Breakfast baguette
We were taking a midmorning bus to Phnom Penh today, so we were all up fairly early. Once we were up, we all packed our things in preparation, then headed out for breakfast. Julie was going to a Chinese place to eat, whereas Mat and I chose a random local café to eat from. We decided on a lovely baguette full of goodness, a hearty breakfast. After we had polished our baguettes off, we promptly returned to the hostel to await our bus to Phnom Penh.
Once the bus to Phnom Penh had arrived, we realised it was actually quite a nice bus. It was rather comfy, spacious, and quite cool. In this kind of heat, the air con had better be on point, otherwise you’re in for a horrible ride. Once we had departed from Kratié, there were only around 8 people on the bus, so it was nice and spacious. As usual, we had a few breaks along the way, but nothing special happened. I must say, I do enjoy the fresh pineapple that they cut up at these service stations. They cut a whole pineapple up into chunks or wonderful shapes, pop it in a bag, and away you go! A nice and fresh food that’ll stave off the scurvy.
Trying new foods
The last stop was where we took things up a notch. It was pretty unique in that there were loads of roasted insects and spiders were being sold. As a nature lover myself, I thought it was wicked seeing these different insects and spiders up close. Just as we headed back to the bus, the 3 of us plucked up the courage to try some locust, first of all. As it’d been roasted/grilled, it was just crispy, easy to eat, and seasoned, so not too bad. We all bought a spider each, these were quite chunky beasts. Once we were on the bus, we all dug into our snacks. The legs are light and crispy, similar to locust, but the spider’s body was a different story. Due to its thickness, you have to chew it a lot more, and once the seasoning has gone, you’re down to eating tarantula innards.
The drive in total is around 5 hours long, so not too bad. It wasn’t until the last leg of the trip that the bus filled up, mostly with locals. Not long after, we arrived in the capital city of Phnom Penh. It was just as busy and bonkers as any capital is. We found a hostel online, that was quite close by, so we decided to check it out. Our hostel was called Billabong Hostel; it was very close to the bus station, main road, and many restaurants and shops. The hostel was pretty nice, cheap and of a high standard. One of the best things is that the air con always maintains a good temperature, even in the 10-bed dorm rooms. There’s plenty of space, good breakfast area, and great facilities, plus large lockers. After dumping our stuff, we went out for some food.
A nice change
I definitely prefer the rural regions and smaller towns, but after spending a couple of weeks in quite areas, it was a refreshing change of pace to be in a large city. It was also good because I know it’s only going to be for a couple of days. Another good thing is that whatever you want, you can find it, whether that’s food or shops, and a wide variety at that.
We found a place on the river front, on a terrace overlooking the river and other side of the city. It took a few attempts, but they eventually came out with everyone’s food correctly, it’s the effort that counts eh? Julie also alerted us to a rat or two that were running around on the floor, a little disconcerting, but I cracked on. We went on a small stroll along the river front (we saw plenty of stands selling all manner of vermin and insects), as well as a long walk down the side of the royal palace. Our walk finished at our hostel, where we promptly turned in for the night!
