Phnom Penh: 16th -20th October 09

We've spent the last three days in Phnom Penh, following a 6 hour bus journey from Battambang. The journey was very scenic, lots of paddy fields, lakes and temples. During one stop Matt and I were joined by 2 local old men who were intrigued by our rolling tobacco and joined us for a fag!

Phnom Penh is a large city, and fairly modern in parts, but has managed to keep a lot of its colonial architecture and charm – once you see through the dilapidation, it’s kind of pretty. Everyone has pot plants outside their shops and little gold stupas, or temples. We were staying in a nice guest house about 15 mins from the Royal Palace by foot, or 5 mins by tuk-tuk and the local area had some great bars and restaurants. We spent a lot of time chilling, but also some time doing the sights– here are some of the things we’ve done:

- Visiting the museum: it’s got loads of buddhas!

- Having a meal on the waterfront and about to pet a cat under the table, before realizing it was a huge rat. Nice!

- Visiting Tuol Sleng museum (S-21) and the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek. I don’t want to write too much about these. As you can imagine they were quite harrowing. Matt and I were quite upset at times hearing what went on during the four years of the Khmer Rouge. You can google if you want to find out more.

- Visiting the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda – very impressive and very pretty. The King of Cambodia is called Norodom Sihamoni. He came to the throne in 1994 following his Dad’s abdication. In Cambodia they don’t have an heir so-to-speak. When a King dies, the Throne Council elects a new King from the remaining princes, so it’s not always the son, it could be a cousin, nephew or brother.

Good job, as Sihamoni is unmarried and childless. Prior to becoming King he had worked in Paris for 20 years as a ballet teacher. King by name, Queen by nature me thinks! It seems to be an open secret here, but nobody’s bothered – the Buddhists are quite cool with it.

- Going for a $1 dollar hair cut at a roadside barber. Matt came out with a shiny new grade 1 - aka no hair, and I came out…with a side parting. How did that happen?

It’s still the rainy season so we’ve been caught in thunder storms a few times, sometimes quite dramatic. You just have to stay where you are, grab a coffee and watch everyone dash about!

Tomorrow we’re off to Kampot, a quiet town on the river in Southern Cambodia, then on to Kep, a coastal fishing village, and then to Vietnam and the Mekong Delta!