Panoramic view from Olympic Stadium

After six hours of journey via the south-eastern countryside of Cambodia,Malinh Bus finally reached its main office at Sihanouk Boulevard just beside the south bay section of the Olympic Stadium.

 I presume it must be the stadium parking lot and not a bus terminal.
 As usual once you step out of the bus,the tuk-tuks drivers will be pestering you with their kind services.

 This is the first time I'm getting off beside the stadium where normally I will get a bus that stops at Psar Thmey central bus terminal.

 I overheard a tuk-tuk driver offering a ride for USD10 to a lady backpacker.I can't imagine such exorbitant rate. There was an afternoon shower and since it was just 1:25 pm as seen on the clock in Malinh's office,I sat in the office and reorganised myself looking at the handy map.

If you wished to go back to Ho Chi Minh City,this is the only place to book Malinh's bus ticket. The staff of Malinh Bus company were very courteous and will be very happy to show you the directions.

The Cambodia Map of Phnom Penh City which I got from the Airport lobby given free of charge.

The icon resembling the cross is the Psar Thmey central market.To walk there might take thirty minutes,paying a motordup if you're alone should be USD1.00 whereas a tuk-tuk USD2 should be reasonable.

By the way,airport to town by motordup is USD2 while tuk-tuk is USD5.

 Straight ahead from Malinh Bus office exit left say twenty minutes walk is the Independence Monument and the riverside. The hexagonal green patch north east of Olympic Stadium is the Psar Orussey market.





 The main entrance to the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh.

It is on a very high ground off Sihanouville Boulevard just near the corner shop housing the Cambodian Public Bank Ltd.

Along this stretch of road are all the motorcycle shops.Most of the shopfronts are five-storey building with balconies on the upper floors.

I had the opportunity to walk up one of the building with a guesthouse on the third floor to check it out.It only has five fan rooms with bathroom attached costing USD5 but all are unavailable. The owner is a young sweet lady who owned the premises with her family living on the lower floor.

One thing bad about the place is that there are no lightings along the dark stairways.

Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium is very huge but unfortunately it was in a state of neglect.

The canteen is just like an ordinary night market pushcart stalls. In the evening,the stadium was filled with local joggers running round the tracks while on the upper platform near the seating areas are the aerobic dancers young and old partying to the tune of the folk songs blaring from their portable sound system.

 It will a very relaxing evening to spend your time here especially with the cool breeze and the panoramic view of the city.





 The Olympic Games is one of the world's most foremost sport competitions, a major international events featuring the summer and winter olympic.

They are held every four years and the next big one will be held in London,Great Britain.The olympic torch will be leaving Vancouver,Canada the previous games village very soon.

The Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh sounds glamorous but none of the Olympic Games has been held here ever since it was built in 1964. During the Khmer Rouge era, the stadium was used as the site of executions by the Khmer Rouge of officials in the administration of Lon Nol,a self-appointed premier after coup-d'etat against Prince Norodum Sihanouk.

The seats around the terraces are cement flooring and can hold a capacity of 50,000 to 80,000 spectators.

Cambodian footballers are the main benefacto of this huge stadium as they have a better edge in terms of training facilities and a bigger home crowd advantage if there's any football competition.

Cambodian football clubs joined FIFA's ranks in 1953. Their national team nickname is The Royal Khmer Angkor Warriors.

 In October 2007, Cambodia was eliminated from the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, at the first hurdle, losing 1–0 to Turkmenistan at home in Phnom Penh and 4–1 away in Ashgabat.

So now let's see whether they do qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds.

Wat Preah Puth Mean Bon in the horizon. Hotels in that area around Street 336 are Salita Hotel,Hang Neak Hotel,Phkar Chhouk Tep Monireth,Star Wood Inn,Nokorsamreth Hotel,Lucky Star Hotel(casino with nightclub inside) and Phkar Chhouk Tep.
 Rates from USD8 onwards.
  

Cambodian currency is called the Riel which includes both bank notes and coins.

The Riel banknotes that are currently in circulation include the following denominations; 50,100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and the 100,000 notes.

