think the title says it all…