Cambodia A1 -- Phnom Penh Day 1

Arrived in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia at around 2000 hours. This was quite a hastily arranged trip but the preparations were the exact opposite. This was the first time in quite a while where i actually dun have to rush down to the airport in order to catch my flight. Nothing much to mention about the flight except that it was the usual Jetstar Asia budget flight. Had my standard cup noodles during the flight to pass my time.

Had an arrangement with the hostel to pick me up from the airport. This was the first time I was using such a service but it seemed to be the norm in Cambodia, given that there was no railway or bus connection to the city. There was a small jam at the airport exit (to be expected given that it was quite a small airport, in terms of both size and passengers served) but my driver was quite resourceful and we managed to exit the airport in less than 15 minutes.

Checked into Rory's Pub and Guesthouse. It was pretty late already so i had absolutely no idea that it had such a superb location (right next to the National Museum and Royal Palace) The owner Rory and his guests were having a chill out session down at the reception and were actually kind enough to offer me a drink too. It was the best way to start off the trip, a form of hospitality that i never expected. Pity i was planning only to spend the night there (I was going to visit Phnom Penh on my return from Siem Reap and the night was only for me to figure out a way to get to Siem Reap first thing next morning) Even got invited to the stag night of one of the guys the next evening but i had to decline as i would no longer be around. The drink did knocked me out a bit and thus went my initial plan of trying to explore a bit the night life of Phnom Penh. Retired quite early, around 11 pm

The room was pretty spacious for its price. A single bed in with an attached bathroom (bigger than my Hong Kong hostel room, i must say) and a tv set. Unfortunately, i did not have that good an experience there though. Something was wrong with the power supply and it kept tripping repeatedly. The air condition kept turning on and off and for a while in the middle of the night, it was totally off. It got so bad that when i had to get up to pee in the morning, i had to do it in pure darkness because i couldnt even get the light switch working. A disastrous first hostel i must say but as i was going to check out and leave for siem reap first thing in the morning, i didnt bring out the issue and just treat it like a horrible nightmare. Guess it was sort of a reward for the good hospitality that they had shown me during checking in. First impression does matter it seems...