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Guest » 7pm - Mar 13, 2011
A TripAdvisor TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Phnom Penh,...
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Category: Cambodia
Tags: Travel, chinese new year phnom penh, chinese new year in phnom, penh, phnom penh on chinese new, year, chinese new year phnom phen, chinese new year event phnom, three, days, maddness, chinese, phnom penh, cambodia, trip, slideshow, tripwow, tripadvisor, photography, vacati
A TripAdvisor TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Phnom Penh, Cambodia by TravelPod blogger Eoinmccarthy titled "Three Days of Maddness for Chinese New Year !!"Eoinmccarthy's travel blog entry:"I landed in Phnom Penh at about 11pm on the 15th of Feb and got a taxi into the city centre to the bunch of guest houses around the lake. The city looked like a complete dive - roads in bits, no traffic lights, shacks everywhere, people lying in the streets and I thought here we go again - back to the third world. First the taxi driver did not want to go down the narrow road to the hotel as it was very difficult to turn down there which was fair enough but there was no way I was getting out into the middle of that with all my gear at mid night just to save him some grief. After some encouragement he brought me down and I paid him the fare agreed initially. The first place had no room nor the second, third and fourth. Then I guy told me there was space in the place down an alley. Having no other options I took a chance that he was not going to rob me and followed him through some narrow alleys to a place called the Floating Island Hotel. The whole area stank. They had one windowless room with no AC or mozzie net on the ground floor, two feet above the slimly, smelly water line. I would not have boarded the dog in this pace at home but beggars can't be chooses and I bedded down for the night wondering how many lumps would be gone out of my by morning. As I was trying to get to sleep I was thinking back to other flea pits I have stayed in and there have been many but the time in NZ, Australia and Singapore has really spoiled me and this was coming back to reality with bang. Some how I managed to sleep the whole way through the night and woke up in reason shape without having proving a meal for to many mozzies and others. After breakfast on the balcony, I moved upstairs from my 2 dollar hole to a 5 dollar room with a window but the same aroma's! The most important thing to do was to apply for my Indian and Vietnamese visas before the weekend and the chaos of the Chinese New Year. I hired a bike and driver for the day and with my new found confidence, sped off into the madness of Phnom Penh traffic. This was my first experience of the legendary chaotic but effective Asian road rules! The traffic, mainly motorbike and a few big posh 4x4's, all just piles into a junction at the same time and they just weave there way through at a slow and most importantly, steady speed so everybody can anticipate everyone else moves. It works surprising well and the trick is to keep moving. We eventually got to the Indian Embassy only to find that it was a public holiday in India and I couldn't apply till Monday morning. I called by the Vietnamese Embassy to confirm what I had been told on the same day visa's but decided to hold on to my passport as the Indian one was more important. It was almost 11am and I decided to head out too the killing fields and S-21. I have a separate page for that. I got back to the hotel in time for sun set and resigned myself to at least another three days in Phnom Penh. The sun set was beautiful over the lake and two older Irish guys sat down at the table beside me. They were sound and we ended up having skinful and swapping stories of out travels. Hugh was in his fifties and was a thatcher by trade but had traveled for years when he was younger in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries in the Stan belt. It was in the time of the US backed Shah so there was no problems to travel and it was quiet popular as south east Asia was engulfed in the Vietnam and the spin off wars. He had great stories to tell and was great criac. On Saturday I had a very slow and painful start. By two o'clock I managed some lunch on the balcony over looking the lake was suffering my hangover in peace on a couch overlooking the lake. They were parties and music going on in the other guesthouse terraces as well but all seems quiet enough in ours and I was grateful. That was until Maggie and G, aka Gertrud came crashing up the stairs with a bunch of the staff scream - Down in One - Down in One!! Normally this would be great but I just was not able for it but the locals were ..."Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/eoinmccarthy/world_tour/1172568600/tpod.htmlPhotos from this trip:1. "Part of the Palace"2. "A house transport from Africa to Palace"3. "Independence Monument"4. "My Moto driver, Sin being passed out the elephant"5. "National Museum Building"6. "Palace buildings"7. "Sun Set over lake from Guesthouse"8. "Sun Set over lake from our place"9. "The other single decker beer garden beside us"10. "The river front"11. "The single decker beer gardens !!"See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00bb-6252-a72c?ytv4=1
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