Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh was a bit of a shock: a lot poorer than I imagined, despite it being the capital city. There was also a huge Water Festival going on to celbrate the turning of the tides. The city was packed out with people, some of which had travelled a long way from the provinces. We stayed at the Hope and Anchor on the main street. It was a nice place but rather pricey at $45 per night. We were told that PP has a problem with reasonable quality accommodation so perhaps this was a good deal.

A Cyclo Man trying to sleep

We had a balcony room overlooking the river, which was great as they had dragon boat races during the day and floats/fire works at night (see piccies). All very enjoyable although it did take a while to get around. Getting around felt even more dangerous than a Tuk-Tuk. The only way of travelling was for both of us to jump on the back of a moped and then fight our way through the chaos. We actually counted five people on one moped! I thought it was the start of a motorcycle display team.

Dragon Boat Racing

We also went to see S21 Interrogation camp used by the Khmer Rouge to interrogate and torture people before sending them off to the killing fields (about 15km north west of PP). There were lots of rather horrible picture of the cells (still preserved) together with photos of those killed, their blank faces failing to tell the full horror. We both left feeling rather drained although we were glad we went. Just as we were leaving two Vietnam war veterans stood next to our Tuk-Tuk, one of which was horribly disfigured by Agent Orange used by the Americans. Think night of the living dead. We both felt really sorry for the two guys and a bit ashamed that we didn't give them any money as we just wanted to get out of there. I'm sure others would have been more generous.

Fireworks and Boat Display in Phnom Penh

Later on we visit Le Royal Hotel, which is an impressive colonial building with a great swimming pool and 2for1 cocktails. Nice.

Night time in Phnom Penh