We were up and ready early as we were starting today with a tour. I had booked with The lost plate food tours to do a breakfast tour of Phnom Penh. Our tour guide was Vy and she was only 18 years old and so awesome. We got got picked up in a Tuk Tuk and taken around to some other places. We were joined by Randy from American and 2 of the Lost Plate tour guides from the Siem Reap team. It was a fun group.
Our first stop was at the neighborhood breakfast shop that has been operating for over 15 years. We got some coffee with condensed milk (I had to add a lot in) and Num Banh Chok- Cambodian Rice Noodle Soup. To his is a traditional Cambodian breakfast and was pretty delicious.
Vy then stopped at a small cart selling fried bread. The guides explained that these are a popular breakfast for high schoolers as they are quick to eat or snack on. In Phnom Penh they are called Nom Heng but in Siem reap they are called Nom Pong. They were amazing.
We then walked through the wet market which was an eye opening experience. We are so sheltered to how food is prepared in Australia and I don’t necessarily think it’s a good thing. We got to stop at a herb seller called Sister Mao who let us smell all the different herbs from Cambodia. She also showed us the curry paste that is made with them. We also got to try some palm fruit from here that was really interesting.
Next we stopped family-run shop that serves up a classic Khmer breakfast of freshly grilled pork & rice served with homemade pickles and a bowl of soup. This was my favourite it was delicious!
We stopped again at a place selling savoury tumeric pancakes made with rice milk and turmeric, which give them their vibrant yellow color. Then they’re stuffed with ground pork, bean sprouts, and dried shrimp the you wrap them by hand with lettuce. These crepes were not my favourite but they are based off an old Cambodian tale and tradition which I think is amazing.
Last stop was to a cafe called Piccolo cafe where he makes his award winning coffee only for the tour group. It’s coffee mixed with Sugarcane juice and was a bit much for me. Anthony loved it.
We went to the Russian market last and got to go for a walk around there. It was much nicer and calmer then other South East Asia markets I have been too.
We got dropped back at the hotel and started to walk to the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace of Cambodia is a complex of buildings which serves as the official royal residence of the King of Cambodia. Its full name in Khmer is the Preah Barom Reacheaveang Chaktomuk Serey Mongkol. The current King and Queen of Cambodia live in the palace. Cambodia is also one of very few countries that elects their King. The king is elected for life from among the members of the Norodom and Sisowath bloodline who are at least 30 years old by the Royal Council of the Throne which consists of several senior political and religious figures.
All of the buildings here the main one being the Throne room is built in Khmer architecture which is stunning. So different from all the other Asian countries we have been too. We walked around, checked out the shrines, buildings and the Silver Pagoda and then decided to go back to rest before our night tour.
Just before we move on there was this cat at the royal palace who was just causing trouble. He wanted pats then tried to climb up people and then he decided to go into the altars knock everything over and walk out with a look saying “That wasn’t me”
We got picked back up at 4.30 and taken to a boat down on the Tonle Sap for a night tour that would take us on the Meekong and the Tonle Sap for sunset. Interesting fact about the Tonle Sap in is that the Tonle Sap is the only river in the world that flows both ways seasonally, reversing direction twice a year. Which is crazy. The cruise was beautiful and the views stunning and before we knew it the sun was setting and we were relaxing with free drinks on the ship! We also met some lovely ladies from Denmark who we had gotten talking to on the Tuk Tuk ride on the way to the boat so we spent the last part of the cruise chatting to them.
We decided to go with our new friends for a walk and out to dinner which was lovely. It was such a nice night but we had to home as I was getting a headache. It was straight to bed for us.