A night out at Psar Orussey area

The lobby of Spring Guesthouse has on display a list of bus fares and travel time with free pickup.

Destinations and price:
Sihanoukville--Mekong Express--USD7---7:45, 14;30 hrs

Sihanoukville--Sorya Transport--USD6--7:00.8:00,9:00,11:00,12:45 ,13:00 hrs

Angkor Express and Paramount buses both cost USD6

Siem Reap--Mekong Express--USD11--7:30,8:30,12:30,14:00 hrs.

Via Angkor Express is USD8 while Paramount is USD10.

Mailinh charges USD9 To Stung Treng if you're en route to Laos,

Sorya Bus Transport charges USD12 with only one departure at 7:15 am.

To Rattanakiri---USD13 by Sorya Transport,only one departure at 7:00am.

 Rattanakiri is a province in the north east of Cambodia bordering Laos and Vietnam.

Kep or Kampot by Sorya Bus--USD6.

Southeast of Cambodia,a gateway to Bokor National Park.

Kratie by Sorya Transport--USD8.

Northeastern remote town. Battambang by Sorya Transport--USD6.

The second largest city of Cambodia and shortest route to Thailand's border town of Aranyaprathet. Poipet--Sorya Bus--USD9.Border town with many casinos.Just walk across after immigration will be Thailand.

Direct Bangkok:--Sorya Bus--USD17.Only one departure at 6:30am.Cheaper than airport tax by USD8.

Please note that the local buses are not allowed to cross the border so check out what will be the connection after the border to avoid being mislead by touts.

Buses to Ho Chi Minh City varies according to the type of buses used and the extra services provided.

 Boat to Chau Doc,a border town in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam,USD12 for slow boat while USD20 will be speed boat.

To Siem Reap by boat cost USD35.

I will be leaving Phnom Penh for Koh Kong but the fare prices was not on displayed.The guesthouse reception contacted Sorya Bus Transport to book a seat for me at USD8 with a free pickup and leaving before 6:45 am.




 In the late evening after converting USD5 into 20,000 riels,I made my way to the Psar Orussey market area which was less than 10 minutes walk.

 The whole area was filled with food stalls and the restaurants just across the Cathay Guesthouse is the busiest with hardly any seats available.

 Most of the local people also spend their dinner time eating out.

One thing I dislike about the streets of Phnom Penh is that they are all dimly lit and quite dark.




Psar Orussey market has already closed by late evening and the only activities are the food vendors lining all along the streets.

The neon lights at the Psar Orussey market adds to the liveliness of the surroundings,otherwise it will be very dark.

It has been drizzling nearly day and night and the roads were easily filled with pool of filthy waters.

After having a bowl of soup noodles that cost 6,000 riels,I went back to the guesthouse to spend my time surfing the Internet which was available at the guesthouse lobby for free.









A Chinese restaurant at Street 163 near the Olympic Stadium called The Emperors of China offering dim sum buffet for USD6.

 Dim Sum is a Cantonese term for snacks where fully cooked and ready to serve dishes would be pushed around the restaurant on steamed carts by servers. Chinese tea will normally be served together with the dim sum.

Guesthouses near Olympic Stadium

Fellow backpackers while in Phnom Penh need not worry about finding a suitable lodging.
It's all about the room price that suits your budget.

Crossing the first traffic light straight ahead after the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh along Sihanouk Boulevard are side road bearing Street 143,141,125,115,113,111,107 and 105 that stretches till Psar Orussey market.

It takes less than ten minutes to walk from one end till the other. The streets are not that wide and one thing notable about the guesthouses buildings here are the colourful frontage that distinguish its exclusiveness.

Most of the cheaper rooms are easily being snapped up so it is advisable to make an online prebooking to avoid disappointment.

Otherwise you'll end up having to spend extra money in using the services of the tuk-tuk drivers to transport you around.
 

Street 143 area(Street European Union)Boeung Ken Kang:

1) Tha La Ly Guesthouse No:254,Street 143,Boeng Keng Kang 3, Chamcamon, Room Rates:USD12-USD17

2) Salita Hotel...rates USD27 onwards.

 3) Angkor Model Guesthouse------No:28,St 143


 Street 141 area:

1) Sunday Guesthouse and Restaurant No:97,St 141 Tel:+855 17929949

2) City Star Guesthouse. No. 101-103, St. 141, 12253, Phnom Penh Tel 023 986 571 Mobile:011 404 686 ,017 515 601

3) Sampov Meas Thmey Guesthouse-----No:91,St 141

4)Starwood Guesthouse:-----No:74,St 141. Sangkat Vielvong Khan 7 Makara ,Tel : (+885-23) 6666 495 Standard Single Room US$ 16.00, Double Room US$ 18.00 ,Twin Room US$ 18.00 (Free Pick Up Service)

5) Chantrea Guesthouse-----No. 48, St. 141,Phnom Penh Tel mobile: 012 944 024 , 016 224 229

6)Fairyland Guesthouse---No:99,St 141 Tel:+855-23 214 510 Email:fairylandhotel@yahoo.com  

Street 125 area(Sangkat Veal Vong).

