The next three days passed quickly as we set out to see the sights. We 
were wow'd by the fantastic collection of ancient art at the National Museum. Good thing photography is not allowed or else we would have had a million photos! The Royal Palace, similar to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, was a bit underwhelming and not as... well... grand, but lovely just the same. The Tuol Sleng Museum, a former school that Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge turned into a prison/torture chamber, and where thousands of men, women and children were killed, was utterly depressing, but eye-opening to see how depraved human beings can be. The domed building that houses the central market, Psaar Thmei, was pretty cool, but we were disappointed in that, as with the cramped and claustrophobic Russian Market, it had become very touristy, and therefore, the vendors weren't willing to bargain much... o well.
At the Sovanna Phum Theater, part of an NGO trying to revive the performing arts in Cambodia, we took in a very creative and entertaining show, a combination of traditional music, dance, puppets and shadow puppets. Then we headed toward the river to experience PP's famous nightlife, but were saddened to find the majority of them were just girlie (sex) bars with a handful of young scantily clad girls drinking with western men... ugh. Prostitution runs rampant here and though there are laws against sex with a minor, we see very young girls with dirty old men all the time... it's really sad. However, there is a nationwide campaign to end child sex exploitation. I'm not sure how successful it's been, but everyone is encouraged to report it. The good news is that the rate of HIV/AIDS (one of the highest in SE Asia) is slowly going down through information and education.
A word about getting around...walking is unpleasant given that there are very few sidewalks, and even when there is, the sidewalk is taken up with vendors, parked cars, tuk-tuks and motorbikes so you pretty much end up walking in the street. Taking tuk-tuks is a real hassle because first they try to rip you off, they usually don't know where they're going so you need to pay attention and direct them, then they complain afterwards that the ride was farther than they thought and ask for more money... argh! And the driving is CRAZY! They drive in every direction on either side of the road and nobody obeys the stop signs or traffic lights. Though not as bad as Vietnam, but only because there are less motorized vehicles on the streets, it is still stressful.
But we did enjoy the food... similar to both Thai and Vietnamese, Khmer cuisine is all about fresh ingredients. They also make liberal use of herbs, spices, chilies and fish sauce, which they say is
different, but my palate has yet to be able to distinguish the difference. As usual, we sought out street food... fresh cut-up fruit, noodle soups with fatty pork, rice porridge with unidentifiable organs, toasted baguettes filled with pate and pickled veggies, refreshing cold noodle salads, and hairy fish pastries that were yummy. We also tried the wildly popular eatery below our guest house where hordes of Khmer would gather to eat Chanang Dei (Cook-Your-Own-Soup). They brought us a portable gas bbq with a pot of stewed goat soup on top, and as it boiled, we added vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, taro, eggs and noodles, then we sweated as we slurped up every last bit. And for our last meal in PP, we decided to splurge at the elegant Romdeng, which is part of a
n NGO network that takes kids off the streets and trains them with valuable skills in the hospitality industry among others. We indulged in a traditional Khmer dish, called Amok, which is fish baked with coconut, spices and herbs in a banana leaf. Also had a uniquely Khmer dish of spicy ground pork dip with crudite. Then for dessert we ordered homemade coconut and mango sorbets, and jokingly asked for fish sauce and chilies on top. It came with no fish sauce, but it was sprinkled with chopped up chilies... the ultimate flavor explosion of sweet and spicy! Left feeling happy not just with a good meal, but having supported a good cause... aaahh!
Erik: Yes, P.P. is crazy. You constantly have to dart-and-dodge the w
ild driving tuk-tuks, motobikes, and SUV's. The bigger vehicles don't give way – just plough through the throngs, so you have to stay alert and ready to jump aside at any moment. More aggravating are the tuk-tuk drivers soliciting business – they're relentless. “Tuk-tuk, suh?”; “No, thank you.” “Tuk-tuk?” (perhaps I changed my mind in the last 5 seconds?); “No, thank you”; “Where you go?”; “Nowhere – just walking”; “I can show you the way.”; “No, thank you.” “But where you go?” “Nowhere – we just like walking.”; “Oh, walking bad!” -- It's fine once or twice, and you try to keep your patience and be polite, but this happens 3 or 4 times on every block, and if you're walking a fair distance, you can imagine the aggravation. Some of them will actually follow you down the block. And don't even think about pulling out your map – it's like pouring honey on yourself in an ant nest. The worst part is that when we did actually want a tuk-tuk, they would provide such poor service and then whined for more money at the end, that we eventually swore them off completely.
The girlie bars are quite depressing as well. I'm writing this after two weeks in Cambodia, and I'm now so sick and tired of seeing fat old “barang” (foreigner) men with 16 year girls in tow – everywhere you go. I'm no prude, but after a while it really is a downer. Maybe I'll feel different about that when I'm fat and 60, but I doubt it. (No offense, Talor!) Obviously it's not limited to the sad, older men – plenty of young lager louts with dolled-up Cambodian girls in tow as well...
The sights in P.P. are underwhelming compared to the color and spectacle of Bangkok. Everything is more dr
ab, worn down and simple. But then you have to remember the history – over 30 years of civil strife, including the reign of the Khmer Rouge, who thought any sign of riches or religion an insult to their agrarian, communist ideology. They destroyed much of the splendor in the royal palace and reduced the the old, majestic colonial buildings to ruin. Tuol Sleng was the ultimate in sobering sights. “S-21” as it was known in the KR days is now a museum and somewhat of a shrine to the 1000's of Cambodians incarcerated and killed there. Walking through the hall of photos, with mug shots of nearly all the victims, was really too much. While Talor sobbed in a quiet corner of the courtyard which had previously been the schoolyard playground, I was approached by two Buddhist monks, asking me if there was anything to compare to this in my country. A difficult question to answer simply...
But P.P. was not all doom and gloom. We did enjoy our stay there, ate some wonderful food (if less spicy than Thai...) and met some incredibly nice people. It's amazing how cheerful, smiling and welcoming they are given the hardships the country's been through. Perhaps they embrace the peace and are happy for what they have now. I do hope that it will last...
Our numerous photos of P.P.:
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| Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
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