Swiss Family Kahn finds their tree house in Southern Cambodia

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Cambodian Capital + Coastal Cambodia

Apart from the opportunity to meet up with friends and contacts in Phnom Penh, the city wasn’t filled with all that much to do. Once the royal palace visit was out of the way- an activity that took us 45 generous minutes at best, we were hard pressed to find ways to keep the kids entertained and interested. After the impressive sights on offer in Siem Reap, a stroll along the river and across the one temple vaguely worth a visit in town (Wat Phnom) simply didn’t impress them much (nor us!) Luckily, there were some fun restaurants to check out that were very family-friendly, such as Le Jardin with a bamboo playhouse complete with a slide that ends in a giant sandpit- filled with beach toys (yes, we spent the better part of a day here- thank goodness the food was also pretty fantastic) and Café Java that had a whole playroom reserved for kids (not to mention great sandwiches and… bagels!!) We also loved the all-organic café belonging to the trendy 240 Guesthouse. In fact, trendy is a word we found ourselves using surprisingly often to describe many of the restaurants and hotels we came across in Phnom Penh, including the one where we were staying: The 252, designed by a French/Khmer design group called “Tendance Khmer”. As a result, Lea suffered from her first attack of shopping withdrawal, having to fight a strong urge to hit the local markets to buy up some of the gorgeous ikat silks Cambodia is so famous for. Luckily (or not- depending on who’s perspective you take) luggage and time constraints prevailed and so Lea ultimately remained souvenir-free.



Another worthwhile activity in PP, but reserved for adults (so only Lea went) is a visit to the Tuol Sleng Museum, known as S21 (for Security Prison 21). This is where proof of the Khmer Rouge genocide is all too apparent and heart breaking. It was originally built as a school and you can still find classrooms with blackboards on some floors of the 4 buildings, but most of the classrooms were transformed by the Khmer Rouge into torture chambers and prison cells. These were difficult to walk through and as one strolls the halls, it is not uncommon to come across a tourist (or, as in Lea’s personal experience, a big burly Australian dude) having to take a minute to “regroup”. A visit to this place is not for the faint-hearted and Lea was as poorly equipped as the said Australian. But it certainly put the country and its struggles in context. It’s incredibly hard to wrap one’s head around the absolute misery the Khmer people were dragged through and just how much damage 4 years under a regime such as that of Pol Pot could do, both physically and psychologically. Even though the population of Cambodia seems to not only have survived, but is happily thriving today, evidence of this all too recent rough past pops up frequently as we cross the country- from mine warnings, to random barbed wire fences in the middle of rice paddies, to countless abandoned French colonial homes (especially in the coastal areas of Kampot and Kep…) But the most unexpected evidence came in the form of local reactions to the royal family’s loss of their patriarch.



Earlier this week, the King’s Father died. We were surprised how such an event, concerning so prominent a figure in Cambodian history, could occur with so little reaction on the part of the local population and press. In fact, we found out about it through the international media and hardly heard mention of it by Cambodians, other the occasional exhibit of incense burning near his photo. It then occurred to us that the man that was King during the country’s string of oppressive occupations might not be as loved and appreciated as his photos on the wall of each business place might lead you to believe. In truth, though he and his family also suffered at the hands of Pol Pot, King Sihanouk nevertheless played an instrumental role in the rise of the Khmer Rouge and clearly, not all is forgiven. The Cambodian way to deal with this issue appears to be simply not to discuss it, and so we were unable to get much of an explanation or opinion expressed by anyone in his regard… nor, for that matter, on his son, the now reigning King- though possibly for significantly different reasons. What we did find out is that the current King is in fact, a queen. And while Cambodia seems relatively gay-friendly, sexuality remains a taboo subject. So this may further explain why locals simply don’t have much to say about their ballet-loving, still single, aging King as he mourns the passing of his controversial father. And the future of the monarchy remains equally vague to us.



