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Published: February 26th 2006
Today was a fairly touristy day for us. We decided to visit the Silver Pagoda in the Royal Palace as well as the National Museum in the morning, and then the Tuol Sleng Museum in the afternoon, the later being housed in the school grounds which were known as the S-21 prison during the Pol Pot/Khmer Rouge rule.
We headed out to the Royal Palace at around 8am (we actually walked there, can you believe it?? The excuse of wanting to support the poor tuk-tuk and moto drivers of Phnom Penh didn't stretch far enough this time.) and stopped for some breakfast at another street stall, this time housed under a tarp. The Khmers grinned and smirked as we made our way to one of the tables, and the hostess spoke no English at all, but luckily there was an English-speaking Khmer patron witting just near us. We ordered boiled rice with BBQ pork and egg - delicious - as well as pii kaafe (two Khmer coffees) and an iced tai (tea).
The lady nodded, we nodded, and then we all watched as she prepared the first dish, and quickly placed it in front of Helyna. Eva and I watch on, as she made further dishes, but these we placed in front of other patrons. We watched some more, smiled and nodded some more, slowly realising that she thought we only wanted one dish for Helyna. We politely asked the English speaker whether she would make two more, and when he translated hastily to her, she gasped with horror that she had misunderstood. Quickly, two more dishes appeared, and we all laughed and smiled and nodded. The kaafes turned out to be cold iced sweet coffees, not the hot ones we had asked for, but great anyway. The tasted somelike the Kaluha Espresso Martini I had later on in the day at the FCC (Foreign Correspondent Cafe) along the riverside.
We paid (under US$1 each), and took a photo with the smiling hostess. She was overwhelmed by the attention, and the other half-a-dozen patrons looked on with large grins, true Khmer style.
We reached the Royal Temples, paid our US$3 entrance fee, and headed off to the Silver Pagoda, which, according to the Lonely Planet, housed a 90kg solid gold buddha as well as 1000 silver tiles on the pagodas floor. We entered the dwelling, one of many in the Royal grounds, and moved to the front to view the life-sized buddha, covered in diamonds. We could only get half-way to the front though, as cords sectioned it off from tourists. Eva said, 'where is the buddha? can you see it?' We all tried desperately to decipher the figures in the background, but could make out nothing. Outside, I decided to ask a Western woman which temple we were in. Turns out it was the Throne Hall... Whoops. Perhaps that tour guide who asked us if we needed assistance on our way in would have been good afterall??
A further building we entered contained relics from pre-Angkorian times (before 800AD) and I eyed them off with fascination. On closer inspection, I found some really old urns and bowls, as well as what looked like a port bottle with... 'Isla del Tesara' stamped on it? Karlita, I don't think the Spanish traded with the Cambodians in 800AD??? Perhaps they were DRINKING from this bottle when they found the other artefacts? Very amusing and it gives you a good idea of how organised and well identified the items in these museums are.
After viewing the real buddha and the 1000 silver tiles (which, by the way, had been stuck together to stop from lifting with packaging tape), we realised that the Royal Palace shut from 11am to 2pm for siesta, like much of the rest of the Khmers. We went back to the guesthouse, and the girls decided to go to the markets for a third time to get some clothes tailored and some shoes made. I kicked back and read more Cambodian history with the Air Conditioner, our trusted friend during the midday hours.
Around 2pm, we had a quick lunch in the guesthouse (way too expensive at around US$1.80 per dish) as well as a Beer Lao and some Khmer lessons from one of the friendly staff. We then headed out to the National Gallery, as we had decided that the Khmer Rouge museum would have to be skipped (probably a pity, as although it would have been a gruesome experience, it would definitely have opened our eyes to the terrible things that went on during the Pol Pot rule from 1975 to 79, when around one million Khmer people were tortured and exterminated, many on the grounds of the Tuol Sleng Museum.).
