Everybody Looks Suspicious
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2008
1
76
93
Trip End
Jan 31, 2009
Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Friday, January 9, 2009
I wasn't happy with the Mekong Hotel, because their breakfast ended at 9am and they weren't willing to negotiate any prices, including the daily rate for the bicycle. On the other hand, what did I expect for $6 a night?
Got a ticket on a Phnom Penh Sorya Transport bus for $3. It was comfortable and air-conditioned.
We made a brief stop at a small local market. The moment I stepped off the bus, the 15-year old sellers started flirting with me
Edible Insects
. They went as far as calling me "boyfriend". The closer they got the more paranoid I got about pickpocketing. As I was trying to avoid my "girlfriends", I caught a glimpse of a stand that had bowls full of spiders, crickets and various other edible (!) insects.
When we arrived in Phnom Penh in 2 hours, I noticed that the touts here weren't nearly as bad as I had imagined them to be. When you said no to a tuc tuc driver he understood what it meant.
Found a room with a fan at the Sky Park Guest house for $8. The room was smaller than my place at Kompong Cham, but it was much newer. Remember, there is the capital premium for every single price in Phnom Penh too.
Walked passed the Independence Monument that had been modeled after the central tower of Angkor Wat. Doesn't everything in Cambodia revolve around Angkor Wat? From there, made my way to the Royal Palace (first constructed in the 15th Century). Only a quarter of the complex was open to public, since the royal family still lived in the rest. Included in the section open to public, were the Throne Hall and the Silver Pagoda
Streets of Phnom Penh
. There were numerous smaller buildings, royal stupas and statues scattered between the 2 edifices. Moreover, well-maintained gardens were visible from every angle. This was the most impressive palace complex that I have seen in the Far East. The main reason is that this one is still active. I have a feeling that I would have been as impressed if I were allowed to walk inside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.The buildings of the Royal Palace were architecturally similar to the Khmer temples that I had previously seen. Blue, green and gold tiles that were arranged as co-centric rectangles adorned the roofs. Snakes were protruding from the roof vertices. In addition, the roofs contained a few flat, vertical surfaces.
From the bird's-eye-view, the Throne Hall would appear T-shaped. On the other hand, its counterpart in Hue was rectangular. The conical towers on top of the Throne Hall were in stark contrast with the Nguyen palace characteristics as well. LP comments that the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh is similar to its counterpart in Bangkok.
Our Far Eastern theme (the convergence of religions) continues with Buddhism and Hinduism in Cambodia
Streets of Phnom Penh 2
. Even the coronation ceremony has Brahmanist as well as Buddhist elements.The riverside is where all the trashy tourists hang out. As a natural result, it is also where all pimps/tuc tuc drivers do business.
My last stop for the day was Wat Ounalom, the headquarters of Cambodian Buddhism. Although the complex was vast and many monks lived here, it was nothing impressive architecturally. With the help of a few local ladies, the monks were cleaning up and packaging gifts for the lunar New Year that is fast approaching.
Phnom Penh is much more developed than Hanoi. It's also in better shape than HCM City, mainly because the population here is only 2 million.
Had dinner at Khmer Surin Restaurant. Coconut juice, beef stir fry and rice for $5. The food was mediocre but the ambiance was great. The well-polished traditional furniture and the garden seating reminded me of the Y Garden in Hue.
It's frustrating that I can't download photos at the run-down computers of this country. I had no such problems even in Mardin, Turkey.
When I'm alone, I don't like walking around at night. Everybody looks suspicious...
