Philippine Travel Notes

Oh yes there are Aeon Mall s in Phnom Penh! The original branch was near my hotel. It was my go-to place (~600 meters away) when I needed anything while in this city. This was nearest to me during this stay, though I saw that other establishments are coming up soon on this riverside strip alone. Yep, Phnom Penh is modernizing, fast! In fact, while walkable (for me), Toyoko Inn has a regularly scheduled free shuttle to and from Aeon Mall - very safe & convenient when returning to the hotel late nights. Not that the area/vicinity is unsafe security-wise. But lately, this stretch of riverbank here, teems with simultaneous high-rise developments. Lots of construction debris. They have longer mall hours here. Most shops are open 9AM until 10PM, while the GF supermarket/foodcourt opens at 8AM. Bowling and Cinemas are until midnight. Why was I all-of-a-sudden interested in malls? Uhh, while I'd rather go to museums, plazas, churches, beaches or mountains than a mall big ...

Due to insistent public demand... hehehe! Let's do a recap of my entire walk among the parks and royal places around Phnom Penh, since many friends have been asking. Foremost, let me say "yes that was far"! My entire walk, excluding strolls inside huge complexes (like the National Museum, Royal Palace/Silver Pagoda) came out to be more than 5kms instead of more than 7 . It's a "no joke" thing for some, but just "sisiw lang" for others. For me: "bitin"! This leisurely walk went passing by these: 01. Toyoko Inn (start of walk) 02. Australian Embassy 03. National Assembly 04. Ministry of Cults & Religion 05. Nagaworld 1 06. Hunsen Garden 07. Chuon Nath Monument 08. Cambodia-Korea Culture Center 09. Norodom Sihanouk Memorial 10. Independence Monument 11. Tapa stores 12. French Restaurant 13. Back of the Royal Palace 14. National Museum 15. Veal Preah Meru Square 16. ...

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...

Wonderful Khmer Architecture! Everywhere is " instagrammable "! But let's start from the very beginning! Visit Times & Duration Foremost, you may encounter a 'minor issue' on the web, about opening and closing times for palace visits. Some say 7-11AM & 1-4PM ; some say 7AM , 8AM and so on. On this visit, it was written everywhere, 8:00AM~11:00AM AND 2:00PM~5:00PM . Heads up to my boldly written AND above. It can make or break your satisfaction! It means that: at 11AM the palace closes (for lunch?), so all guests will have to leave. Di ko alam kung me loudspeaker yan or megaphone na ipagtatabuyan kayo, o baka me mga guards na umiikot para sabihan kayo, o maybe the paths are cordoned-off. Basta ang sa akin, isang tanga at kalahati ka, kung papasok ka pa ng 10AM. Eh ang laki kaya ng compound na yan! Many tour groups aim for the earliest entry - at 8AM. I surmised, sangkaterbang busloads siguro ang tourists entering at 8AM. Hiyay! So, I ...