The speedboat from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh took 5+ hours, including a visit to the Cambodia border facility.  A payment of $34 in USD is required which included a $4 “extra payment” above the required fee.

The river really quiets down north of Chau Doc.  There are far fewer boats, ships and people.  By the time you reach Cambodia (1 1/2 hours), commerce on the river is almost non-existent.  Instead of houses crowding the river, you begin to see more farms, orchards, cows with less single dependence on the river.  There are clearly pockets of river- dependent folks; but, it is  not at all like Vietnam.  This  may be due to population and  other income earning opportunities, etc.

At the end of our river journey, Phnom Penh was an island of bustling activity.  Cranes are scattered across the skyline as buildings rise.  The city is full of “tuk-tuks” – small trailer taxis for up to 4 people pulled by a motorcycle.  Tuk tuks are incredibly cheap.   Phnom Penh is very “westernized” compared to any city in Vietnam.   It almost felt like it could be a city in the U. S.  The thousands of motorbikes of Vietnam make any other city seem slow.  There are plenty of bikes but clearly not the volume of Hanoi & Saigon.

There are also a lot more cars in Phnom Penh.  Interestingly, during our walk to the Russian Market, we probably saw 50+ of the large Lexus SUV’s (like mine).  In SLC/PC, we are lucky to see 3 in a week.  Lexus clearly has captured the market.  MBZ’s are few & far between.

Last night we had a fantastic Cambodian dinner at a restaurant called Malis.  It was in a beautiful garden setting not far from our hotel.  Cambodian food is much spicier than Vietnamese fare!