The Royal Palace had now opened at 2pm after its midday siesta but there was a large crowd by the ticket office. Entrance was $6.25, quite steep and higher than all other local admissions. The large main building was the throne room and no pictures were allowed. This was decorated in ornate european style and was a vast hall leading to a throne at the end. I was able to get some pics from a distance, from the entrance, and thru the windows. Unlike Bangkok they le...

This morning tried to lie in for a bit as I now had and extra day in Phnom Penh as the HCMC buses were sold out for saturday. Exchange rates are easy as $1 USD = 4000 or 1000 = .25 cents. I thought you could pay for everything in USD and but some vendors prefer local currency. Bought a small water bottle for 1000 (.25 cents) and headed to the river. This cafes here have a colonial north african feel along the french riverfront. This street will bypass town and ta...

This morning there was a big fight in the hotel. A chinese man that did not speak good english was yelling and screaming in chinese then in english 'more money, always more money' to the hotel owners. This was a $6 hotel. I dont understand why people stay at these really cheap places because they dont want to pay more money then ***** and complain about everything on travel review sites like tripadvisor after. He claimed he would go on every chinese website and w...

After about another km of cycling you come to the south gate of ankor thom. Ankor Wat is the most famous but the Ankor park has numerous Ankors scattered over a vast area, hence the 3 or 5 day passes. Ankor Thom is a much larger complex with an outer moat long dried up and four compass point gates. The gate is shaped like a giant cone pointing upwards. The base of the cone is a smaller cone for people or cars to pass thru. At the top of a cone is a carved face A ...

My hostel booking was with king ankor villa which had quite nice pictures but my tuk tuk driver took me to home sweet home which was a bit downmarket. I was confused as he had my name at the airport so they must have my reservation. I later found out the owner has three guesthouses but uses the nicer king ankor villa photos for bookings and reservations then moves people around. I asked about booking my ticket to Phnom Penh which I was told was $6. Now they claim...