Impressions of Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is great!! We arrived last night and didn't have time to do much else than hang out at our guesthouse, which overlooks Boeng Kak lake. There is an alleyway full of guesthouses, all of which serve as the temporary residence of backpackers and travelers, young and old. It's very similar to Khao San Road in Bangkok, but further from the city as its tucked away in an alley. Most of the "sights," good restaurants, and bars are along the Tonle Sap river which is a short $3 tuk-tuk ride from here, or about a 20 minute walk, a whole 5 of which consists of having to cross this busy busy road where no rules other than motos-yield-to-tuk-tuks-yield-to-cars apply.

We were trying to cross earlier this evening to go to the gas station for bottled water and a tuk-tuk driver offered to drive us across for free. He pulled up next to us, his tuk-tuk facing the direction of oncoming traffic, and we jumped in. He continued to drive in the direction of oncoming traffic until he found an opportunity to merge onto the correct side of the road, then just kinda swerved in front of all the motos and pulled over to the curb to let us out.

So far Cambodia feels like home. Well, more home than every other place. They take US Dollars here (change is given in riels rather than coins). They drive on the left side of the car and the right side of the road. On the way from the airport we passed the US Embassy and saw the American flag flying. And everybody drives Camrys (rip to Julia's).

And Phnom Penh is sooooo laid back and easy going. We've seen so many parks already, and each and every one of them was filled with Khmers just hanging out, playing badminton or just kicking around a shuttlecock like its a hacky sack. I could spend hours just people watching. Everyone is nice, the city is safe, and actually the only thing you really need to look out for is the kids who will pickpocket you or try to sell you books or postcards on the street.

We saw a lot today -- a few wats, parks, monuments, and the Royal Palace -- and tomorrow we plan to go to both markets, the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields. Tomorrow won't be such an easygoing and light-hearted day as today was, but I am looking forward to learning more about the history of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge.

And so far the food has been great. For lunch we tried to find this place that was in my guidebook but had no luck and instead ate at Mount Everest. Yea, thats right, the mountain. Well it was actually a really nice Indian / Nepalese restaurant with really good food. (But what Indian food isn't amazing???) Quinn and I split Aloo Zeera (stir-fried potatoes with cumin seeds) and Subzi Saffron Biryani (yellow rice with veggies). For dinner we ate at a place called Vieyo Tonle and I got amok, the national dish of Cambodia. It was sooooo good!! Typically it is fish in coconut and lemongrass wrapped in a banana leaf. I had the choice of fish, chicken, beef, pork, or veggies, and of course opted for the fish. There was no banana leaf but it came in a bowl full of curry with rice on the side (shaped like a star!). It was delicious, just as good as any Indian food, and that's saying a lot.

Oh yea, and I got attacked by a monkey today. Quinn and I went to Wat Phnom, the temple that the city gets it's name from. Years and years ago, in 1373, a temple was built on this hill for a woman named Penh to house four Buddha statues, and Phnom is Khmer for "hill,"thus the name Phnom Penh. Anyways there were monkeys everywhere (a bit strange since we were in a city) and there was one resting on the bench so I reluctantly sat down on the opposite side for a picture. This Khmer woman came up with her baby and started smiling and waving at me so I started to say hello to her baby which was holding a bag of cookies. And all of a sudden this monkey jumps on this woman's arm grabs the bag from this baby jumps on my shoulder then back on the bench to eat his treats. And the baby never stopped looking straight at me, I'm not sure he even noticed his cookies had just been stolen. But the monkey didn't cut me, there was no blood, just a redness for a while. And although it's not quite as funny as the monkeys at the Batu Caves it's still a good story I think.

So tomorrow we will see more of Phnom Penh, do some shopping, and bus to Siem Reap either in the evening or first thing Friday morning. Monday we've got tickets to fly into Luang Prabang. I think there's even time for a day trip, maybe to a beach in the south or even to Kompong Chhnang, which is famous for its pottery!!