We chose a relatively new airline to fly from Bangkok to Phnom Pehn - Lanmai airlines. They were well organised, leaving early no less, but the planes were old and the seat space minimal.....for the first time ever Gary was unable to sit comfortably, his knees jammed up against the seat in front and his tray table coming down onto his stomach. The tray table supports were loose and broken and the chair back reclining button on my seat had disappeared into the internal cavity of the arm rest. We did however arrive safely and in one piece so Lanmai served it's purpose.
Oh the magic of Phnom Penh!!! How we have enjoyed this bustling "City of contrasts".
We are by no means city people preferring the quiet countryside to the hustle of any city but we believe, largely due to the location and quality of our hotel, we have enjoyed our 2 weeks here. This hotel with its amazing breakfasts is buzzing continuously. The rooftop swimming pool is an added bonus throughout the humid monsoon season and the monsoon rain has been very forgiving for us. Tuk Tuk drivers wait outside to take you any where you wish for a very reasonable price or, like us, you can explore on foot. we must have walked for miles here.
Obviously when coming to Phnom Penh the biggest things to visit are the Killing Fields and The Genocide Museum and, although reluctant to go, we were glad we did. These places, once again, highlight man's inhumanity to man under the rule of a single, misguided leader but especially here, where confessions were extracted by torture to make the killings justifiable, therefore "exhonerating" the killers from blame or "loss of face". Bullets however were too expensive to be used to kill their victims so instead steel rods were driven into their brain or they were literally bludgeoned to death at the pit edge. What these gentle people must have gone through and gentle people they truly are. The killing tree will stick in our minds forever as the most brutal murder of young children and babies took place at this spot. These atrocities happened when my children were young 1975 to 1979, not so long ago in many ways, and must never be allowed to happen again.
Phnom Pehn is not a pretty city - although it does sport a few parks, Wats and Palaces - has a lot of rubbish lying around in the streets and a definite sleazy side but it is vibrant. Motorbikes and Markets abound. There are footpaths on most roads which are used as motorbike, tuk-tuk or car parks so it is safer to walk along the side of the road - facing oncoming traffic - knowing you will be quite safe. Crossing the road or a crossroad is easy now......approach, look right and left, step out and walk confidently. A weave now and then may be called for but honestly it works - the traffic swells around you and everyone goes safely on their merry way. We could do it blindfold now. One word of caution here though ........red traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and green walking men on main dual carriageway roads mean nothing to motorbikes or tuk tuks but a hand held up as a stop signal is so much more empowering to the vulnerable walker and it works.
The main currency here is USDollar and secondly Cambodian Real. Real is worthless - 4,000 equals .50cents - so whenever you pay in US you are always given Real in change. Our biggest project is to get rid of it all before we leave......challenging. Happy hour is from 4pm to 9pm when beer is .50c a handle otherwise it is .75c or US1$. Food is different!!!!! A lot of street-food is seafood, clams, chicken bums, embryo eggs, frogs, intestines, those tips on the end of chicken wing tips, white sausages, gizzards, chicken feet and the list goes on.......when eating at a street stall all waste is dashed to the ground......bones, unwanted food, tissues - they each use dozens of these in one sitting - and anything else they wish to discard. The end result is total carnage.
Most of our time we have walked and explored, finding amazing local markets, restaurants and bars. We have been hassled by many beggars and children, to whom we have given food not money, and have learned a few main words of the Cambodian language to get by. We have not found any Golden Arches here which is fabulous - the locals all appear slim and healthy on their non western diet although other foods are slowly coming through - Turkish, Burgers and Pizzas.
We are going to eat in the dark tonight -I will let you know how that goes!!!!!!
Well that was amazing! Totally in the dark and served by blind people. We could hear other people - just - but could see nothing. We liked everything and ate everything we were served in our 3 course meal - first time I had eaten Duck in my life but thought it was pork??? - Gary had belly pork and he thought his was steak? Some tastes you could recognise but not put a name to but the biggest obstacle was not knocking your drink off the edge of the table!!! We were shown photos later of what we had been served and we were both quite surprised. Both of us resorted to feeling around our plates with our fingers just to ensure we had not missed a delicious morsel. Great experience and if you get an opportunity to do this it is a must.
Another great memory which will stay with us forever was so opportune and lovely. Just strolling down a back street after having dinner somewhere we heard a lot of laughing and singing. Nestled behind a TukTuk on the footpath were a group of men, women and children having so much fun, drinking juice and beer and singing karaoke from their cell phones. Gary started to dance to the music and before long we both had a beer in our hands, a chair to sit on and encouragement to join in. How could you possibly walk past all that? An hour later we toddled off amid handshakes and hugs to the strains of Adele.
Our hotel offered us a free sunset cruise on the Meekong which we accepted with pleasure and we joined another couple from the hotel for an enjoyable hour or two. Floating down the river are many golden offerings which seem to be sent on their journey during special ceremonies which also include mountains of flowers, incense, the beating of drums and the freeing of little birds from their cages. We never quite got to the bottom of all this but it was very interesting to watch. Professional people walk along the waterfront to help people pray - for a fee of course - and others are there with their cages of birds to sell. Flowers are sold once and recycled to be bought by other unsuspecting devotees but it doesn't matter, everyone is happy and leave feeling much better and much lighter.
As I said earlier we enjoyed Phnom Penh immensely. The markets were great - bought Maya a couple of pairs of shoes and some bits and pieces - but if you needed anything it could be found - from tools to clothes - hairdressing to nail polishing - food to shoes - jewelry to motorbike parts. Everything was bought in the markets. It was fun.
So our last day was spent relaxing by and swimming in the pool and our last evening at the night market where we sat crosslegged on a rush mat eating God knows what and drinking beer. A perfect end to our 2 weeks in this amazing city.
Tomorrow we head for KotaKinabalu in Borneo.
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