Watch Out for the Motorcycle!
Trip Start
Jul 10, 2007
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11
46
Trip End
Mar 11, 2008
Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Friday, August 3, 2007
Busy, no rules - especially on the road. Traffic lights are not just optional like in Paris but act merely as decorations. It is insane as well as fascinating to watch the flow of vehicles. People drive on the side of the street they choose, sidewalks and inside buildings. I am not quite sure if drivers are patient or not. No one stops or waits for anyone. Everyone plows through blindly but no one gets angry. SPACE in Phnom Penh (or anywhere else in Cambodia) is what you do not see between two mirrors of cars overtaking each other - especially because overtaking is done even if there is on-coming traffic. Accidents seem few...only saw two. Tuk-tuk drivers and cab drivers rule the town and can be quite enjoyable when they are not hounding you to get your business.
The Riverfront is popular, lively and a fun place to eat at night
Royal Palace
. When you go dining, lift your feet, keep your head low...rats, cats and bats can frequent the same outside establishments. There are also great little "artsy" boutiques. I found the silk stores, Ty found the cookies. There is a fabulous restaurant with the greatest philosophy to help the community. It is the Good Friend's restaurant where kids at risk are taken off the street, fed, lodged and offered a two year job training to work in the service business. These children are also very well supervised as they have to perform and succeed. We had a great conversation with one of the teachers who was so proud of his work.
The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda are worth visiting...so is the American Hospital as our oldest spiked a very high fever due to a very sore neck. A bit of a scare! We were able to contact a doctor quickly; here they answer their phone! A good dose of antibiotics, antihistamines and pain killers were administered to clear the acute ear infection. Yet again, surprised and impressed at how fast we were able to get good medical attention! What a lesson for our Canadian medical system.
