Second visit to Phnom Penh

Two weeks ago we spent some more days in Phnom Penh to visit a few places that we missed in the first visit.

One was the views from the top of a shopping mall over the city. There used to be a restaurant here, but it’s closed now. However, it’s still possible to enjoy the views.

Very close to the shopping mall is the central market, where you can buy almost everything you can imagine, from clothes, food, jewelery to kitchenware, toys or cell phones.

Another place worth visit is the temple of Wat Phnom. Entry fee is $1 but you will witness the Buddhism feeling inside.

Phnom Penh is a big city where there is always something new and amazing to see and where interacting with local is both easy and enjoyable.

City tour Saigon

During the our days Ho Chi Minh we spend most of the time inside the ITE travel fair, but we could enjoyed a city tour on Saturday, as well as some free time after the busy meetings in the evenings.

We could wander a little bit through the colourfull streets in Saigon. As you can see in the picture, there are motorbikes everywhere! Saigon is said to be the city with the bigger amount of motorbikes in the world! However, it is important to be aware of the fact that there are some thiefs driving this motorbikes, take care of your properties!

One of the highlights of the trip was, no doubt, the dinner we shared with our contact in HCMC. He invited us to a really nice meal and chatted a bit about all kind of things!

As everyone should do when visiting Saigon, we went to see the Cu Chi tunnels. The history behind is cruel and sad, but worth knowing. It is also very interesting and you will have a deeper insight on Vietnam's history.

Another must in Vietnam is trying the national dish "pho", a yummy noodle soup served with different vegetables and meats. Loved it with a cold tea.

Saigon is a modern city where you can find almost everything, from electronics to fashion.

To finish our visit, we went to the War Museum. You will lose track of your life over here. To me, it was one of the most impressive places I have ever been.

And of course, like everywhere else in Asia, do not forget to try some street food and buy a conic hat!

Phnom Penh still keeps its charm

Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia and is home to about 1.5 million people. It was once considered the most charming city of Indochina, and it is still a lovely city where museums, historical buildings and beautiful temples have their own space.

The capital of Cambodia is located in the confluence of three rives: the Bassac, the Tonle Sap and the Mekong, which you can see in the picture above.

Sorroundings of the Royal Palance. It is not advisable to take close pictures of buddhist monks. Always ask for permission when taking photos. Most of the times they will be more than happier to help you get your dream picture.

A visit to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda is included in all our trips in which we pass through Phnom Penh.

The temples and buildings in the Royal Palace's compounds are really well mantained and especially beautiful.

The Silver Pagoda was given the name because of its floor made up of thousand silver tiles. Photographs can't be taken inside.

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, also known as S21 worths a visit. You will be able to see first hand the cruelty of the PolPot regime. I will admit it is a tough, sad visit but it is important to know the history behind Cambodia to understand people's feelings.

Battambang

Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia. Cut by Sangke River through the town centre, is located on a fertile plain that provides much of the rice production of the country.

Merry Travel visits Battambang in some of the tours and we can always craft your own trip or include add-ons.

Suspension bridge near Battambang

The countryside

Phnom Sampeou mountain, where you can see some temples, artifacts from the Pol Pot regime, the killing caves and enjoy incredible views from the top.

Daily bats migration from Phnom Sampeo (at around 17:30-18:00)

Ponleu Phare Selpak Circus. Beautiful show and beautiful organisation and mission behind. Both website and circus shows worth a visit. Ticket: $8 per show. Check timetable before going.

Battambang's night markt, just yummy street food!

The city's best known attraction is the bamboo train. Ride is $10/pax if you go alone or $5/pax for 2 or more people. Allow 1 hour.

Adventures in Mondulkiri

Mondulkiri is a beautiful province located on the East of Cambodia and very different to the rest of the country.

While most of the landscape around the Kingdom of Wonder is made of rice fields, Mondulkiri is a mountainous region with lush jungle, impressive wildlife and hilltribes where the progress hasn't arrived yet.

In our last trip to Mondulkiri, we could enjoy a visit to a traditional Phnong village

The Phnong hilltribe keeps living as they did in the ancient times.

We met a 90something years old weaving a new beautiful scarf. It takes a whole week to have it ready to wear!

Water buffalos and oxes are used among the Phnong hilltribe.

Elephants and tigers are some of the animals you can find on the wild.

There are many waterfalls in the sorroundings of the capital, Sen Monorum, like Boo Sra. Worths a visit!

In Mondulkiri there are also some coffee plantation. Don't forget to try a local iced coffee with milk.

We also met some buddhist monks. They loved taking pictures and asked us to take some with them.

Merry Travel organises trips to Mondulkiri that include hilltribe visits, waterfalls, elephant trekking, hiking in the jungle, visits to coffee plantation and sea forest... Let us know your interests, dates, lenght of stay and any detail you consider important and we will craft your own dream trip to Mondulkiri.

Contact us: sales@merrytravelasia.com

Stung Treng, Kratie and Mekong Dolphins

Two weeks ago Merry Travel received a group from Spain. They first traveled around Laos and our team met them in the border with Cambodia.

Hace dos semanas Merry Travel recibió un grupo desde España. Estuvieron viajando primero por Laos y nuestro equipo lo recibió en la frontera con Camboya.

Before meeting the group we jumped in a local bus, such an experience! The bus passed through breath taking away landscapes full rice fields, rubber trees, rivers and bridges, children playing, water buffaloes, markets… We arrived at Stung Treng in the evening. It was already dark and it was raining cats and dogs so just went for dinner and went to sleep straight away.

