Day 58 - Phnom Pehn

We were getting the bus to Cambodia at 6.30, so we got up and ready and went down to check out. It ended up taking 15 minutes to do since they were equally as unorganised as they had been the day before! We handed over the key and he gave us our bill, for £30! It should have been about £9. So Michael asked why - apparently we had stayed for two nights and drank some beer from the fridge in the room! We had to explain that we'd stayed only one night, didn't drink anything, and had payed a deposit which should be taken off. It took forever for them to figure it out. Eventually we payed and just made it to the bus in time. We met an English guy on the bus and sat chatting to him most of the way. We crossed the border in about 10 minutes and were in Phnom Pehn by about 12 in the afternoon. Driving through it seemed much nicer than Ho Chi Minh. We sat down at the bus station and tried to figure out where we were and where we would like to stay, then got a tuk tuk to take us and checked into a hotel on the river. We went out to have a wander and get some lunch. We found a nice wee bar selling pub food and decided to eat there. The staff were all sitting around a table in the sun having a beer, and were quick to come and serve us. Turned out, the guy who worked at the bar was from Glasgow. We got chatting and he was very nice! A rangers supporter, but him and Michael had some banter over it! We had our lunch and agreed to come back later for some drinks with him and his Thai wife. So we went walking around the city for a while then went back to get ready and headed back to the bar. The owner of the bar is a crazy Australian lady who was really drunk when we got there! She said she was going to a party for an hour and when she came back she was going to the semi finals of Cambodian Idol, her best friend was one of the final 6 contestants, and asked if we wanted to come. We said sure, and after an hour in the bar she showed up with lots of friends squeezed in a truck, and one friend on a scooter that Michael and I were supposed to squeeze on! We just about fit on, although it was close and cuddly with this random stranger haha. It was very uncomfortable and ended up taking about half an hour, but it was a lot of fun. We hadn't been on a scooter until then. We made it to the studio and bought some drinks and got our seat numbers. We didn't expect what we saw! There were plastic seats for people to sit on and wooden benches around the side, and lots of Cambodian people with posters of their favourite contestant. It was hilarious how rubbish the studio was. We watched them all do their song and the audience go crazy, we were even shown on tv a few times haha. At the end they had to eliminate someone, and it turned out to be the best friend of the ozzy lady who got sent home. It was awkward to say the least. We got back on the scooter with the guy to bead back to the bar and ended up getting lost. It was pitch black but there was a lot of lightening going on which was nice. We asked directions and made it back to the bar an hour and 15 mins later. Michael had bashed his ankle a bit on the bike and it was very bruised and swollen! We stayed and had a few drinks then ran home as it was pouring again! We both loved our first night in Cambodia!