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Published: April 7th 2010
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Phnom Penh
The Chocolate Shop We had to go back to the Central market having discovered that the jeans (made in Thailand!) Shea had bought the day before were too small. Got that sorted out, then Shea bought her first piece of art work, an oil painting depicting the face at Bayon done in a slightly abstract manner. Our flight wasn’t until late afternoon so we decided to have a last wander around. We came upon a delightful shop selling chocolates called the Chocolate Shop (what else?) and couldn’t resist sampling a few, delish! We found the wine shop Manish had recommended but I couldn’t find the wine I was looking for. So we headed back to the supermarket and I ended with 4 bottles that I have to stuff into our bags. River kindly sent her driver to take us to the airport. It took us 13 hours travel time to get to Phnom Penh and now, we will be back in Bangkok in about an hour!
I didn’t want to come to Cambodia at first, I thought it would be just another South East Asian country with similarities to Thailand that wouldn’t make it worth the trouble, of course, I was wrong. I
Phnom Penh
The chocolates! Yum! visited Hanoi with Brens a couple of years ago and was delighted to find it very different from any country I had been to, sure the people looked somewhat similar for this part of the world, the food looked familiar, it was noisy and congested but on closer inspection it was all different. And although Cambodia draws more similarities to Thailand than Vietnam, it is remarkably different as well. The obvious initial difference I found in Vietnam was its architecture, this wasn’t so much the case in Cambodia, though distinct, Cambodian architectural style is very similar to Thai architecture. The main difference I found in Cambodia was the attitude of its people, reflected in its history and culture, its Chinese and colonial influences which has brought it to this place in time. I’m not going to try to define this attitude, it is after, a personal viewpoint. Just that coming from Thailand, I found it refreshing and optimistic, and can’t help but wonder how long it will last.
A couple of things I’d like to mention, firstly those of you who have children, do this. Don’t take your kids on holiday, take them on an ‘adventure’. Don’t plan everything,
let them in on the decision making. This trip has been great for Shea and I, we’ve learnt a lot more about each other and our relationship as father and daughter has reached a new level as fellow travelers. The other thing is about just that, traveling. When I was young, growing up in Malaysia, traveling was about leaving Asia and heading westwards. I could never afford it, so I put the idea of traveling aside presuming it a goal that was financially unattainable. The fact is, there were and are destinations that were within my grasp out there waiting to be discovered and well, traveled. So get out there, do the leg work, smell the roses (and whatever else) along the way, sample the food, get frustrated, bitten and annoyed. Discover, marvel and celebrate and get a better perspective of yourself, that’s what it’s all about, do it now!
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