Home sweet home!
Trip Start
May 20, 2008
1
4
7
Trip End
Jun 11, 2008
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Friday, June 6, 2008
Lee and I went for some noodle soup for dinner and I had some mixed fruit shake which is very popular in Cambodia and sold everywhere. It's extremely sweet and thick from the condensed milk they throw in and all I could taste was that damned durian! Then a group of us went to the Lazy Gecko Cafe for the quiz where we came third. We moved on to the Magic Sponge for a bit of Jenga while the tuk tuk drivers offered us weed and yaba (crystal meth) through the window! I was the only girl in the group of seven - just like being at home and after midnight it was time to move on to the infamous 'Heart of Darkness' nightclub in town. All 7 of us piled in one tuk tuk - 6 large men in the back and myself perched behind the driver on his motorbike. We needed to be pushed to get going and even then moved at 4km/hr. So Tim and Mike jumped out to get a moto and I climbed into the back.
The nightclub was full with tourists, rich boys and working girls and we all had a great night dancing mostly. Back at the guesthouse a few of the staff were still up (as it's a 24 hour restaurant) and we watched a bit of James Bond when out of the blue, at 3:30am, a lady boy comes walking into the restaurant! It was such a strange situation and everyone went pretty silent. Turns out he stole a few things from the guesthouse that night, which to me is crazy... he's hardly inconspicuous!
Day 97 - Slow start today - sat in the restaurant writin my journal as everyone else woke up one by one - the little girl who lives at the guesthouse got her notebook and sat by me copying the english signs for food and laundry on the restaurant wall!
Today Lee wanted to visit his home in a village 45 minutes from Phnom Penh and so took me with him. I met his mother, sisters, brother etc and even his Grandma who I had to stand right next to her for her to see me! His house is a tiny tin shack he made himself, which he shares with his Mum, but his whole family are housed all around them. There was an amazing sense of community there as everyone gathered at a neighbours house and they were all so pleased to see Lee.. and he was so excited too! It was really amazing! We drove to everyone's house including his friends who were making rice wine and had a lunch of rice pancakes which his Mum makes and sells to earn some money (she's well over 60). The pancakes you eat with your fingers by wrapping up the mince, beansprouts and mini shrimp filling, as well as various fresh leaves in the pancake and dipping it in some peanut type sauce. It was such an amazing experience meeting all these people - his friends and family and showed me so much about Khmer country lifestyle and it was worth it to see someone so happy for a few hours, although it did start to make me slightly homesick!
Day 98 - I got a moto to the Central Market which is an impressive art deco designed building situated as a roundabout with stalls spilling out and filling every available space. I perused the hundreds of stalls selling just about everything (except swimming costumes) and managed to get some chicken and rice for lunch at one of the little vendors inside. I really liked the market as it had a good feel, plus I love art deco architecture so I guess it ticked all the boxes!
That afternoon myself, Mikey and Martin (from Germany) decided to go for another swim and this time it only rained once we got out! That evening I was in the middle of a really good chicken amok when Yan came back from Siem Reap! So about the same group as last time, with the addition of Yan, stayed in the restaurant until 1am before moving on to 'The Heart' and another great night ensued and when we came back we sat in the restaurant thinking it was about 2am, when in fact it was gone 5:00! I sat and watched the sky turn light as I ate a chocolate pancake and finally went to bed.
Day 99 - Today I celebrated my 100th day travelling by my first phonecall home (although it says only day 99 on here, I actually started counting the days from the day I left home). It was nice to speak to my parents and Chris and felt quite satisfied that they had not changed one bit!
In the afternoon, myself, Tim, Renee (French Canadian) and Paul (Irish) wanted to go and see some live Khmer boxing so set off only to find the stadium was in mid-demolition, and the fight had been moved somewhere else. We tore off in the tuk tuk (which is bloody slow) to the other stadium but arrived just as the fighting had finished, as they had moved the time two hours earlier! Accepting defeat we instead sat and watched a bit of Khmer Sunday League which was on instead - I'm no critic but there were some pretty appalling skills!
Day 100 - Went to the gym in Phnom Penh hotel this morning as desperately felt the need to exercise! I also got to use the swimming pool so enjoyed half an hour being the only person in it... until I got a bit bored! More chilling at the guesthouse until Lee and I went for a drive to the Russian Market and then to the riverfront, where we sat on the grass (and were consequently told to get off with a man with a whistle and power trip!) and ate some of those amazing purple fruits. I also tried anew fruit which was very sour and a little bit sickly!
In the evening we crossed the Tonle Sap River to the island between that and the Mekong for some rice pancakes, and found a lovely little open air vendor situated on a lawn which was really nice and quiet. Back at the guesthouse a game of killer pool took place which was fun and Lee's friend, Mr Tee turned up and I chatted to him for a while - everyone ended up getting very drunk and it's not entirely clear how!
Day 101 - This morning I didn't really want to speak to anyone so went to relax on a hammock on a veranda away from the restaurant outside my room. Lee and I then went to escape the heat in an air conditioned mall near Central market and we got an ice coffee before going to the top floor and admiring the amazing view of Phnom Penh. We then drove around the corner to my favourite place, the Central Market so I could buy two hammocks to take home!
The afternoon was spent packing to leave - what an arduous affair since my whole bag had to be emptied and washed and therefore completely re-packed! I have never sweated so much! That evening I chilled by the lake, making the most of my last night there and watching the amazing sight of lightening in the sky, illuminating the clouds. Although I am sad to leave the Lazy Fish I have had enough of doing nothing and am excited to go to Siem Reap and see the temples. After a weeks rest I feel this is exactly the right time to go.
Day 102 - I got up for a noodle soup breakfast before getting Lee to take me to the Central Market and Shopping Mall (again), but this time with my camera. As the market is essentially a roundabout, I was having trouble getting a clear shot of it, and requested Lee drive me around a few times and stop while I stood up on the back of the bike to take a photo - and even then they were pretty poor!
My minibus didn't pick me up until midday so I spent the morning sitting in the restaurant counting down the minutes. Luckily, when it arrived many people in the guesthouse had gone out as I hate goodbyes! The bus to Siem Reap was quite empty so I got a double seat to myself and this in combination with good air con and an excellent road surface made for a damn good snooze for most of the way.
At Siem Reap bus station, the tuk tuk and guesthouse touts were the worst I have ever experienced as they all enclosed in a circle around me, some grabbing my bag and other physically pulling at my shoulder. I couldn't possibly make a rational decision so chose the quietest man to take me to what I thought was his guesthouse (turns out another guy had given me the guesthouse card and backed off without me noticing) but the tuk tuk driver took me there (in a roundabout way) for no charge and I got a very warm welcome from the staff inside. They offered me a reasonable room for $6, but unwilling to budge from $5, they gave in so long as I didn't tell the other guests. The tuk tuk driver, called Gaga, was waiting eagerly to convince me to employ him tommorrow and he offered me a very good price of $7 for the day, leaving me no room to negotiate and so I accepted.
