[Day 8] Exploring the Calmer Part of Phnom Penh!

The sleep tradition continues to this day too, as we woke up at 1 PM, feeling a bit sleep-deprived. Our plan for today was to check out the National Museum which is very close to our guesthouse, and Wat Phnom, the place where Phnom Penh came to be, the only hill in the city. After snatching some awesome Pad Thai at the street food stall, we continued on to the national museum.

Once you come inside, you will see a huge red building with ancient markings and statues. Really beautiful architecture.

The entrance fee to the National Museum is 10$ with an optional 5$ fee for an audio guide. I would say, take the audio guide too, because I didn't take it, and most of the things were without captions.

The museum is full of ancient statues and carvings. Inside the museum, there is also the largest hand weaved scarf in the world! Anyway, I wouldn't say that this museum is worth 10$ if you go in without the audio guide.

After exploring the National Museum, we rode out to the Wat Phnom. It is located in the northern part of Phnom Penh, on the hill that is circled by a big roundabout.

The entrance fee for foreigners is 1$, but it is totally worth it. This place is really chill, a huge park in the middle of the city, and a nice little relaxing hike.

On top of the hill, there is a pagoda and a huge white stupa. Of course, out of respect for Buddhist customs, you need to take off your shoes before entering the pagoda. Inside the dimly-lit pagoda, there are a lot of offerings to the Buddha statue and the scent of burning sticks is really relaxing. It makes you stop for a while and just enjoy the moment.

After enjoying the zen atmosphere of Wat Phnom, it was time for some dinner. We found a place to get a snack before going back to the hotel. After doing a bit of work, it was time for another slice of dinner. We decided that we check out the nearby roadside market. In the end, I lost the crew and cruised around the neighborhood. I found a nice street food place with some killer Num Pang! (baguette sandwiches).

Eventually, we met up at the same place and had an awesome dinner. After the regular dinner, we went to the Happy Pizza place to eat 'happy' dinner and drink some fresh beer. Tomorrow, we will check out the S-21 and the infamous Killing Fields, to circle out our visit to Phnom Penh.

To get up to date, check out the previous chapter!

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