Cambodia in October: Kampong Som / Sihanoukville

Finally I arrived the southern beach.  Cambodian blue sea is clean and quiet.  There were not so many tourists yet but the place is getting famous every year.  This can be an alternative choice for those who want to relax at the tropical beach in Southeast Asia.

The kids kept jumping at the pier, swimming back to the beach, and running back to jump again and again.  They asked me to take photos each round too!

Cambodia in October: Heading to the south on Highway No.4

I rode in a car going south to Kampong Som or Sihanoukville.  Not so long after riding out of the city along Highway no.4, I saw such a damped accident.  In the middle of crowd lied two bodies and scrap parts of motorcycle behind a ten-wheeler truck.  Traffic in Cambodia is very terrible.  Many motorcycles buzz around without fear.  Away from suburbs of Phnom Penh, we passed  through toll gates and after that all I saw were beautiful paddy fields and palm trees with mountains background.

"Tob" means room and "Tuek" means water in Khmer so the toilet is called "tob tuek".  In Cambodia, the official currency is Cambodian riel but actually US dollars are used universally even in the supermarket.  There are many ATM s in the major tourist areas which dispense US$.  If you pay something in dollar, you will get riel back for the change with a fix rate of 1$ = 4000 riels.

Cambodia in October: Phnom Penh riverfront at night

After leaving bags at La Parranda Hotel, I took a ride on a local tuk-tuk to the riverfront.  Along the Tonle sap river is a long park with palm trees.  Cambodians usually come and relax around here in the evening to enjoy the atmosphere.  I took this picture from the terrace of FCC Phnom Penh.  A colonial style bar and restaurant was once a gathering place of foreign correspondents during war time.  Rooms and free WiFi are also available here!