16
February, Neak Leuong to Phnom Penh, 63km
11 Happy Sister 32,000KHR ($8)
We began our day with a ferry ride over the Mekong
River, crossing with trucks and cars and buses, with scooters and bicycles and
one horse and cart, with vehicles transporting chickens tied upside down.
Although we caught only brief glimpses of the Mekong thereafter, our road, wide,
smooth, flat and a pleasure to ride, hugged its southwest bank all the way to Phnom
Penh, Cambodia’s capital. On the outskirts of the city the road suddenly
deteriorated, slowing traffic and spewing dust. After we crossed the Bassac
River, which flows into the Mekong, we turned north onto a wide boulevard, and
beyond the Wat Phnom circle turned west into a muddle of lanes behind the
Calmette Hospital that led us to our hotel, theoretically on the edge of Boeng
(lake) Kak, coloured a promising blue on my map, but in fact dirt dry.
Unfortunately our chosen accommodation had made an error with our booking and
so we have been installed in a nearby alternative with only alleged internet
connectivity. We passed several impressive pagodas today, visiting only the
first. A fantasy complex with a stunning and elaborate main building surrounded
by naive statues of Buddhas and crocodiles and the Naga, a many-headed snake.
Neak Leuong
Neak Leuong ferry
Neak Leuong
Breakfast vendor
Pagoda between Neak Leuong and Phnom Penh
Pagoda between Neak Leuong and Phnom Penh
Pagoda between Neak Leuong and Phnom Penh
Pagoda between Neak Leuong and Phnom Penh
Pagoda between Neak Leuong and Phnom Penh
Pagoda between Neak Leuong and Phnom Penh
Between Neak Leuong and Phnom Penh
Between Neak Leuong and Phnom Penh