We drive to Boeng Kak, the backpacker’s area in Phnom Penh, according to Lonely Planet. When we arrive there we discover our Lonely Planet is not really up-to-date anymore. The backpacker’s area had moved to another part of the city. We’re here for the paperwork so we just want a cheap room. We find a great room with air conditioning, a fridge, a large flatscreen-tv with movie channels and a balcony overlooking a mosque. Best part of this mosque is that it’s not finished yet, so no prayers in the early morning. The mosque is very beautiful, with its white marble it reminds us a bit of the Taj Mahal. We get this room for only 9 euro!

View from our Balcony

The next morning we get up early to apply for our Thai visa and in the afternoon we go to the mechanic. He’s a Scotsman and his workshop has a lot of experience with Honda Transalp and Africa Twin, he also has a few of them for sale. He drives a Transalp himself. The man sounds positive about Mickey: no rust in the tank (which is rare according to him) and generally in a good condition. We finally get a new mirror which has been broken since India, a new indicator, an extra saddle cover and some general maintenance.

Motos 69

Phnom Penh is quite impressive with its large and modern buildings, it seems a different world compared with the rest of Cambodia.

Every City has its seamy Side

We go to the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre. Today there is a Buddhist memorial to the victims on this site. The memorial park at Choeung Ek has been built around the mass graves of many thousands of victims, most of whom were executed after they had been transported from the S-21 Prison in Phnom Penh. The utmost respect is given to the victims of the massacres through signs and tribute sections throughout the park. Many dozens of mass graves are visible above ground, many which have not been excavated yet. Commonly, bones and clothing surface after heavy rainfalls due to the large number of bodies still buried in shallow mass graves.

Budhist Stupa

There's not much to see in the Genocidal Centre and all the original buildings are long gone. The museum on the site is interesting but all in all we find the admission price too high for what we get.

Our Stay in Phnom Penh

More info on www.wijzijnweg.org