First Day in Cambodia

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I left Bangkok yesterday for Cambodia. In an attempt to escape the heat, I got to the airport a few hours early to enjoy the A/C (my adjustment to a warmer climate is still ongoing!)

Cambodia, while warm, is a little less painful, which was good as I did a lot of walking today. Last night, when I got to the airport, I got a tuk-tuk for the fixed $7 price into anywhere in the central area of the City. I told the driver the guesthouse I wanted and he queried whether I had a reservation yet (it was about 8 p.m. at this point). I stupidly said no, and he promptly told me that the place was full - he had brought someone there earlier in the day and there were no rooms. Every other name I threw out there also had a problem. I finally caved and let him take me to his "recommended" hotel (i.e., the one I'm sure he gets a kickback from whenever he brings a customer). For $15 for the night, I thought the place would be at least as nice as the cheaper places I've stayed at, but no - it was pretty cruddy. I resolved not to take a shower, regardless of what might happen, and cracked open the sleeping bag for the first time as I didn't want my body to touch the sheets, bedding, etc. (I'm not really sure what good that does since now my sleeping bag is probably infested, but maybe the bugs will stay on the outside - that's the theory with which I'll comfort myself anyway.)

Needless to say, first thing I did this morning was set out for a new place to stay. I had a destination in mind, and figured out on the map that it was less than a mile away. Just under 2 hours later, I arrived. Phonm Phen is a hard city to navigate! In part, because crossing the street is close to impossible - at times, I walked several extra blocks to find a good crossing spot. Not only are lanes "suggestions," so is the direction of the streets - if a car/motorcycle needs to be on the opposite side, it simply drives against traffic. At first, my strategy was to get behind a local crossing and shadow them. Later, I got braver and did dashes on my own, figuring that drivers wouldn't want to risk denting their vehicles on me. I had to wave off offers of tuk-tuk and motorcycle rides numerous times (including from a group of amused drivers that I walked by 3 separate times while searching for the right street), but ended up seeing a really large amount of the city (I was even able to give directions to a german couple later in the day). While parts are quite beautiful, like the area near the Royal Palace, others are less so. What continues to surprise me is the amount of garbage in the streets; I know that it gets cleaned up, but it's just strange to see so much, expcieally since there are garbage barrels available. And, despite my complaints about the backpack storage capacity (and I've developed a few other complaints as well that I won't bore the non-hikers with), it was pretty comfortable to carry during this walk. (Of course, once I got to the new hotel, walking up stairs made my legs ache - doesn't bode well for trekking😊 On the plus side, the general lack of hills in the areas that I have been so far means that my knee is feeling much better.

After an hour of recovery time (i.e., getting my face to turn to a pink as opposed to red color), I set back out, sans the big pack this time, to do some sightseeing. I visited the Royal Palace complex, which was extremely clean, bright and fun to wander around. In one building, there was live traditional music, and they let you try out a few of the instruments. Not that I didn't enjoy the cultural parts of the day, but the highlight had to be my introduction to fried bananas - I think I could live on those! I'm off to look for some dinner (to go with my day's consumption of fried bananas).

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Comments

[jeff]

Hey Alladine
Just checked in on your blogette ;-) Sounds like you are already having some adventure. Fried bananas/plantains are heaven, I agree. Stay cool!. Big Papi announced today that everyone should be tested for steroids, across the board and anyone found positive should be banned for a year. He is the Big Papi, no doubt. Duval Patrick wants to introduce a driving chip tax instead of a .50 gas tax hike. The chip would be part of the inspection sticker and you are charged for how many miles you drive. Lost of orwellian complaints but its actually not a bad idea given the amount of infrastructure that needs funding. it will also encourage alot of public transportation. As well as fake inspection stickers ! That's all from the hood. Cheers, jeff

[Hanh]

oh, i read "tuk-tuk" wrong, and was thinking that $7 was REALLLY cheap even for cambodian prositutes. btw, crossing the streets in vietnam is very similar, so you should practice now.

[Bob Cammett]

Your 2nd entry
You ought to recall that-Boston's streets are still defined by the cow paths. Even with The Big Dig all through-we think!