Day 1

On Saturday we arrive in Phnom Penh airport and take a taxi to the Riverside Hotel on the Tonle Sap river. This is to be our meeting point for the tour. We left our stuff in the room and went for a look around town.

Visible from the hotel room was Wat Phnom, so we went there first.

A small hill crowned by an active wat (pagoda) marks the legendary founding place of the Phnom Penh. The hill is the site of constant activity, with a steady stream of the faithful trekking to the vihear, shrines and fortune tellers on top, and a constellation of vendors, visitors and motodups at the bottom. Elephant rides available. The legend of the founding of Wat Phnom is tied to the beginnings of Phnom Penh. Legend has it that in 1372 Lady Penh (Yea Penh) fished a floating Koki tree out of the river. Inside the tree were four Buddha statues. She built a hill (‘phnom’ means ‘hill’) and a small temple (wat) at what is now the site of what is now known as Wat Phnom. Later, the surrounding area became known after the hill (Phnom) and its creator (Penh), hence ‘Phnom Penh.’ The current temple was last rebuilt in 1926. The large stupa contains the remains of King Ponhea Yat (1405-1467) who moved the Khmer capital from Angkor to Phnom Penh in 1422. Look for the altar of Lady Penh between the large stupa and the vihear. She is said to be of particular help to women. Wat Phnom is the busiest pagoda in town the night of Chinese/Vietnamese New Year’s Eve.

We had lunch at ‘Frog and Parrot’, an English pub.

We went and had a look at the Palace, Sothearos between Streets 240 & 184 (pictures to follow).

Met up with rest of group the evening –

Judy from Canberra, Louise the Scot from Brisbane, Ute from Dusseldorf in Germany, Gary from England, Phil from England ( living in Maastricht, Holland).

As a group we had dinner at 'Friends' restaurant.

House 215 Street 13, Phnom Penh (50 meters north of the National Museum)

'This is a non-profit tapas restaurant run by former street kids in training.'

'Friends The Restaurant forms part of the training for the students in the cooking training. Students have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the hospitality business, serving the customers, taking orders, cooking and learning about hygiene in the workplace. Since opening, The Restaurant has succeeded in becoming wholly self-sufficient and all profits are reinvested into the Training Centre activities.'

You can visit their website -

http://www.streetfriends.org/index.html