D'Wau Restaurant, Phnom Penh

D'Wau Restaurant is on the top floor of New York Hotel. Just use Waze to find the hotel.

They've moved!

New address: 103A Street 63, Preah Trasak Paem Boulevard, Phnom Penh. 

No I don't care what the bunting says. It's on the TOP floor.

Taste - Delicious

Price - Included in tour package

Ambiance - Spacious and breezy with nice view of Phnom Penh.

Nice and friendly lady owner. She told us that her children are running business in Malaysia while she takes care of the restaurant in Phnom Penh. Not sure why I mentioned that but yeah. Drop by if you're in town.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Phnom Penh

MUST VISIT

Admission Fee: US$3

Operating Hours: 8 am - 5 pm

Tuol Sleng or S-21 was a school turned into prison while Khmer Rouge was in power. You may want to visit Tuol Sleng before visiting the Killing Field to get a better understanding of what happened during the time. Understand that Tuol Sleng is just one of many Khmer Rouge prisons and the 'Killing Field' in Phnom Penh is also one of the many more all over Cambodia. 

     Some people may not want to visit such a 'dark' place with violent past but personally, I think it is a good reminder for many of us who took peace in our home countries for granted. The tragedy in Tuol Sleng (and Cambodia) happened not too long ago and you can meet at least one of the survivors here in person.

Cell for high officers

Rules in Tuol Sleng

One of the torture method

The Khmer Rouge had excellent record keepers. They have photos of every prisoners so they can report to the 'secret' leader. Nobody knows who the leader was back then. Quite a confusing time.

     In The Dark Tourist: Sightseeing in the World's Most Unlikely Holiday Destination, Dom Joly claimed that the photographer of the prisoners is still alive and he even met him in person! Coincidentally, his driver of the day lost a family member to the brutality of Khmer Rouge. I don't know how he didn't at least punch the photographer. 

      You'll see a lot of photographs of the prisoners in Tuol Sleng (while they were alive and dead) and according to my tour guide, they all died except for those on a small white board.

Respect him. Still smiling despite facing a tough time.

Cell for normal people. Actual cell of one of the survivors.

Many died while being tortured in Tuol Sleng. The rest perished in the Killing Field(s).

   Alright. It's a very depressing place. Try to remember that this wasn't "a long time ago". It was in 1975. Malaya gained her independence and became Malaysia over 10 years earlier. If I can have my way, I'd want the bickering politicians to see this place and maybe get locked overnight in the cells.

We have so many good things to be thankful for but if we insist on fighting with each other over silly issues, it is not impossible that something similar might happen in our country.

Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda, Phnom Penh

The gate you'll probably first see would be the exit. Entrance is at the middle, so follow the crowd.

Admission Fee: 25,000 Riel

Operating Hours: 7.30 am - 11.00 am, 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm

View from the entrance

It's a big complex housing many buildings. The palace, in which the royal family still live in is behind the throne hall. It is of course, closed to public. But you can always try to peek :)

      Expect to spend about 2 hours here to fully appreciate all the exhibitions. We were rushed by our tour guide (so we'll get to visit Tuol Sleng) so I KNOW he skipped more than a couple exhibitions. Not his fault though. Poor planning of the itinerary. We should have left Siem Reap earlier.

Left: Pochani Pavilion
Right: Hor Samrith Phimean

Canchhaya Pavilion

Also knowns as Moonlight Pavilion. It's the place from where the king addresses the public or hold royal banquet.

Birds. As if they were trained.

Hor Samrith Phimean.
Go into this building!

Unfortunately, Napoleon III Pavilion was under renovation when I visited :(

Wat Preah Keo Morokat (Emerald Buddha Temple) or better knows as Silver Pagoda

I couldn't be bothered to open my shoes so I didn't go in.

Princess Kantha Bopha's stupa

Notice that the princess's stupa has doors? So she can come out and play :)

She died at the very young age of 4, so you know la kids kan.

Once you get out of the green gate, there are more things to see (traditional music show, mini museums, etc) and pray to. We had to skip all including the exhibition below :'(

Seriously, 2 hours. At least.

Green Palace Hotel, Phnom Penh

Green Palace Hotel is ideal for those looking for a nice accommodation at a fair rate. It is located in town with plenty of shops around it. If I'm not mistaken, there is a food stall right opposite the hotel, next to a hair salon. Looked quite popular with the locals for breakfast.

Booking - easy. You can book directly or via Booking.com/Agoda/Expedia/etc.

Rate - fair

Location - average. Need transportation to get to the tourist attractions.

Dining - buffet breakfast. Got pork but got egg station, fruits and plenty of pastries for muslims.

Service - average. Welcome drinks offered almost as soon as I took a seat. Took quite some time for check-in and check-out though. Room was *just* ready when we reached the door. One out of 4 rooms wasn't ready.

Overall 3 1/2 <3<3<3 of 5

Lobby

Spacious room with wooden furniture. Not a fan of the furniture and fixtures but I like the pretty white bathroom.

Deluxe single

woods

woods and plastic

more woods!

yay! Oh check out the temperature control!

i love pretty bathroom

Well-equipped

Green Palace Spa & Massage

LOVE the spa. Not sure if I was just lucky but it was easy to get a slot. We just returned from dinner and I went directly to the spa to book a massage. Mom and aunts were planning to get massages too, you see. So I wanted to make sure that I get the a slot at least an hour later (but not too late that I'll be too sleepy).

     Staff manning the spa were friendly and super accommodating. I cannot remember why but I asked for an odd time slot, like 9.15 pm? They said okay. Then I went to check the beauty salon as I wanted to wash my hair. Unfortunately the beauty salon closes earlier than the spa. 

Check out the rates! Cheap for a hotel, eh?

Green Palace Hotel is suitable for family and couple. You'll  also need transport to get around.

Ah-Man Green Restaurant, Phnom Penh

AH-MAN GREEN RESTAURANT

#129 Keo Chea (St. 184)

Sangkat Phsar Thmey III

K. Daun Penh, Phnom Penh

H/P : 012 33 66 30

       : 089 84 55 44

         : 097 99 77 584

Keo Chea is a long road and Ah-Man Green Restaurant is a little restaurant tucked among the shops and restaurants and hotels. Find the street barber on Keo Chea and the restaurant is opposite, slightly to the side. Pic above- barber on the right on the pic, in front of the white van. 

     I couldn't find the restaurant using Waze so if you want to eat here, remember my directions and save the phone numbers! You can also Google Map the address to see the street view and get a feel of the place to help your driver. Worked for me in Siem Reap :p 

Taste - Decent Malay food. Nice teh tarik (according to a family member)

Price - Included in tour package

Ambiance - Air-conditioned, not stuffy but I still came out with smell of food on my hair & clothes

Veggie looked fresh. Too bad I don't eat veggie :)