Tag: phnom penh

Oudong, the Old Capital of Cambodia: Is It Worth the Day Trip from Phnom Penh?

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

In case you don’t know yet, my way of travel will probably be classified as ‘scattered’ for some people. Unlike most travelers who would outline their itinerary when they visited a place, I wasn’t like that. That’s also what happened when I was in Cambodia.

After I decided to turn down Sihanoukville from the list of cities to visit as a part of my Indochina tour, I eventually stayed at The Mou Hotel in Phnom Penh for 4 days. You may think I had visited a lot of places in Cambodia’s capital, but truth be told, I had not.

After visiting the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum on the first day, I ended up having some Khmer massage at Anna’s Spa. On the second day, I was swarmed up with the virtual meeting, so I only went to the riverside later at night for a date with my Indochina fling. LOL.

On my last full day, since I realized that I didn’t know when I got a chance to come back to Phnom Penh again, I decided to force myself to go out. And this time, I went to Oudong, the old capital of Cambodia.

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The Mou Hotel, Phnom Penh: Is It A Recommended Place to Stay in the Capital City of Cambodia?

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

As you all probably know, my last trip to Indochina was my first time in Phnom Penh. I had no clue about Cambodia’s capital city, but at the time, I already knew what I wanted to do when I was there.

This trip alone was the umpteenth attempt for me to live a semi-digital nomad life. So apart from the tour related to the Cambodian genocide, I decided to stay a little longer than any other place as I spared a day to do nothing much at the hotel.

Before heading to Phnom Penh, I already got an appointment with my local Indonesian client to have a virtual meeting. So I figure, I just had to empty my traveling itinerary for a day and focus on the meeting in the capital city of Cambodia.

I barely researched the recommended accommodation to stay in Phnom Penh, and instead just booked one that looked convenient, reliable, and not too pricey. That’s when I ended up booking The Mou Hotel in Phnom Penh for my 4-night stay there.

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Cambodian Genocide Tour: The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

I have a thing with dark tourism. While it may come across creepy for some people, I think I could see it from a different perspective in a way that there were times when humanity failed that we should never go back to where it was.

It’s the same reason why I like reading books related to dark history like the Holocaust. The top of my bucket list includes visiting Auschwitz and Srebenica if one day I get a chance to land somewhere around Europe. I’d also like to go to where the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy took place in America.

Who am I kidding? I definitely wouldn’t miss Sarajevo if one day I go to Bosnia, so I could see the spot where Franz Ferdinand got shot. The list goes on, and my interest in dark tourism is also why I couldn’t miss the genocide tour when I was in Cambodia.

Apart from a cemetery, I think the dark history is also something that I could trace back in my travel to remind myself that I should never take things for granted with the life I have now. As hard as it feels like in some days, I’ve got it easy.

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Anna’s Spa: Where to Go for Brazilian Wax and Khmer Massage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

In case you didn’t know, I regularly go to waxing parlor every month for two main things: eyebrow threading and Brazilian waxing. Ever since I moved back to my hometown, I’ve become a member of Waxhaus to get some extra benefits from being a regular customer in the parlor.

However, on my last trip to Indochina, I spent almost 2 months on the road that I had to find an alternative place to do this form of self-care.

After I did my last waxing session in Bandung before I flew to Kuala Lumpur, I figured I needed to get some Brazilian wax again when I reached Phnom Penh.

The reason for that was crystal clear, I didn’t like to be bushy down there, and I matched with someone on Bumble that I felt like I might have a holiday hookup at the time. LMAO.

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Review: Giant Ibis, the Best Bus Operator in Cambodia

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

Ever since I started planning my last Indochina trip, I knew that I wanted to travel overland from my first stop in Ho Chi Minh City to when I flew back home from Kuala Lumpur. 

At first, I didn’t think much about the transportation that I’d opt for my journey. However, since I took the minibus from Ha Tien to Kampot, I figure that maybe the best choice that I could make in terms of transportation would be by bus. It would be more convenient for me since I brought big luggage, and the bus will have a space for it without me feeling guilty that my bag took too much space on the trunk of the car. 

So when I left Kampot to Phnom Penh, I decided to just book a bus ticket by Giant Ibis through Bookaway. 

I initially planned to book a sleeper bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. However, when I was about to book it, the sleeper bus was sold out, so I ended up using the same bus operator again for the road trip in Cambodia. 

So, I’m going to share my insights on using their service as the transportation mode in Cambodia. What’s my review on Giant Ibis, possibly one of the best bus operators in the country? Check this out!

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