Stuck in Phnom Penh

We're here in Phnom Penh waiting for our Vietnam eVisas to be approved. A bit frustrating because Phnom Penh was never on our "go to" list in the first place. But, totally my fault for not planning the eVisas in advance.

And the secondary problem is that the visa department is closed February 8-14 because of Chinese New Year. They did say standard approval time is within three working days, but they probably have a rush of applications prior to the closing. Anyhow, two days have passed, and the website still says "in processing".

So we're stuck in Phnom Penh for yet another day. 

If the visas don't get approved by the end of the day today, we won't get them until after the 14th. Our plan B is to head down to the Cambodia islands down on the coast while we're waiting. Fingers crossed they will be approved today and we can head into Vietnam tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, we've been making the best of it. Phnom Penh is a big city with a variety of different areas. Yesterday, we walked to the central market, and then found a view from the 35th floor of the posh Rosewood Hotel.

The central market building.

Inside the dome is the costume jewelry section.

Dried fish.

Different types of shellfish.

Dead fish.

Live fish.

Squid and shrimp.

Lots of different fruits.

Mangosteen Fruit

We bought one of these for lunch.

Shrimp rice paper wraps.

This is where they process the ice to keep the goods cold.

With 35C (95F) temps, they go through a lot of ice!

You can buy all the counterfeit cash that you want at the market.

Pretty flowers.

There are several buildings like this where construction has been stopped.

Looks like nothing has been done on this one for quite some time.

We walked by a tall office building, and we often try to get to the top of a tall building to see if there is a free view. In the lobby, I asked the girl if there was a restaurant at the top, and there was, but it didn't open until 5:00pm. But I asked if we could get up there for the view, and she agreed. The elevator took us directly to the 35th floor with no option to stop in between. That's because the fancy Rosewood Hotel is on the 35th floor!

They have an art gallery up there.

Ruth, admiring some of the art work.

Nice bottle to take to my weekend away with the boys in September.

Only $16,000 USD.

Worthwhile views from the top!

Zoomed in on the market building.

So, that was a good stop!

Afterwards, we walked over to an old temple on a manmade hill.

Locals get in free, but foreigners have to pay $1 USD ($1.35 CAD).

It was a bit different inside.

Walking back to the hotel, we found a place that did coconut shakes. A huge fresh shake, loaded with coconut, and not over sweet. In fact, it probably could have used a bit of sugar.

And only $1.50 USD ($2 CAD) each.

The place was owned by a guy from France, and his Cambodian wife. He talked to us for a while. We decided to go back there for dinner.

View from our dinner table.

Ruth had soup and salad.

And I had chicken cashew stir fry.

Not bad. Including two beers and a glass of wine, the total was $21 USD ($28.30 CAD).

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