Out Of The Royal Palace

This is a continuation of the previous article.

Upon exit from the royal palace and the silver pagoda, this photo at right was the only one I took, and you'll know why in just a moment.

I was out, now what?

Aw! I did two things, the first of which, you should not do!

1) Right outside the gate, I stood and looked around. That picture is the Supreme Court of Cambodia. It is diagonally across the intersection, from where I stood.

Why did I stand on that corner to look around? Well, to watch and see for myself, the realities on ground, so I can properly tell you my dear readers, how things "transpire".

That's the 'infamous corner' (where the 3 girls are headed), with a lot of "overpricing touts" and/or "fraudsters" who victimize many innocent and unsuspecting tourists.

The modus:
1A] Once you are out of the palace gate, they'll offer you 'cheap tours' to some other tourist spots in and around Phnom Penh, where netizens say, tourist issues happen.

Watch and see pala ha? I was not even a minute out of the gate yet, while I took that photo above, there they were, goon-like men literally mobbing me with many offers.

1B] Those men say "the palace is closed", so they offer various tours (to elsewhere). I didn't experience that, since I knew when and where to enter. They usually do that when the palace is actually really closed - though temporarily - from 11AM to 2PM.

Anyway, what I experienced was their kakulitan as in aggressive insistence - ONLY!

I say that because.., remembering all the warnings of many a travel tale on the web, about the 'racket' on 'illegal' or 'unscrupulous' tours, I assumed there would also be muggers, snatchers, etc. Wala pala! Just overpriced non-government approved tours.

Ayun tuloy, di ko nilabas ang phone ko, isang picture lang. Akala ko kasi hahablutin!

Walang ganun. Puro makukulit lang na questionable tours/guides.

Update 2022: I got this screenshot from google maps. Red arrow is the palace exit.

You will notice there's a crowd there? Those are mostly the people I'm talking about, including those sitting on the sidewalk. Others could be vendors, tuktuk drivers, etc.

Once you're out of that gate, they will swarm at you like persistent bees. What I hate is, parang sa'tin din, some of them will even touch you in the arm or tug at your shirt.

Hindi naman sa nandidiri ako sa kanila o maselan. Ayoko lang na ginagalaw ako!

Hahaha "ginagalaw" talaga? Parang me ibang meaning. Ah basta, "don't me"!

White arrow points to supreme court (1^st pic above), yellow arrow was where I went.

Not sure since I didn't look around, but I guess this was/is Mealea Restaurant at the back side (facing the palace's visitor-exit gate) of the Palace Gate Hotel & Resort.

No I wasn't hungry. But I needed to quench my thirst (despite the free bottle of water), sit to rest my body and cool down from the excessive heat I have just been through!

I only needed that, to recover my frying self hahah! This was an afternoon in the 30s (Celsius), a day after boxing day. So take note fellow Pinoy Travelers. Maaraw mainit!

Now that I said that, you may want to consider a morning visit. It may be a bit more bearable - as this visit takes you mostly outdoors - for a better view of the buildings.

Note: I don't regret I entered the palace grounds at 2:30PM, it was my best available time anyway. And I didn't feel the heat even if I didn't sit for like 2hours, 'til I was out.

Maybe it was excitement to see the palace grounds that prevailed in my head kaya sa labas ko lang nadama ang init, pagod at uhaw - na napawi naman ng coke and yosi!

It better be! 3 USD ang Coke na yan, plus 15% Service Charge, plus 10% VAT, equals 3.47USD. O di ba, halos 200 pesos. Wag umalma, ganun din yan sa mga hotel natin!

This restaurant by the way, is an open-air garden area. Not air-conditioned, yet cool!

The interior is, I guess, what people call 'French Colonial Style'. A cozy afternoon den that I think would be a lovely breakfast nook or even great for cocktails and dinners.

I was too tired to roam around the place hehe. Tunganga was a better option, though I seem to have 'detected' that somewhere nearby was/is the hotel's swimming pool.

Eto na, I enjoyed the cozy tambay at that restaurant that, it made me re-think if I still had the 'zeal' to go on with my walk (returning to my hotel). Aba mga 2kms pa yan oi!

Mind over body. The mind won, nakakatamad na maglakad, mainit eh hehehe! I had to ride. Other than GrabCar, I wanted to try GrabTuktuk anyway! So, I asked a waiter.

Aruu, instead of teaching me how to find the app, he instead hailed one for me. Na!

He used the app on his phone, and ayun na nga sya, the tuktuk arrived and he went with me outside. Thus, I wasn't actually able to hire my tuktuk via the app. He did it!

Alangan namang sabihin ko pang "no, I want to do it on my own" eh nandyan na nga eh o! Masyadong efficient si waiter hehe! At tingnan nyo yung driver, all eyes on me!

Oh well.., sige gora! Waiter showed me the fare - it was the 'minimum' - 1USD only.

That is the usual "shortest-distance-fare" of a tuktuk on hailing apps in Phnom Penh na dadalawa lang naman yata -Grab: started last year and PassApp: started in 2016.

Not sure if this is "the norm", but I found this tuktuk ride smoother than in TH or IN.

I mean hindi barumbado sa kalsada si driver heheh! Mahinahon na sightseeing ride.

Speaking of sightseeing, this ride passed via the entire length of Wat Botum Park.

This was part of my walking plan today - supposed to be the last stretch on the way back to Toyoko Inn. But my brain said "hindi na kaya ng katawang lupa mo" hahaha!

At least I still saw most of it. It's more than 500 meters long connecting to the Naga Fountains of the Independence Monument Park. Yep, lots of parks & public spaces.

As the tuktuk cruised along, I caught a glimpse of Wat Botum Vatey facing the park.

Hmm, even from afar, it looks like another vast complex worth exploring, aside from this park in its name. Good that I did not walk here now, as surely I'd run out of time!

Fastforward, I arrived at Toyoko Inn safely and prepared for my evening meeting!

Let's talk about other interesting things in my next story.

Coming up soon!

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