The National Museum was disappointing to say the least, through this did not really surprise me, as I am getting used to the fact that no where in the country do you find exhibitions or buildings with any description or explanation. Further, it housed only pre-Angkorian statues and Angkorian statues, mainly of Buddha, Shiva, Vishnu, their consorts, and a few other mythical creatures. There was no display of modern Cambodia in the last century, which I had expected. Oh well. I guess the funding only goes so far, or perhaps the problem is the lack of educated Khmers, as most had been exterminated under the Khmer Rouge.
I finsih off our day of culture, we headed to the famous FCC, where a lot of the expats (but more tourists, from what I could see) socialise, and had several cocktails (US$2.50 each). The FCC is housed in a huge French Colonial building, the bar being upstairs with big bay windows looking out over the Tonle Sap river. The waiters were in the typical colonial servant outfits - black pants and off white shirts, only the gloves were missing. And the all Western patrons certainly treated them like the Englishman in India would have treated their native waiters in the Men's Clubs... Hmmm. The contrast between the Western attitude and the Khmer one is certainly intense...
After our drinks, we headed to a small, traditional Khmer cookhouse, where you can cook you own soup chnnang dei at the table for US$3.50, a favourite amongst the Khmers. We decided to walk the smallish distance from the FCC to 63 Soup, but soon realised that this was a bad idea, as we were getting deeper and deeper into a dark neighbourhood, and couldn't see motos or tuk-tuks anywhere, something I thought would NEVER be a problem in Cambodia. We continued walking, as we thought it best not to stop, and finally, a moto driver stopped, followed shortly afterwards by another one. We negotiated the fare and hoped on the backs of the scooters to travel the short distance to the restaurant. We stopped on the corner where it was supposed to be, but no 63 Soup! We got off anyway, and headed towards what was now called Mondilkiri Cafe, a large rich-patron looking Khmer restaurant. Inside, there was no soup chnnang dei on the menu (though there was Beef penis in sauce - Eva photographed the menu for Rove), so we had lemon tea out of courtesy to the staff, there braved the dodgy neighbourhood outside again, with a new destination in mind - a Chinese restaurant by the name of Wah Kee on Monivong Blvd, which Eva had picked out of our trusted (and annoying) Lonely Planet. Two motos drove us there, and luckily, the place was packed. There were tubs of live crabs, lobster, fish, clams, you name it, they had it. And probably around 100 hungry Khmer patrons. We ordered Black pepper beef, Noodles with chicken and Bok choy in oyster sauce, slightly more standard dishes than in the last establishment! The food was good, though a little bland, but the English speaking head waiter made up for it, trying to teach us Khmer phrases. The guests at the table next to us were giggling about our precense for a good 5 minutes, and the whole experience was just lovely. Again, the people made all the difference!
On the way home, we negotiated for three, not two, moto drivers to take us home, as they all wanted to do so. The Khmers seem to laugh and think it is funny when you offer them a ridiculously low price. The driver who I went with, Leap, was a former business student from one of the local universities, and he told me stories the entire trip home. I said he should visit when in Australia, so we exchanged email addresses, and I gave him an extra dollar for his Australia-trip-piggy-bank. Lovely people.
Tomorrow, we head off out of Phnom Penh for a few days, down to the beaches of Sihanoukville. Eary start, so I am going to sign off!
xoxo Maz
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Gabi K.
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Dear Maria and girls, it is raining here and I feel a bit depressed today due to some things in the tribunal today, or rather, the lack of it. But more when you are back in the country!Did you get Martin and F."s recommendation reg. the accom. directly on the beach for US $ 9.- for 2 people? Might sound too much, but seemed clean and good and well located.When you write the diary, I can virtually see "yous" in front of me.Why is everybody going to the same beach, is this a silly question?(As in, there is only one!) Anyway, have fun and stay alert as you did on the way to the "soup 99" rest. the other night, you know what you are doing! Miss you so much, take care, kisses!!!mum