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Published: April 4th 2007
Boeng Kak
Lake in Phnom Penn, no swimming if you value your life. The Cambodian capital is an interesting place to spend a few nights. Surprise surprise the roads to get to Phnom Penn were very good compared with our last journey although we found ourselves on the much feared local Karaoke bus , you can use your imagination there.
Most travelers are fiercely divided about whether to stay at Phnom Penn's Lakeside or the Riverside. Having opted to go with the former we were soon a bit disappointed. The lake itself is really polluted and judging from the smell this is , amongst other things, from the drainage from the guest houses themselves.
A kind of backpacker shanty town has build up around the lake with narrow alleys and numerous cheap and not so cheerful backpacker shacks , bars and restaurants.
Having been met off the bus and being one part kidnapped by a guesthouse tout we were taken to the Lakeside Guesthouse and shown an awful stuffy room. But, the staff were really really friendly and helpful so we decided to stay one night to keep things simple.
The next day when we went to leave the seemingly friendly staff had what can only be described as
Lakeside
That lake again, with the Shanty Town of Guesthouses that have built up around it a tantrum and we were glad to get out of there. The next place (Grand View Guesthouse) was much calmer and was more of a hotel with a good view over the lake, and fer only 1 quid 50 a night there can be no complaining.
The main problem with the Lakeside is it's out of city center and you feel a bit isolated, the only thing to do is to eat and drink at the many guesthouses so you don't actually see any of the city.
A walk down the riverside made us regret not staying there , much more going on, more central and the guesthouses actually looked nice.
The city itself is crazy , a little like Saigon but not as developed with a mixture of slums, old colonial buildings , dusty roads , markets , watts plus a million and a half tapped Cambodians. With the obligatory zillion places to eat and drink.
Have to mention the army of cheeky street kids all over the city, most are under the age of 10 and sadly they are out at all hours trying to sell all kinds of things to the tourists ,
Old
Old colonial buildings left to crumble some have amazing English and are incredibly savy for their age. Very witty little kids but don't get on the wrong side of them.
A visit to the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek and the S 21 detention centre was a real harrowing and sombre reminder of Cambodia's sad history under the genecide of the Pol Pot regime. Impossible to describe here. The journey there took us past the worst slums we have seen so far , Cambodia is without doubt the poorest place we have been.
As usual we just did a lot of walking around the city, which is entertaining enough just to watch the people get on with everything. Got slightly addicted to the local tipple (non alcoholic) it's basically raw sugarcane put through a press with orange and served in a plastic bag with ice , for 6 pence a throw its not to be ignored. Goodbye teeth.
Next Stop south to Kampot Province . . . .
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