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This is my third visit to Phnom Penh, the last one having been something like 4 to 5 years ago. My first visit to PP will always remain something, as it was back in 1997....the week-end after the military coup...no lights in the streets at night...most road were not paved, still dirty roads....and every mini-hotel had a guard sleeping on the front door at night...with his Kalashnikov on hand. It was something else...Tuol Seng, S21, the Genocide museum was still a pretty rough place to visit.
Today, Phnom Penh is another story...it looks actually exactly like Saigon...with still as of today, way less traffic than what Saigon has to suffer day after day. We arrived after the 3 hours drive from Sihanoukville...and one more time, I'm staying at the FCC. The FCC is a mythic bar/restaurant in Phnom Penh, but few people know they have rooms....pretty nice ones, pretty cheap ones...spread in the few buildings around the FCC. This time, we settled for the Director Apartment, nice large flat with a front terrace and a partial view to the Tonle Sap river...partial as the trees are covering most of the view.
On the program, the
National Museum, the Royal Palace and his Silver Pagoda and finally Tuol Send (S21) Museum to the Genocide. Never forget that between 1975 and 1979, the Khmers Rouge murdered more than 2 millions people, up to a third of the population of Cambodia at the time. Leslie and Tiffany are today old enough to visit places like Tuol Seng, specially as today, to the contrary of 1997, there are a lot more explanations to understand the horror that happened here.
Leslie has visited few years ago Angkor Wat with his Grand-parents. Sadly, tomorrow is back to school and we won't have the time to head north to Siem Reap on this trip. I 'm lucky to have been 3 times to Angkor Wat...with that famous visit back in1997....when that week, they only sold 20 tickets per day...Angkor Wat to myself...it probably will never be again. Well, and for Tiffany, one day I'll show her this Wonder of the World, actually, the most amazing wonder of the world for me. Or maybe one day she will take her back-pack with few of her friends...that could happen too, in not such a distant future.
So to
put things into perspective, we spent some quality time in the National Museum of Phnom Penh for Leslie and Tiffany to see what they haven't seen on the sites...or that they won't see in the future in the temples.
Next, the Royal Palace and he Silver Pagoda....not as impressive as the Royal Palace in Bangkok, but still a lovely place.
And we did too took the aperitif and nice dinner at the FCC, I simply love this place!
It was already time to take a tuk-tuk, this time to the airport....did spent enough time on the road, was not a bad idea to do a short flight in Air Asia to home...and back to school for Leslie and Tiffany.
Summer school holidays start on 4th July. I will be in Bangkok most of the time till that day...and than, on the 5th July, it's bacl on the plane...for serious fun, serious diving over the months of July and August...soon to come...soon...
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Actually, Angkor Wat is not one of the New Seven Wonders...
a serious omission. See the Forum to nominate what you think should be considered for the Eight Wonder. I was pleased to see that Air Asia now serves Siem Reap...used to be a monopoly enjoyed by Bangkok Airways...at twice the price that it cost to fly from Bangkok to Phnom Penh.