1) Kim Guest House -----No. 31Eo, 125, Phnom Penh ,Tel 023 213 067

2)Narin Guesthouse under reconstruction.You only see pillars and debris on this parcel of land.

 3) Tat Guesthouse----No 52E1, Street 125, Phnom Penh 12253, fan only double room for $8/night.

 4) E Hour International School-----10C, Street 125,12258 Phnom PenhT : (23) 224-278

  5) Green Guesthouse,53 Street 125, Phnom Penh. T: (023) 216 952, (015) 666 655 53, St.125, Sangkat Veal Vong, Khan 7 Makara.Room Rates:USD12-USD15 (opposite is the Sorphea Maternity Hospital).

6) Relax Guesthouse---No:64,St 125 Mobile Phone 012 851 095 ,011 715 595 ,011 734 339 ,012 514 148

7) Tat Guesthouse--No:-52E1,St 125

8) Tattoo Guesthouse--No:62A,St 125  

Street 115

1) Lucky Guesthouse No. 30Eo, St. 115, 12258, Phnom Penh Tel 023 218 910 Mobile Phone 016 537 777 Rates:USD6 - USD9

 2) Good Luck Guesthouse-----No:74,St 115

3) Lux Orussey Guesthouse-----No:22ABC,St 115

4) Thai Chong Guesthouse-----No:8AB,St 115  
 


Street 113 area:

1) Vimeantip Guesthouse-----No:27ABC,St 113









 Street 107 area Photo of one residential office in the area

1) Sok Hour Guesthouse.No. 260AB, St. 107, 12258, Phnom Penh Mobile Phone 012 979 848

2) Hello Guesthouse-----No:242BEoSt 107,corner St 198 Sok Hour Guesthouse,a beautiful family homestay house

Street 111 area (Sangkat Boeng Prolet Khan)  

1) Spring Guesthouse No:34, Street 111 Sangkat BoengProlet Khan 7Makara
Single/Double Room with Fan : 5.00USD - Single/Double Room with Fan and Hot shower : 8.00USD
- Single/Double Room with Air-con and Hot shower :12.00USD
- Twin Room with Fan : 5.00USD - Twin Room with fan and Hot shower : 8.00USD
 - Twin Room with Air-con and Hot shower :12.00USD
All room rate charge per room and Include the VAT (Government Tax)

Spring Guest house has 47 rooms with either fans or air-con, hot / cold Shower , cable TV, and complementary bottle of water .

This room which I prebook online is huge with queen size bed,USD8 per night fan with hot water.

It is very clean and the inhouse security is very good.

Location Information :
Spring Guest house is located near the Germany Embassy on the 111 street about 500meter from Psar Orussey Market.

You need to cross a road divider to the other side of the same street number to reach the Psar Orussey Market.

 3) Burly Guesthouse-----No:70,St 111.

4) Khun Leng Guesthouse-----No:22-24,Street 232,corner street 111

 5) Seng Sokhom Guesthouse-----No:11E1,St 111

 6) Skypark Guesthouse-----No:78,St 111

7) Heng Long Guesthouse---No:11,St 111  

Street 107 area:

 1) Hong Phann Guesthouse-----No:12BEo St 107

2) Khemra Guesthouse-----No:119,E1 St 107

3) Capitol 3 Guesthouse-----No:207Eo,St 107

4) Capitol Guesthouse and Restaurant-----No:14AEo,Okhna Tep Pan (Street 182) corner Street 107

5) Monorom Inn-----No:197E1,St 107

6) Nice Guesthouse-----No:209Eo,St 107

7) Prek Mean Lngech Mean Guesthouse-----No:244,St 107  

Street 105 area(Okhna Nou Khan)Kbal Damrey Village: 

  1) Chin Tong Guesthouse and Restaurant-----No:36,St 105  

Chhung Cheng Chinese School,Phnom Penh.
No. 19, Street 232 corner St. 143, 12253, Phnom Penh Tel-(855)023 210 753

The most important Chinese school in Cambodia is the Duan Hoa Chinese School in Phnom Penh, subdivided into two different sectors with more than 7,000 enrolled students; the second, the Chhung Cheng Chinese School ( 公gōng 立 lì 崇chóng 正 zhēng 学 xué 校 xiào ) , is fairly popular among Chinese-Khmer families, and numbers about 2,000 students.

The government, finally, expects to add Chinese to the obligatory curriculum of its universities.

A street view across the other side of Street 145 near the busy Psar Orussey.

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.