Arrived in Cambodia!!

I wonder what this country is really like.

• Arrived at Airport

Upon arriving at the airport, we went straight to immigration. It was super easy! We were just asked, "How long will you be here? What are you here for?" and CAP!! We were officially in Cambodia! We arrived at Phnom Penh Airport around 3:30 PM. However, we spent quite a long time waiting for our luggage—about an hour.

After that, we successfully made our way out and looked for a bus to the hotel. It was really easy—just search for the bus route on Google Maps. However, we didn’t have any Cambodian riel because it’s hard to get in Indonesia. We had also been informed that in Cambodia, you can make transactions using dollars, so we only brought US dollars with us.

And sure enough, when we got on the bus, the driver couldn’t accept dollars, but he still let us board. Eventually, many of the women on the bus noticed our confusion and helped us exchange money. It was such a heartwarming moment to be greeted so kindly by the locals—they were incredibly friendly!!

Although the airport wasn’t very far, it took about an hour to get to the hotel due to traffic. We finally arrived at a stop near the hotel at 5:30 PM, just before dawn prayer.

• Arrived at Hotel

We walked about 300 meters to reach the hotel. We just changed clothes and then headed out to find a place to eat for iftar.

After unpacking my suitcase and tidying up a bit, I was ready to head out again!

• Iftar

As soon as we stepped out, we heard the call to prayer! It was such a surprise to hear the adhan in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Since I had brought dates with me, we decided to eat them first across from the hotel, with a beautiful view of the river.

After breaking our fast with some dates and water, we headed to the night market, where there were plenty of food stalls. Sorry, friends—my face was probably wide open from all the excitement here! Haha.

There were so many food options here!!

Finally, we decided to eat here. To convert the prices to USD, you just need to divide by 4. For example, if something costs 10,000 riel, it’s roughly $2.50.

Here, I had fried kwetiaw because I wasn’t sure what to eat. The important thing was to fill my stomach for iftar. My friend ordered pho. It tasted good, nothing too special, but safe and satisfying. I’d rate it 7.5/10 for an Indonesian palate.

Around 8:00 PM, we returned to the hotel to rest and prepare for the next day’s activities in Phnom Penh.

Once we arrived at the hotel, of course, I didn’t go straight to sleep. I wanted to hang out at the hotel’s rooftop for a while.

After hanging out on the rooftop, I realized I hadn't bought anything for sahur yet, so I quickly went out to the convenience store next door to the hotel, which is open 24 hours! I ended up buying this!

• Hotel

In Cambodia, I stayed at Hotel Onederz Phnom Penh, which is mostly filled with backpacker tourists! I booked the room through an app, but sometimes there’s no payment method like debit/credit cards or virtual accounts available. In my case, I had to pay in cash at the hotel. So, I paid with dollars, and it was about $30. There are many types of rooms; I chose one with a private room, but most foreigners opt for the bunk beds or dorm-style rooms because they stay longer. I was only there for 2 days and 1 night.

The facilities were really great! You can see it here! It was comfortable and clean!! And the charging outlets are the same as in Indonesia.

. . . To be continued . . .