10/16: En route to Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital

Up early to have a tuk tuk take us to the bus station 6kms out of town to then take the pretty swank Giant Ibis bus for the 6 plus hour ride to Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital.  Once on board, there were croissants, bottles of water, videos, a bathroom, wifi and a guide pointing out the sights on the way - all for only $13 each.  I was thrilled the bus had wifi as I was able to spend much needed time updating the blog aka memoir now.  

Quite an experience though being a passenger on the Greyhound size and quality of bus on the generally bad roads in Cambodia.  The driver kept hitting his fog like horn literally every minute or two to caution bike riders, motorcyclists, etc to get out of the way - sure glad we weren't up front to see his passing in front of oncoming traffic with only inches to spare time after time!

Again interested seeing how much could be loaded in or one any one vehicle!

The farther and farther we got from Battambang, our first stop in Cambodia, the far more prosperous the homes became - just a mammoth difference.

As you can see not all the roads on the way to the capital were paved.  

It was exciting coming into PP across the Tonle Sap River and seeing high rises again for the first time since weeks earlier in Bangkok.  We stayed at the Silver River Hotel in the heart of the capital - it even had bellboys and an elevator - we were moving up in the world indeed!

Had first heard of the Foreign Correspondents Club or FCC from our friends Angela and Terry Joyce in Vancouver when they visited Phnom Penh (PP) several years ago.  I had wanted to stop there for a gin and tonic ever since reading all about the FCC on Trip Advisor.  We were very fortunate getting one of the coveted tables overlooking the bustling main street below while we enjoyed a drink but had to move to another table for dinner as ours had been reserved.  We promised ourselves then we would make reservations so we could have dinner upstairs in the bar overlooking the river our last night in PP. 

The FCC was a  famous watering hole for expats and journalists during Cambodia's civil war.

View from the FCC to the street and Tonle Sap River below from our seats.  We later walked up and down the waterfront looking at the many national flags, people playing kickball, fishing etc.  

Views from our table.

After enjoying our dinner and drinks at the FCC, we walked over to the Royal Palace, just minutes from our hotel.  Fun walking up and down the wide boulevard at night when it was closed off to all vehicles.