The Riel coins that are currently in circulation are the 50, 100, 200, and the 500.

The currency is only tradeable within the country and not good for exchange at money changers outside the country.The United States Dollar is widely used here.

Being a former colony of France until 1953,its monetary policy was governed by the French and at that time a monetary union was created which is equivalent to a central bank of Indochina(a region containing Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos).

The current rate per USD is 4058 Cambodian Riels (KHR)
 The 5,000 Riel(equivalent to USD1.20) front face has picture of naga head serpent and His MajestyNorodom Sihanouk.

At the currency's back is the antique bridge of "Kampong Kdei" in Siem Reap Province which is 264km from Phnom Penh City.

The bridge was erected by King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century having a length of 80m and 14m wide and has twenty-one axes.

 In fact this is the longest ancient bridge among the many others in the province.

The watermark on the banknote is Four faces of Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom.




The 2,000 KHR (Khmer Riel) shows the 5th gopura of Preah Vihear Temple which is the Soul of the Khmer people.

The temple is perched on the edge of a giant cliff, 625 meters above sea level in northern part of Preah Vihear Province.

Of late this area has been a disputed hotspot but the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague awarded the temple to Cambodia.

On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The other side of the 2,000 Riel banknote shows a woman harvesting rice in the shadow of Angkor Wat.

Roughly equivalent to half a U.S. dollar.

A Bayon sculpture is the watermark.

The 1,000 Cambodian Riel shows sculpture art of 10th century Banteay Srei temple printed in silver ink. 

Banteay Srei temple located around Angkor is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Siva.

The popular sculpture of naga serpent and Victory Gate at Angkor Thom is also on the background.

The back of the 1,000 KHR shows the Port of Sihanoukville (Kampong Saom) which is the main trade point of Cambodia.

The town of Sihanoukville was the place of the last official battle of the United States army in the Vietnam War.

The watermark is a geometrical repeated pattern of flower-like ornaments.

  500 KHR also has sculpture of naga head serpent and picture of Angkor Wat temple.













 On the back of the 500-note is the Spien Kizuna bridge (Cambodia-Japan Friendship) across Mekong River in Kampong Cham town.

This first bridge over the Mekong River was opened in year 2001.

The bridge which is 75km north-east of the capital Phnom Penh is an important trade route within the Mekong region.

Spien in Khmer means bridge while Kizuna in English means "tie" The watermark show some Khmer text.

Rong Kluea-Thai border checkpoint.

After the Cambodian immigration clearance which was very swift without much hassle including my French companion,we walked through the short distance Thai-Cambodian Friendship Bridge .

The scenerio at the Poipet Thai border is bustling with the two sides actively doing business with one another.
The economically active populace living along the border with Thailand are heavily dependent on cross-border trades such as garments making,construction,transport and services.
This is a win-win situation as can reduce the impact of poverty and generate employment to the local youths.




The checkpoint is opened daily from 7:00am till 8:00pm to facilitate the movement of people and goods.
Local people are able to travel to Thai border town of Rong Kluea market by purchasing a border pass for Baht10.
There is no way heavy vehicles can pass through not even any sign of motorcyclist.
Only transporters using a wooden carriage carrying heavy loads of goods through and fro.

 Cambodia's economic liberalisation only happens in the late 1980s and with the ending of state monopoly,the country joined ASEAN Free Trade Area(AFTA).




Border crossing is a very interesting adventure as one can see the best of both world.
 The Thai border checkpoint office is not a big one and while my French partner took to the queue while I went to hunt for the embarkation card.

It was a weekend and just after the Cambodian New Year,there were massive crowds as most people were returning to work the next day.

 The Thai immigration officer is very particular that you fill in the address(road name) of your stay in Thailand.

As we emerged from the Thai immigration checkpoint,we need to go through another lane where the police will make a luggage check.

The tuk-tuk drivers were all on hand nearby to greet travelers.We failed to meet our other Cambodian group nor do we recognised the "bus company represenative" at the Poipet side.
There were two white Cathay Tour Bus at the border waiting to receive their passengers.
We showed them our ticket but were rejected.

