Today can easily be considered walking day part two.
I had my usual coffee and chat with Sophie, and walked in the direction of Boeung Kak lake in the middle of the city. As I feared it was nearly impossible to even see the water without going into a posh hotel, and I walked nearly the whole way around it looking for a reasonable cafe or park. No go, damn development.
I made my way South to the Central Market, which was a scene. Tons of everything. The coolest part was an old warehouse type room where all the butchers do business. Their booths are filled with meats, pigs heads and feet, and bowls of unidentifiable animal parts. It smelt a bit funky. I bought a big bag or Chinese New Year candy and some delicious pineapple (in different parts of the market of course), and made my way.
Outside the market I witnessed a motorbike crash. The bike ran into a car and the driver flew over the handlebars. A big crowd formed right away, mostly to make sure the bike was ok. A police man came over to take a report and the driver jumped back on his bike and rode away. Everyone then went along with their business, including the car that got hit. Weird.
I started to walk again, now finding myself in China town, and soon came across another humongous market. I sifter through it, and came to find that the previous butcher station had nothing on this one. There was basically meat and fish packed in every square inch. The fish (especially the many that are dried) give it a very pungent odor. I later found out this is the Olympic Market, due to its proximity to the Olympic Stadium.
I set off again and stumbled upon the Olympic Stadium. The stadium is very dated, but very cool in a basic old-school way. I know the Cambodian soccer league plays here, but that's about it.
I walked back to the riverside (much farther than I expected) and made way to a travel agent to book a bus to Saigon. After thinking throughout the day, I ruled out going North because it's an 8 hour bus ride, and I would have to come back to Phnom Penh and then to Saigon. 22 hours on a bus in total. I also ruled out the South for similar reasons along with the fact that I don't feel like going to the beach again right now. So I booked a 7:30 AM bus to Saigon.
I made way to an outdoor cafe, and read up on Saigon over a beer while enjoying my last dusk at the river (a beautiful sight). On my walk back to the hostel I found that the night market was going on again and stopped in for some noodles and another baby duck. The market was very empty, I don't know why, and half the stalls weren't there. The food also cost twice as much as the time before, who knows.
Back at the hostel a couple of the guys who worked there were going to head to a Pontoon party and invited me to join. I was tempted and grateful for the invite, but I was too tired and had that early bus, which I now regret. Next time.
I walked around probably half the city today, and drank about 9 liters of water. I enjoyed it very much, and I'm pretty sure I'll be back here in the future.
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