With all due respect to the Cambodian royal family, we elected to carry on our joyous journey, actively exploring the South of the country after a peaceful 3 hour drive from the capital to the sleepy provincial town of Kampot, at the foot of Bokor Mountain and on the banks of the Teuk Chhou River. Here, we found relief in the last-minute renouncement of staying in a slightly too-rustic 10$ a night riverside grass hut in favour of the very comfortable, if nevertheless basic, Soleil D’Or Guesthouse- a lovely little renovation of a French colonial 2- level townhouse in the middle of Kampot. As we were hitting town during a religious holiday that offered all a 3-day weekend, we struggled to find available lodging in this popular getaway town. Our first choice would have been the fantastic Rikitikitavi guesthouse (which nevertheless became our daily canteen), but it was sold out, as were our second and third choices. Out of despair, we decided to book ourselves into a true backpacker refuge called Ollie’s Place and were only saved by a last-minute cancellation at the slightly more upscale Soleil D’Or. When we nevertheless opted to lunch at Ollie’s we realized just how lucky that cancellation was. Ollie’s was… to put it mildly… a rundown collection of dirty shacks without plumbing. We had our confirmation that no matter how adventurous we wish to be, there is a certain line we’d rather not cross…or rather, we are simply not cut out to cross. And we were looking at it. From this point on, anything marketing itself with the words “rustic” or “backpackers” was to be avoided.



After four days spent swimming in rivers, roaming through rice paddies, and visiting pepper plantations, mango orchards and limestone caves, we moved on to the coastal resort town of Kep, just an hour away. Despite the beachside location of this French colonial remnant, most of the accommodations are built into the hills overlooking the sea. This was also the case for our selection: a Robinson Crusoe-like hotel, the Veranda Natural Resort , consisting of multiple elevated wooden structures built into the trees, offering a spectacular view of the Gulf of Thailand and the not-so-distant Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc- our next destination. The one small swimmable beach in Kep is not much of an attraction and most visitors, including our little family, opted for a 20minute boat ride out to one of the nearby islands, such as Koh Tonsay (known popularly as “Rabbit Island”.) On the island, there are a few local families willing to cook for you and rent you a straw surface to lay your towel on. Given their limited English, ordering lunch can be somewhat of a crapshoot. For example, when Lea asked for Coca-cola, she was brought a lovely freshly cut coconut, which she happily accepted and thoroughly enjoyed. Other noteworthy meals in Kep, included a crab dinner on the waterfront at the locally owned Kimly Restaurant (turns out our kids, unlike their mother, absolutely love shellfish…), a thoroughly nostalgic dinner at the Swiss-owned Kep Lodge consisting of rosti, spatzli, and sausage, as well as a bug-infested dinner at the attractive yet suspiciously empty Breezes restaurant. Additional highlights of our stay in Kep would be the free massages offered to the kids- perhaps a terrible foolish mistake in Mimi’s case, as she now asks for them every day… and the hotel’s fabulous salt water pool which kept the children thoroughly entertained and refreshed for 5 days, while Arnaud and Lea made friends with a variety of hotel guests full of good advice for our onward travels.

A few more lessons learnt the hard way during our travels to date:

1. Just because a hotel has a sign that says “Against sex tourism” doesn’t mean it won’t be filled with sad little European men entertaining pretty young local girls (and believe me, observant little 4 year olds WILL notice and comment on it… “is she a grown up?” or “is he her daddy?”)

2. Mosquito repellant bracelets draw ants.

3. When you are trying to stick to a budget, massages, babysitting, and desserts are the top items to get cut.

4. “Not so spicy” is Khmer for “super spicy” and “I don’t know” is Khmer for “you can’t handle the truth.”

5. When you are staying in a tree house with centimeter-wide gaps between the floorboards, handle your suitcase keys with care. Same goes for kids crayons.

6. Basic and natural in Cambodia means bugs (BIG bugs) and no air conditioning. (Halleluiah for mosquito nets…)

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Comments

[Susan Jenny]

Pepper from Kampot!
We have pepper from here!!! Gérard Vives, the big French spice specialist, travels there regularly to buy pepper and we order it online from him. You can taste some when you return home in Feb - if there is any left, it's such a delicacy!

[Catherine Clark]

Cambodia - continued
Looks like the kids are having a super time. You all look happy and healthy. Thanks for the update. Love, The Clarks

[les Duges]

So cute we miss you in the neighbourhood...