'Happy' Pizza and Good Times In Phnom Penh

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Well, gotta say I like Phnom Penh. Vibrant and bustling, it seems to be a city in its infancy that is still finding its way. Hard to believe this city was empty and badly damaged or that countless acts of brutality were carried out here, less than 3 decades ago. These days its got a good vibe and even though there is still a lot of poverty its somehow a little less depressing than Siem Reap. In general there a more kids and others selling their wares on the street, approaching your table and what not but they are a lot less persistent. They seem fairly content to play the numbers game rather than wasting time pushing someone who doesn't seem too keen.


GETTING HERE

Fairly unevenful journey, save for one little worry early on. When our bus came to get us it was a minibus with no aircon, windows that were sealed shut and people were crammed in so tight they were sitting in the aisle. 5-6hrs travel on this was none too appealing. Jim was ready to up and demand to be let off and get our money back because it looked NOTHING like the one in the brochure but I was already too hot to bother trying to get our bags out from under everyone elses. After about 10 minnutes I started thinking maybe we should have gotten off.

The good news? It was the shuttle bus taking us to the real one - which did look more like the brochure and did have (reasonable effective) aircon. Glad we didn't cause a scene because wouldn't we have felt silly? Felt better when a couple of other travellers admitted they thought the same thing we did. Capitol bus was good, they only stop twice so you can use the bathroom and get mobbed by a dozen kids with pineapple and then before you know it your there. Some interesting scenery on the way as well, little villages, markets etc. and the road is pretty good in most places.

Lowlight? Crazy music blaring - and i DO mean blaring - that sounds less like music and more like a deranged icecream man. Or maybe its more like a childs jack- in- the- box or music box when you wind it backwards. No offense meant to anyone, by the way.


SPLURGING ON A ROOM

Not crazy 5 star splurging but with air con, a warm shower and TV kinda splurging. Now I'm not usually much of a TV watcher - more a movie buff - but it is great having our first cable TV (in ENGLISH too!), and our first cool fresh room and the first warm toasty shower in almost a month. Seems nice there except for the sign saying if you want a 'friend' to stay a few hours it costs $20 extra(there's also a sign saying prostitution in their hotel is prohibited. Yeah right). When I was having breakfast there this morning I found the old creepy dude and the young asian woman a little disconcerting. I was trying to work out if he looked more like an aging David Bowie or an aging Rod Stewart but it doesn't really matter: either way he put me off my eggs and bacon...

'HAPPY PIZZA'

First night in Phnom Penh seemed as good a place and time as any to sample the pizza. 'Happy Herb Pizza' is the original that gets a positive comment or two in the Lonely Planet but we went with 'Happy Phnom Penh Pizza' a couple of doors up. There were a few reasons for this, the least of which not being the 2- beers- for- a- dollar happy hour deal. Now, here's a recipe for potential disaster. 3 beers in an hour and...

"You wan' very happy or jus' little happy?" Asks our waitress. Cautiously, tentatively I say " Medium pepperoni pizza....um, medium happy...please." I ended up a little more than medium happy, but it was all good. Now, I am a little of a light-weight and its true I haven't tried it, but I recommend choosing "very happy' ONLY if you have a couple of free days to burn in your itinary.

So that's pretty much it for day one in Phnom Penh : bus journey, finding a bed, happy pizza and beer... until next time take care.

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Photos

jim_pizza
Our medium sized, medium happy pepperoni pizza. 'happy' means they put special cambodian herbs in it... and yes, it's as good as it looks.

view_hut
Traditional hut in a small village we passed through on our way from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh

cocktail
Cocktail anyone? Advertised on the wall at our hotel, I start to wonder what sort of an establishment we're staying at...

us_pizza
enjoying the riverfront with Beer Lao, possibly the best beer in the world and reverred by many

happy_pizza
Can recommend this place. Smiles all round.

Us
Jim and I on a tuktuk, somewhere.

Comments

[Claire]

What is the happy pizza, actually?