phnom penh on day 2

we dreadfully thought that the air-conditioning in our room was not fully working since it took a long time before the temperature drop spread the entire room. it was probably the intense heat outside, that challenged the air-conditioning's noble functionality. so noble indeed that we comfortably fell in a deep slumber under the thin sheets, while the air-conditioning tried its hardest until it felt like springtime.

although it became a slow drag in the morning and the coolness tempted us to snooze for just a teeny bit, we had no choice but to start our day bright and early, because we only had a few more hours left in phnom penh. we would then go north to siem reap after lunch.

Early Morn along Sisowath Quay

laid back phnom penh and our appetites

most of the time, we stopped by to eat at any place we fancied at the moment. one of these instances was when we tried phnom penh's local ice cream. after eva and i did a bit of routine exercise with our dancing feet at wat bottom park, the three of us (with my brother who's not keen on dancing) were lured by a local ice cream shop right across the park. the shop was called songtrah ice cream and it was filled with locals, having their cold fix after a hot day.

Songtrah Ice cream

then as we made our way back to the area near europe guesthouse, passing along the sisowath quay, we again made another stop for yogurt though it wasn't a local shop but an international one. the distance in between the local ice cream and this yogurt was just a half kilometer away. phnom penh was so laid back that our appetites went sky high!

searing hot phnom penh on day 1

i had been forewarned enough that april is incredibly hot in cambodia. i had read the fair warning in the articles about cambodia online but impudently, i shrugged them off. in other words, the weather was the least of my concern.

Our Tuktuk Ride

his name was "nan". he greeted us at the airport's arrival area, carrying a bond paper with my name on it and after a swift and awkward handshake, he led us outside the airport's perimeter, passing by plush cars that were sun-dried in the parking lot. he turned his gaze to us from time to time in case eva and i mistakenly opened a car's door, eager for the air-conditioning comfort. my thoughts went haywire because all he could muster were an amiable smile and few hand gestures to direct us to the right way. he might not be able to carry on a long conversation in english but we did get along just fine.