Now we feel dejected and my French partner thought of staying overnight here but I suggested that we should enquire around.

As we walked out the only exit road beside the bank,we came into this main road of Rong Kluea market.

 Talad Rong Kluea is located in Aranyaprathet, Sa Kaeo Province.
Talad in Thai means market.As you come from the Thai Immigration checkpoint,that corner green colour building is the Kasikorn Bank Limited.
 This market is a heaven to source for secondhand brand name clothes,sneakers,bags and accessories.
Most of their goods were sourced from South Korea.
The quality were superb and cheap costing between USD2-USD10.
Most of the clothing items came via Cambodia because import tax is lower there.
This is a distribution center for Thais who come from all the major towns and cities to buy goods to sell in their shops and market stalls.






  We found this booth and enquire by showing our bus ticket to the lady inside.
She was very good enough to tell us wait for the next van here.
This inferred that the "bus company representative" in Poipet is not trusted as by right he should have told us to come to this booth and switch to a minivan and not making pretentious call for a taxi arrangement.

We waited till 6:00pm when the scheduled van arrived for our 4hours journey to Bangkok.

 From this encounter,I felt that travellers might as well take a local express bus to the border and just walk into Rong Kleua market,take a Thai express bus here or at Aranyaprathet(Baht48) back to Bangkok(6 hours).
Songtheaw(not tuk-tuk) to Aranyaprathet from market(Baht20). All the formalities are very straight forward and fast if your documents are in order.

The local bus will stop enroute to Bangkok at Chachoengsao and Prachinburi.
 Rongkleau to Bangkok Minivan (14 seater)

Time:06:30, 08:30, 10:30, 12:30, 14:30, 16:30. Fare:between Baht440 to Baht500.

From Survanbhumi Airport direct bus to Rongkleau:

Bus Fare:Baht187 Distance:239km Duration:3hrs 50minutes.

Avail:07:15am & 09:30am

Depart Rongkleau:12:30hrs & 14:30hrs.
Check it up phone: 02-1344099.Call Center:1490

The mini van,a Toyota Commander made its way out of Rong Kluea via this exit to Aranyaprathet.

 The market is sub-divided into zones such as Rong Kluea, Golden Gate, Dech Thai, Thesaban II, Thesaban III and Benjawan.

It looks quite similar to Chatuchak Market in Bangkok layout style.
A short drive from here there was a police checkpoint where in most cases passengers have to get down for further checks.Maybe they need to confirm that there were no illegal immigrants sneaking into Thailand.
One minivan next to us has a full capacity packed like sardine of close to 20 young Cambodian workers or maybe student.

Sunset in the horizon.It was a Sunday and the traffic along this highway was very light.Expect to get some slight delay and bottleneck near Chachoengsao when the Thais return to the city after the Songkran festival.
Expected time of arrival in Bangkok will be 10:30pm and will end near the Victory Monument.

Guesthouse stay while in Phnom Penh

It was a Sunday and the streets of Phnom Penh were very quiet.
The weather in the late afternoon was a scorching hot in this April month.

Having arrived at Sorya Bus Terminal near the main central market-Psar Thmey,making a decision where to stay for the night can be an uphill task in view that there was no early booking of particular guesthouse.

Applying the motto S.T.O.P.(Search,Think,Organise,Plan) was a great motivating factor to manage situation like this.

Moving along the main road artery of Monivong Street and turning right into Monivong Boulevard was this Malaysian owned Public Bank. There were some guesthouses near the central market but not for rent maybe they have 'special' long stay clients.





 Monivong Boulevard was also a straight stretch of road and on turning left into Street 53 which joins Oknha Ing Bun Hoaw was the  Wat Phnom.

This Mountain Pagoda was built during the 14th century. The interior has a central altar complex with a large bronze seated Buddha surrounded by other statues.
The surrounding complex has a nice greenery landscape with a grand clock.

 Wat Phnom is a very popular place with lots of local people visiting.They came here to pray for good luck and success in school exams or business affairs.
Sometimes people pray in the hope that they can strike big in forecast numbers.