Antes de encontrarnos con el grupo, nos montamos en un autobús local, ¡menuda experiencia! El bus pasó por lugares que quitaban el respiración: campos de arroz, árboles de caucho, ríos y puentes, niños jugando, búfalos de agua, mercados… Llegamos a Stung Treng a la noche y ya era tarde (y llovía a mares) así que simplemente fuimos a cenar y después directamente a dormir.

Next morning, I woke up earlier than normal (5am) to see the sunrise over the Mekong River. Not tourists at all in Stung Treng at that time, just locals setting everything up in the market. After a short, peaceful walk, I went back to the hotel to sleep a little bit more. At 9 we took the bus again to meet our travelers in the border.

A la mañana siguiente, me levanté más temprano de lo normal (a las 5) para ver la salida del sol sobre el río Mekong. No había ningún turista a esa hora, tan solo locales preparando todo en el mercado. Después de un paseo corto pero tranquilo, volví al hotel a dormir un poco más. A las 9 cogimos de nuevo el bus para ir a buscar a nuestros viajeros a la frontera.

Market in Stung Treng. Mercado en Stung Treng.

After chatting a bit with them and finish all the visa stuff, we jumped in the bus again and went down up to Kratie. It was a long journey, but the landscape again was awesome.

Después de hablar un poquito con ellos y finalizar todos los trámites del visado, volvimos a montarnos de nuevo en el bus y bajamos hasta Kratie. Fue un viaje largo, pero el paisaje una vez más fue impresionante.

The next day some people of the group joined as to visit the Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River. It was a really nice trip: we could spot many of them jumping and playing around our boat, we saw fishermen, and we also stopped in a local market to take some pictures.

Al día siguiente algunas personas del grupo y nuestro equipo fuimos a ver a los delfines de Irrawaddy en el Mekong. Fue un viaje muy agradable: pudimos ver muchos delfines saltando y jugando cerca de nuestra barca, pescadores en faena y además paramos en el camino para sacar fotos en un mercado local.

Fisherman. Pescador.

Local market near the Mekong. Mercado local cerca del Mekong.

Our boat in the Mekong. Nuestro barquito en el Mekong.

An Irrawaddy dolphin. Un delfín Irrawaddy.

After the mini cruise we went back to the hotel to pick all the travelers up and headed Siem Reap. During the journey we stopped to see the rubber trees and to have lunch in a local restaurant. Yummy!

Tras el paseo en barco volvimos al hotel para coger al resto de los viajeros y pusimos rumbo a Siem Reap. Durante el viaje paramos para ver los árboles de caucho y para comer en un restaurante local. ¡Qué rico todo!

NEXT TRIP: Battambang!

Floating villages in Tonle Sap / Pueblos flotantes en Tonle Sap

Last weekend, the team at Merry Travel Asia enjoyed a really special cruise in Tonle Sap Lake, visiting some floating villages along the way. We were able to spot villagers in their daily life: cooking, fishing, buying, selling, sleeping... It was awesome to see how these communities manage to live on the water.

El pasado fin de semana, el equipo de Merry Travel Asia disfrutó de un crucero muy especial en el lago Tonle Sap, visitando a su vez algunos pueblos flotantes. Pudimos observar a la gente local realizando actividades del día a día: cocinando, pescando, comprando, vendiendo, durmiendo... Fue increíble ver como estas comunidades se apañan para vivir en el agua.

The first village we visited was Chong Kneas, also the closest to Siem Reap town. Due to its proximity it's also the most touristy, but still keeps its magic. 

El primer pueblo flotante que visitamos fue Chong Kneas, el más próximo a Siem Reap. Dada su cercanía también es el más turístico, aunque mantiene su magia.

After Chong Kneas we started a very nice boat ride in the body of the lake. There were some kids playing around, as well as some families in their boats.

Después de Chong Kneas empezamos un agradable paseo por el lago. Había algunos niños jugando, así como algunas familias en sus barcos.

The next village was Prek Toal, very well known for its bird sanctuary. However, it was not the best season to spot the birds. Here, we visited the NGO Osmose. This organization works along with the villagers to develop a sustainable tourism destination. There were, for example, some women crafting a carpet. It takes two weeks to make one!

El siguiente pueblo fue Prek Toak, famoso por su santuario de aves. Sin embargo, no era la mejor época para observar las aves. Aquí visitamos la ONG Osmose. Esta organización trabaja en conjunto con la gente local para desarrollar un destino turístico sostenible. Había, por ejemplo, algunas mujeres confeccionando una alfombra. ¡Lleva dos semanas terminar una!

 Prek Toal was quite an amazing experience as it's still an untouch corner in Tonle Sap. We just saw a couple of tourist. It is a very charming place that most tourists in Cambodia never experience.

Prek Toak fue una experiencia impresionante ya que es todavía un rincón desconocido en Tonle Sap. Nosotros solo vimos un par de turistas. Es un lugar encantador que la mayoría de turistas en Camboya no llegan a ver nunca.

We could even see some pagodas on the way!

Incluso pudimos ver algunas pagodas en el camino!

Our boat was simple but traditional and comfortable. 

Nuestro barco era simple pero tradicional y confortable.

And as icing on the cake, we tasted a yummy homemade lunch with rice, stuffed frogs, chicken and some cool beverages and beer, as we enjoyed the panoramic landscape from the floating restaurant.

Y como guinda en el pastel, disfrutamos de una comida casera con arroz, ranas rellenas, pollo y algunas bebidas fresquitas y cerveza, mientras disfrutábamos de las vistas panorámicas desde el restaurante flotante.