Last Updated on March 14, 2023 by PowersToTravel
Yes! We found Dr. Pepper in Phnom Penh, Cambodia! It wasn’t easy. However, it was more the heat that made that day seem more grueling than it needed to be.
The trail to the holy grail began at our hotel Villa Langda.
Villa Langda starts us on our way to Dr Pepper
We stayed at Villa Langda, very near the Independence Monument, in downtown Phnom Penh. I hadn’t chosen the hotel myself, it was chosen for me by Backyard Travel, and I was ever so glad they did! It truly was a beautiful tropic oasis. We arrived there on Dec 14, which is supposed to be in the “cooler” drier season.
It was scorchingly hot and oppressively humid. The girl at the front desk was so apologetic, “It isn’t supposed to be like this!”
We looked around on Google for a place to eat that night which would not involve much walking. Our search for Dr Pepper led us to the Lone Pine Cafe.
The Lone Pine Cafe gives us the clue to Dr. Pepper
The Lone Pine Cafe, just a block away from Villa Langka, seemed to fit the bill for dinner that night. It advertised “Classic American Comfort Food” and “Mexican Food”. Ah! the best of both worlds. You have to remember by this time we have been traveling a month throughout Southeast Asia and I have certainly gotten a little tired of fried noodles and chicken. Being a restaurant that advertised both American food and American ownership, Greg also hoped to find a lead to Dr. Pepper.
Greg is quick to spot Dr. Pepper and it was there, behind the bar! Granted, Greg prefers Diet Dr. Pepper over high-test Dr. Pepper because he tries to watch his calories, but internationally he’s learned to “make do.”
Having spotted and ordered and enjoyed his Dr. Pepper, he insisted on meeting the owner/manager. When the manager learned that we were on an extended trip, and were desperate for Dr. Pepper, he was quick to share with Greg his secret: “The Pencil Store.”
“The What?”
“The Pencil Store. That’s the name of the store. You should find it there. It’s 5 blocks north of the Independence Monument.”
We didn’t ask him for specific directions because we were sure we’d find it on Google maps. Quickly on our return to our room (only 1 block!) we logged on and found one Pencil Store in Phnom Penh – over by the river, in the block opposite the Cambodia / Vietnam Friendship Monument. Well, it wasn’t the one the owner mentioned, but we were sure we would be successful.
I had designed our Southeast Asia Odyssey itinerary with occasional “days off”, wanting to be sure we didn’t burn out. Frequently that day would be the first or last day in a city, so that we could either get our bearings upon arrival, or catch up on things I might have missed in a city, at the end. (It turned out that these extra days were not needed – we did not burn out – and often were frustrating because I hadn’t planned interesting things to do in them.) Anyway, we had arrived in Phnom Penh and the next day would be our “Free Day.”
Searching fruitlessly for Dr Pepper by the river
Still scorchingly hot, we walked the one kilometer from Villa Langka to the Independence Monument to the Friendship Monument, to the block where the Pencil store was supposed to be:
Around and around that block we went – no Pencil Store. The icon had been placed on a strange urban mall – small boutique stores in a mall-like setting with NO air-conditioning. It was STIFLING inside. Asking everyone inside, the answer was “No Pencil store.” Finally we emerged exhausted in the park on the right of the mall, and took some pictures with some awesome statutes:
We were so pooped that I refused to walk home. We were going to take a tuk-tuk, or stay where we were! Upon deciding on a tuk-tuk, we flagged one down and asked, “Pencil Store?”
“Ah, Pencil Store! Yes!” and away we went, hoping for the best since this was the first person that seemed to know where to go. As we went, I was aware that we did seem to be heading to where the Lone Pine owner said to go. The tuk tuk driver stopped and announced: “Pencil Store!”:
Pencil Store, House 19, Samdach Pan Ave (Street 214)
Indeed – we had arrived. In we went into a very strange store – it was a store catering to Westerners – lots of English products and American products in a dimly lit cavernous un-air-conditioned store. There were so many products we didn’t recognize. We carefully perused each aisle. Suddenly, there was Dr. Pepper (in the rear half of the right-hand side of the store):
How much did Greg buy? It must have been about 16 cans? He filled two large plastic “Pencil” bags. You can see us here on the tuk-tuk heading back to our hotel – at my feet is a bag with two 2-liter bottles of Coke Zero – and at Greg’s feet two Pencil bags of cans of Dr. Pepper:
After we went through the cash register with our purchase, Greg noticed hat there was a Dairy Queen right in front of part of the Pencil store. Ah! It had both ice cream and air-conditioning. We rested there for quite a while with our treats (we deserved one after our morning long search!).
We flagged down a tuk-tuk and he quickly took us home!
Dairy Queen is the key to Dr. Pepper
So, here’s the key – you look at Google maps, and the only Pencil Market in Phnom Penh is shown to be over by the river, where we wandered for so long. Don’t be fooled – there is no Pencil Market there. Search instead for a Dairy Queen, six blocks north of the Independence Monument. There you will find the Pencil Market and your life’s blood – Dr. Pepper!
Update: When I looked for Pencil Market today – it did show a Pencil Market where it belongs, at “House 19, Samdach Pan Ave (Street 214), 12211, Cambodia” Well, would have been nice to have had that info when we were in Cambodia!
I’d like to chime in here and say that for American products, I was much happier at the Lucky Supermarket at “No.160 12302, Preah Sihanouk Blvd (274), Phnom Penh, Cambodia” But then again, I (Wendy), while enjoying Diet Dr. Pepper, am not an addict. Lucky Supermarket had more in the way of American snack products. As I said, there were a lot of strange products in the Pencil Store!
