Phnom Penh

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Phnom Penh was a wonderful surprise. Given all its recent horrible events (can't call it history, since it's still current events, considering four top Khemer Rouge officials are on war crimes trials right now), I wasn't sure what to expect. I found it to be a good walking city ... but then again, where do I NOT find a good walking city eh? Oh Yes! Doha, our home town, is not a good walking city. In fact, it's almost impossible to even cross a street without a car in Doha. Things such as sidewalks are not put in place all the time.

Anyway ... The King of Cambodia ... or former king ... or whatever his current title is ... has had a difficult time being above politics because he had to choose sides all the time in the last 50 years and he didn't have nice choices to make ... he pretty well had to encourage his people to back the Khemer Rouge over the US backed military dictatorship and when the Khemer Rouge won ... that didn't make things easier ... he was in exile in China and then returned to some horrible politics ... I need to learn a lot more about him and his surroundings before I can form an honest opinion.

But onto Phnom Penh ... Visited the Royal Palace which I found to be very similar to the Royal compounds in Bangkok, the National Museum which had some wonderful displays ... incredible they survived the Khemer Rouge and their Mao inspired Great Leap Forward in 1975.

The streets are full of young people. There's very few older people ... and on a proportional basis, it appears to be all people under 35 ... that's understandable considering the number of people the Khemer Rouge killed. The city has energy and a vibrancy I didn't expect. The majority of travellers go straight to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat and seem to shun Phnom Penh .. their loss.

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