 Further down the road,was a small market right (Psar Chass-old market) where most of the vendors were already setting up stalls.
 The streets of Phnom Penh has confusing road numbers.One moment at Preah An Duong Road.(Street 110) and suddenly the side road was Street 15.

 At the far end of the road is the Canadia Garden and that is Confederatin De La Russie.
 Preah Ang Duong Hospital just beside the Canadia Garden ,serve as the Tertiary Eye Center, Ophthalmology University Hospital for Teaching of Graduate and Post graduate and Central PBL Coordination.
 Office of the National Program for Eye Health. This is a government supported hospital.

This short stretch is called National Highway 5 and traffic on my side here goes to Wat Phnom while across traffic were moving towards Norodum Boulevard.

 In fact on this side of Street 110 (Preah Ang Duong),there were three guesthouses.

The red-pinkish block is King guesthouse and  next door is Malis Guesthouse.
 They are all in a good location,the best place to stay and The River nearby with a 5 minutes walk.

 Along the riverside road will lead to The Royal Palace (Silver Pagoda), National Museum,Mok Vaeng Park and night market.

King Guesthouse #149&151, St.Preah Ang Duong, Sangkat Wat Phnom, Khan Daun, Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel:(855)23 21 56 90 Mobile:(855)11 93 00 11.,(855)99 93 00 11 email:kingguesthouse@hotmail.com.

 A large double bed fan room with attached bathroom,no hot shower.Room rates at USD7.00.

The staff are very friendly and they helped me book bus ticket to Bangkok with free pick up.




 Malis Guesthouse and Restaurant.
In fact most guest houses have the word 'restaurant' attached.They also serve good Khmer food.

Malis Guesthouse and Restaurant also have one at 19, St. 93, Group 80, Sangkat Sras Chork, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh. which is an upper end category.
 E-mail：bonybona_016@hotmail.com Tel: 099318821

Khmer food menu:

1) Banh Chao

Large thin crepe stuffed with bean sprouts and ground chicken, served with mint, Asian basil, lettuce, cucumber and fish sauce.

2)TreyBom Poung Fried fish fillets with lettuce, sliced carrot and tomato in a sweet and sour sauce.

Luck Ro Hotel across the street a few blocks from King Guesthouse near street corner of 110 and 17 of Singkat Phsar Chass. Mobile: +855 (0) 23 722290Email: luckyro@luckyro-hotel.com

Along Tonle Sap riverfront.

Wat Ounolom Pagoda as seen beside the main road.
A beautiful Buddhist architecture.

The Cambodian–Vietnamese War, also known as the Third Indochina War, began on December 25, 1978 when Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) and this temple was again partially destroyed.

On January 7, 1979,Phnom Penh falls in the hand of the Vietnamese.

In 1997, most of the remaining Khmer Rouge fighters accepted a government amnesty and laid down their arms, putting an end to nearly 3 decades of war.

The Veal Preah Man park before Silver Pagoda.
 A Royal Ploughing Ceremony ground.

The free ceremony, which always takes place in May (the month of the Khmer calendar that marks the start of the rainy season), dates back to the Sukhothai period.

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony is where rituals were used to predict future outcomes.
 Farmers wait every year for the predictions at the Royal Ploughing Ceremony (which they observe with strong belief).

Royal oxen adorned in beautiful, colored silks are led to ceremonial grounds while a master of ceremonies (King Meakh) performs the ceremony by circling around a field three times while being followed by a woman (Queen Me Hour) who plants seeds.

The oxen are then released from their harnesses and led to seven golden trays each containing different items (usually rice, sesame seeds, grass, water, wine, corn, and beans).
The amount of trays the oxen eat from, and which ones they eat from determine the predictions (ex: if the oxen sniffed the tray of water and turned away from the tray of wine the prediction would be that farmers would not suffer any serious floods).

UNESCO headquarters Phnom Penh at Samdech Sothearos Blvd .

Cambodia joined UNESCO on 3 July 1951 but due to political problem in 1975,it was closed down.

