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Published: February 24th 2008
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Phnom Penh - the big city - a place to replenish supplies and get a taste of civilization again. We arrived at the #10 Lakeside Guesthouse. Chris and I decided to splurge and get a room with hot water - $4. It took us about 10 minutes to get from reception all the way up to our room - carrying my backpack all the way up took all my energy and oxygen. By the time we made it there we were too exhausted to note the sketchiness and the fact that the toilet didn't flush and the shower didn't have a handle. It was scorching hot and in the moment the only answer was to make our way downstairs to meet Janet, Jakov and Sijs for a gin and tonic - $0.50. It was late in the day, so dinner was all we really had time for. It was also fully worth the 10 hour trip to eat french fries and a cheeseburger, both excellent.
The next days in Phnom Pehn were quite great. The riverfront of the city is lovely with french colonial architecture and lined with lots of little restaurants and shops. We really enjoyed just hanging out
around here. We saw lots of other areas of the city, via tuk-tuk. The roads are a madhouse of motorbikes swerving between lanes, honking horns and generally doing whatever they like. It is difficult to manuever through it all, given that there are no rules or order (that we could make out). But, we've trusted the tuk-tuk drivers to understand the system and get us to wherever we need to go.
There are a lot of street kids selling photocopied versions of guidebooks and other popular novels or just begging. Chris and I were unsure how to handle the whole thing and basically each time we were approached, we'd just say "no, no, thank you, but no ... no, no, thank you". The kids are not aggressive or threatening, but we just didn't want to be constantly harrassed for money. Our new friend Sijs had a different strategy, though. He would play with the kids and chat with them - he never bought anything or gave them money, but he offered them a bit of fun, which they ate up. Sijs is this laid back guy who was a great traveller. He talks with people, asks a lot of
questions, tries the weird juices they're selling, and generally tries to have a nice time no matter what he's doing. We learned a lot watching Sijs over the days we spent with him and have adopted some of his tactics. We have been having a lot more fun with the people that approach us.
We visited the S-21 prison/torture museum and the Killing Fields - both used by the Khmer Rouge in the late '70's. Very imformative and interesting, although a depressing and frightening look at genocide that took place during our lifetime.
Our favourite day, by far, included a trip to the National Museum, the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. The National Museum was a beautiful building housing Khmer art from the Angkor period. Lots of Hindu and Buddhist sculptures and art. In the centre of the museum is a calm, quiet garden. The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda was very similar to the one in Bangkok, but also very beautiful and a nice stop. We stopped for a couple of drinks and then headed back to the National Museum for sunset, when an huge number of bats were scheduled to fly out of the National Museum.
There is a nice park in front of the Museum, so we took a seat and waited. Lots of kids were out playing before the sun went down, and before we knew it, Chris was playing soccer and Sijs and I were swarmed by kids wanting to play and have their photos taken. We found out, while we were there, that the city did away with the bats, as they were causing some problems with tourism (they were living in the roof of the museum and there were incidents of feces falling on tourists, or something). Although we didn't get what we came for we ended up having a very special night playing with many sweet Khmer kids and having a ball. That night we had dinner at a great restaurant called Friends. The restaurant is run by former street kids who provide jobs and education for the cities numerous street kids. Those working at Friends are now getting training in the restaurant business and do the cooking, the cleaning, and serving. It was exceptional food, by any standard, and the service was phenomenal. All set in a colourful and pretty restaurant. They are doing great things at this place,
and when the trainees are finished the program, they go on to work in some of Phnom Penh's best restaurants.
Chris and I left our friends in Phnom Penh and headed south for a few days to the coastal city of Sihanoukville. Getting out of the stagnant heat of Phnom Penh to the ocean breezes was wonderful. It was Chinese New Year, so lots of people from all over Asia hit the beach for their vacation, and many ended up in Sihanoukville. This meant swarms of people, lots of fireworks and great people watching. We dined on barbequed fresh fish by candlelight on the beach each night for $3 each.
While Chris enjoyed the beaches during the day, I hit the books. I took my open water diving course for 2 days, which included watching videos, reading, studying, writing some tests and learning skills in the pool. After I passed my final exam, I did my open water dives on an overnight boat ride. Chris came along and did some "fun dives" while I finished my skills with my instructor and two other newbies. Meals and drinks were provided and we slept in the open air on the
top level of the boat at night. It was a great course and now I'm certified to dive throughout the rest of our trip.
After the course was over, we headed up to Phnom Penh for a few days. One day, we walked around in this weird little park, where there was a constant squaking sound from all the secadas in the trees and it smelled like insense from the temple in the centre of the park. We watched wild monkeys roam freely, stealing food and drinks from the locals, and watched elephants getting their afternoon bath. Afterwards, we left the park and went to the Seeing Hands Massage Center for a massage by the blind - supporting a organization for disabled Cambodians. I spent my hour wondering how I would handle it if my masseur actually broke all of my bones. I was in agony and I'm still surprised I got through the whole thing. I came out with messy hair and red eyes from, I don't know, maybe crying. Cheap, horrible, but for a good cause. At the end, I managed to spit out "Thank you, I feel very relaxed". Chris let out a laugh when I
said that, so maybe they knew I didn't really like it. That said, Chris loved every second of it and really did feel relaxed - clearly two very different masseurs.
After our massage, we hopped in a tuk-tuk and headed to a market where we picked up some pens, paper, pencils, crayons and other school supplies to bring to an orphanage nearby. We had a nice time meeting the kids there and playing games and talking. We were quite impressed with the number of street kids in the city and very impressed with the number of NGOs that are working to help educate and care for the children. The kids all seem so happy regardless of the situation they are in and it was nice to spend some of our money in support of the country, whether that be through eating at the "good cause" restaurants, buying souvenirs made by disabled Cambodians, or getting a beating in support of the blind.
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