Cambodia (second time lucky)
Trip Start
Sep 23, 2004
1
62
77
Trip End
Ongoing
Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Sunday, January 20, 2008
On the boat back to Khao Lake, flying fish skittered across the surface of the sea and we saw a turtle progressing majestically through the water. We arrived back on the mainland and were distressed when we were passed by a ute piled high with dead sharks- caught illegally from the Similans. This is the only country I've dived in where I have not seen a single shark alive. I took photos of the fish and number plate, and passed them on to our dive master to give to the National Park office
Grand Palace, Phnom Penh
. Despite all this evidence it seemed sadly unlikely that a prosecution would take place here. The following day was a lazy one, featuring walks along the bustling Bang Niang beach, and a massage in a four poster bed by the sea. After lunch, headed back to Phuket to catch our plane. Things went rather wrong when the plane was cancelled, and the flight we were shunted on to was delayed. We spent 3 hours in total in our luxurious Bangkok hotel, before a very early start to get our plane to Phnom Penh. By 8am, we were there- second time lucky, I'd made it to Cambodia.
Luggage retrieval was quick, and getting visas was straightforward. We were soon weaving our way through the city to Rory's Guesthouse, near the Tonle Sap river. The traffic at rush hour here put Bangkok's kamikaze taxi drivers to shame, and even made Kathmandu look calm. Almost every car seemed to be a Toyota Camry. In theory, they drive on the right hand side of the road here; in practice, they drive anywhere there is a space. The answer to the question of how many people you can fit on a moped is, improbably, 5, if one is a child and you all want to sit down. Ladies sit side-saddle, elegantly perched behind their man, barely bothering to hold on as they lurch as weave through the chaos of Camrys
Grand Palace, Phnom Penh
. Hand barrows and long bamboo poles with heavy loads on each end are in common usage. Phnom Penh is a city of contrasts, as are so many poor places. Most of the side streets are dirt roads, but people are employed to water and manicure the bright bougainvillea and verdant grass beside the main routes. The university campus was bustling and buzzing- 30 years ago it would have been outlawed, and many of its members slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge.
Our first stop after setting down our bags was the Grand Palace. We walked through a dusty square, abutted by a glorious but crumbling colonial mansion, then strolled on parallel to the river. The palace was impressive, full of bright colours and soaring architecture. Napoleon bequeathed an iron structure, remeniscent of a fancy birdcage, which looked rather incongruous beside the fluid Khmer buildings. The royal family's costumes which were on display were encrusted with gold thread and shimmering sequins. There were rooms filled with gold and silver gifts, statues and regalia. The Silver Pagoda was lovely; the Emerald Buddha sat in stately splendour, and small patches of silver tiles not shrouded by rugs hinted at the full reflective glory of the silver tiles which carpet the whole building. The place was hardly crowded, but a pleasant shady garden full of Buddhas, flowers, tiny birds and jewel-like butterflies provided a break from the heat and chatter
Grand Palace
. We went to Phsar Thmei, a market housed in and spilling out of a 1930s art deco domed building. Rows of clothing, hardware and electronics lined the entrances, with a glittering array of jewellery at the centre. Most fascinating were the food and flower stalls- full of exotic blooms and scents, from orchids and bird-of-paradise blooms, to dragon fruit, deep fried spiders and cockroaches and the notoriously stinky durian fruit. After a thorough exploration, we returned to the river for lunch, then visited Wat Ounalom, which has a stupa containing an eyebrow hair of the Buddha. An elderly gentleman invited us through a narrow doorway, to see a statue of the Buddha surrounded by lotus blossoms and fairy lights. We were given incense to place in front of the statue, the man flicked water from a bundle of twigs onto us, and then held our hands and said a blessing, then smiled goodbye as we left the peaceful sanctuary to explore the ornately painted monastery.
Wat Phnom, on Phnom Penh's only hill, was much less peaceful. It was a bustling and noisy little temple alive with worshippers. Musicians played melodically on drums and xylophone, supplicants left offerings of meat and fruit in the mouths of three lion sculptures, and vendors sold birds in cages to release for good luck, and lotus pods to feed to the monkeys who roamed the grounds
Garudas
. The air was filled with incense and chatter, which turned to laughter when a boxer arrived on an elephant... no, we didn't quite understand what that was about either. After a powernap, we went to 'Friends' restaurant for dinner. It is an NGO-run establishment which aims to help some of Cambodia's many street kids by teaching them to cook and serve food. The organisation gives the children shelter, education and a livelihood, and where possible attempts to reunite them with their families. The food was tapas, Cambodian style, and was delicious, full of gently spiced, crisp green vegetables. I ended up taking a recipe book away with me to try to replicate some of the dishes for myself back in New Zealand. Afterwards we went to the Foreign Correspondent's Club (FCC) for cocktails on a balcony overlooking the Tonle Sap river.