The year 1989 was an important year for UNESCO in Cambodia.
His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varman, King of Cambodia (then His Royal Highness Prince Norodom Sihanouk) requested the Organisation to co-ordinate all international assistance for Angkor.
 In May 1989, UNESCO was able to complete an initial assessment of the safeguarding needs of Angkor.

The Silver Pagoda.

The pagoda is floored with over 5329 silver tiles each weighing 1 kilo. It is famous for its 90 kg solid gold Buddha made in 1907 and an emerald Buddha said to be made of baccarant crystal.

Sharing the pagoda are many other interesting artifacts and jewels and was one of the few temples to remain intact during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Open daily from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance fee US$ 3 per person. Camera fee US$2. Video fee US$ 5. Photography is allowed in the outside exhibition areas only.

 Please remember that exposed knees and shoulders are considered disrespectful.

The Silver Pagoda was constructed in 1892 by King Norodom to house the ashes of the royal family.

The pagoda was looted during the Khmer Rouge years, but the Cambodian government has made an effort to restore the pagoda to its original splendor.

The temple's official name is Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot but is commonly referred to as Wat Preah Keo in Khmer.
Also known as Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

 A family park called Mok Vaeng just opposite the Silver Pagoda with Preah Sisowath Boulevard near the river front.
The evening breeze here was wonderful possibly wind from the Gulf of Thailand and the whole area was filled with family groups having an outing.
It was a very hot day,imagine the sun leaving behind a hot trail in the evening skies.

They called it Hun Sen Park off Boulevard Samdech Sothearos.
Come evening you'll see the locals crowding around the fountain area which is nearly the size of two badminton courts watching the syncronised dancing of the water jets performing various patterns.









In the middle of Hun Sen Park is the Cambodian-Vietnam Friendship Monument ,near the corner of Sihanouk Boulevard.

Built in 1970,this memorial statue features heroic (Anh Hung) Vietnamese and Cambodian soldiers.
This is a very good coordination of "I help you,you help me".

Nowadays this area has been termed a "Democracy Square" due to various local demonstrations held here.

There were some police personnels guarding the monument and it will be out of bound after 7:00pm.

A few years back there were some untoward incidence so now they were more cautious.

There's a women with a baby statue standing beside the joint socialist soldiers.
She represents the common civilian people welcoming the communist regime that took power after the Cambodian-Vietnamese War, which overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime.







  A motorcycle carriage owned by King Hostel.
Quite spacious and can fit in possibly 6 people of European size.
This can't be called a tuk-tuk which normally are three wheelers.

The many headed serpent, carved in stone at the side road bridge divider.

 Naga ('snake') A semi-divine being and a serpent-god of the waters who lives in the underworld beneath the earth or in the water.

It is easily identified by its scaly body and multiple heads spread in the shape of a fan.
In Khmer art, the naga always has an uneven number of heads, usually seven or nine.
The nagas are ruled by Vasuki and are the enemy of the garuda.
The naga controls the rains and the prosperity of the region where they reside.
 Nagas often marry humans in mythology and the Khmers claim their descent from the union of a foreigner and the daughter of the naga king.
The Khmer's obsession with the naga is reflected in its omnipresence at the temples of Angkor.

 A typical rendering of this mythical being is a balustrade formed by the body of the serpent that flanks the long causeways leading to the monuments and can be seen at Preah Khan, Bakong, Angkor Wat, and in front of the gates at Angkor Thorn.

One Hindu epics says that Nandi is a white bull and the vehicle of Shiva while Rahu  is a demon who rides through the sky in a silver chariot .

According to legend, Rahu causes eclipses by seizing and swallowing the sun and the moon. The sun and moon eventually reappear from inside Rahu's throat, thus ending the eclipse, but he then resumes the task. Li Rahu has no body, just a head, arms and hands.
Even today, the Cambodians make tremendous noise before an eclipse to keep Rahu from consuming the moon.

Wat Ounalom Monastery,Phnom Penh

Wat Ounalom Buddhist Monastery is 10 minutes walk from my guesthouse at Street 110 after walking past Sisowath Quay area where there were many bars,restaurants and hotels.

