Mekong Sunrise at Kampong Cham

My most recent travel is not in Siem Reap, as I have wished, but in Kampong Cham and Phnom Penh in Cambodia. And as it is a work-related travel, I could not complain (hrmph*).

After some introductions and a short orientation at our Phnom Penh office, we headed to Kampong Cham.  With my Nepali colleague and another Cambodian colleague, we travelled for more than 2 hours under the 37 degrees heat of the sun, since it was almost lunch when we started.

From Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham, I lost count of the many, many, many pagodas we have passed by.  They seem to appear everywhere: in the city,or town centers, in the middle of rice fields, on top of a hill, everywhere! Wherever they are, they all look regal.

One of the Pagodas in Phnom Penh. Monk walking towards the pagoda.

We spent 2 nights at the Mekong Hotel,which is opposite the Mekong River. The rate is good at 18-dollar a night for a single/double occupancy room , which does not come with breakfast but with free wifi. 

Breakfast (which means baguette + banana + coffee/tea- yes, everyday) is served at $2.50. But there are also several restaurants close to the hotel which offer better breakfast, such as the Mekong Crossing, which is just across the hotel.

The Mekong Hotel6 Samdach Pann Rd., Kampong Cham, Cambodia

The rooms are a bit ran down but it is spacious.  The corridors, surprisingly, look like big ball room. But whatever it lacked in amenities and/or aesthetics, the best thing this hotel could offer is the view of Mekong River.  And I just loved waking up to sunset by the river. Bliss. 

Sunrise by the Mekong River. Fishermen do start early, everyday.