Along the way the splendid view of the Tonle Sap River is very eye catching coupled with the evening sunset.
The temple(wat) is very large and a must see attraction while in Phnom Penh.

 During the tenure of the Khmer Rouge,the whole temple was nearly destroyed but now it has a newly refurbished facelift.



Before 1974,the Pagoda Monastery has nearly 500 Buddhist monks and the Buddhist Institute with a collection of nearly 30,000 titles but all has been destroyed by rouge people.

 Sisowath Quay Road ends at a junction where it continues along the riverside as Preah Sisowath Boulevard while another road inward is Somdech Sothearos Boulevard where Wat Ounalom Monastery is located.

 Somdech Sothearos is a very renowned Cambodian monk.He died in year 2007 and he's referred to as "the Gandhi of Cambodia" and also one of the four living Buddhas of the world.

Crowds of people sometimes burst into tears of emotion at the sight of him.
People would often spontaneously rise to their feet, or fall to their knees, when he appeared in public.
All other activities would come to a standstill, and all eyes would be riveted on him.






Cambodian Buddhist also celebrated the Buddhist New Year on this 14th April, wheres the Thais celebrated the Songkran Festival.

Chol Chnam Thmey or Cambodian New Year is one of the most celebrated of all festivities.
The New Year symbolizes a new start for the people by renewing their lives and leaving back the bad habits from the past year.

The people hope for a better year and ask for blessings and prosperity to God Buddha.
The Cambodian New Year lasts for three days and each day has a significant tradition that the people religiously follow.

The first day is known as the Maha Songkran. People welcome the first day of the year by buying new clothes and dressing up with using the finest and colorful linen.

The second day after the New Year is the Wanabat. This day is centered to the spirit of charity and gift giving.

The third day, which is the last day of the Cambodian New Year, is the Tngay Leang Saka which involves the cleansing and decorating of their religious figures by washing them with scented water and flower petals.

This Chariot of the God is beside the main entrance.A pair of horse but one with a broken front leg.

The Temple Mountain,an architectural representation of  Mount Meru, the home of the gods in Hindu mythology.

The style was influenced by Indian temple architecture.
Enclosures represented the mountain chains surrounding Mount Meru, while a moat represented the ocean.

The temple itself took shape as a pyramid of several levels, and the home of the gods was represented by the elevated sanctuary at the center of the temple.

The first great Temple Mountain was the Bakong, a five-level pyramid of sandstone constructed by rulers of the Khmer empire at Angkor near modern Siem Reap.







Inside the main hall there were a display of various olden days classic Khmer musical instruments including this gong.

From the main temple's hall,visitors can have a good view of the Tonle Sap Lake.

Wat Ounalom was built in 1443 to house a hair of the Buddha.

 It is the headquarters of Buddhism in Cambodia.

 Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh is located at what the French called Les Quatre Bras (the Four Arms), where two arms of the Mekong meet the Bassac and Tonle Sap tributaries.
The city’s original name, Chaktomuk, means Four Rivers. After Angkor fell to the Siamese in the 15th century, Cambodian King Ponhea Yat founded a new capital at Chaktomuk.

This city was soon abandoned as well, and from the mid –17th to mid-19th centuries the Cambodian capital shited to Phnom Penh in 1866.

The city is largely a French colonial era, and Phnom Penh quickly became an important commercial centre. The city was and still  the only major port on the Mekong above the delta; it is navigable by ships of 7,000 tons.From Phnom Penh, smaller vessels can navigate upriver to Siem Reap or Kratie.




The temple's compound contains two residences and a three-floor building which functions as a temple.
On the ground floor is a marble Buddha from Burma-smashed by the Khmer Rouge,but pieced together again in 1979.

 On the second floor is a brass statue of the patriarch of Cambodian Buddhism,Somdech Huot Tat,who was murdered by the Khmer Rouge.
The statue made in 1971 was flung into the river but retrieved in 1979.
On the third floor the walls depict scenes from Jataka (Thai: ชาดก chadok) Tales,that is literature native to India concerning the previous births (jati) of the Buddha.

A Hindu God figurine near the apex of temple's roof.Flying god I presume since she has wings.