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Hello from Phnom Phen the Capitol of Cambodia.
The move from Vietnam to Cambodia meant many changes in scenery and
customs. Also the food varies much although one can find Vietnamese food
here. One big change is the use of coconut in the curry and soups.
Cambodia is a much poorer country. The streets are worse, the people
visibly poorer. Many more people begging. Also many more people missing
legs and arms from mine explosions. The civil war in Cambodia is still
taking its toll on the people. But the tourism picking up. Many NGO’s
are working to improve the life of the people and the commerce of the
country. This is one country that needs help and has much potential. It
is very Buddhist and a Wat or Pagoda is in easy reach of all the people.
Sort of like America with a church on every block.
The smell of incense is not very far from you and intermingles with the
smell of the sewage openings that run along each street. The nasty water
is all heading to the Mekong. The other day I road a motorcycle out to
the killing field and observed the verdant green in the delta area below
the road. It was so strikingly green. The driver, I was riding behind
him, commented that this was water green or an aquatic form of the morning
glory. I have been eating it in many meals. We drove by a place where
one of the sewage streams entered that delta and was flowing out into the
fields of the water green. He said that the green will grow fast and can
be harvested every 4-5 days and is used for pig food. Then, we passed a
person holding some that looked like it was being treated differently.
This he said was people food. YUK. One of those special foods gone from
my diet here in Phnom Phen. One finds all sorts of surprises in these
travels. Morning Glory water vine is much used in SE Asia cooking.
28 Jan 2006 Departing Saigon for Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Up and out of Saigon to catch the flight out to Siem Reap. This is the
major tourist site in Cambodia as it serves the Ankor Wat archeological
area. The flight was full out of Saigon. I think that everyone on the
plane was a tourist and were heading north to see Ankor. (Ankor is the
major beer in Cambodia too) An alternative route is to ride a boat up the
Mekong or a bus over land. Each of those versions takes a full day and
the plane takes just a bit over an hour once you get through customs. The
airport at Saigon has only two gates in the International section for
flights and they use buses to ferry passengers out to the aircraft. I
have flown Russian planes along with the Airbus craft during flights with
Vietnam Airlines. One plane was a turboprop. Vietnam Airlines seems
quite competent in their endeavors so I am relaxed. On all the flights so
far they have served a box lunch containing a small cup of water, a
wet-towel, a toothpick, and a dry bun with some sort of meat and veg with
mayonnaise. I like peanuts better. It has not varied in three flights.
Arrived in Siem Reap and got a taxi into the city. Tried three hotels
before finding one that was satisfactory and cheap enough. $10 a day has
been the average cost for hotel rooms that have AC and bath. It is hot so
having the AC is a nice luxury. It was too late in the day to head out to
the Ankor Wat site so found a place to eat lunch and walked to the Old
Market near the city center. As always the market is an interesting place
to visit. Part of any market is the section where local food is sold.
That part is very smelly. One area will sell only meat while another has
primarily vegetables. The one that is easies to recognize is the seafood
area. Some seafood will be fresh but in this inland area, drying and
salted fish is much in evidence. That area has a special aroma that
instantly recognizes.
Another area of the market will contain electronics or bicycle-motorcycle
parts. Others will house silk or children’s clothing. You might find 30
stalls with the same colors and forms of silk. I have always wondered how
they all make a living. I guess that they do not make much more than a
basic living but that is better than nothing. For me much of whether I
choose to buy in a particular stall is dependent on the attitude and
treatment by the lady or man working the stall. Most of the people who
run the stalls are women although it appears are family affairs.
Bargaining is the rule. And bargaining is a game. You ask, “How much?”
The gal will look at you and offer a price, say $10. In Cambodia
everything from lunch menus to market items is given in dollars or riel.
Dollars are easier because 4100 riels = $1. Everyone rounds off to 4000 R
/ dollar. In any case, I come back with $3. The shop girl will then say,
“I give you good price, $7. Best deal.” Then she will hand you the
calculator and say, “You give me a price.” If you are starting out, you
try to keep the price at your $3 area because they are good at getting the
price up around their second offer. If you want to test the waters then
you keep the price at about your low price which is about a 1/3 of the
original. After three or four stalls, you can determine the best price.
Then if you buy ten, the price gets better. When the price gets around to
what you want to pay, and the gal is still refusing, then one has to just
walk away. Many times you will here, “OK, $3” from in back and you know
that you have bargained well. Then again, you might be satisfied with
your deal and walk down the row a few yards and get the same item for
$2.50. Buying is a game and the market people play it well. Often the
Westerner will not take the time to knock off a few dollars because it is
only a few dollars. The market people know this and use that knowledge to
make a better living. I do not blame them but I always love the
bargaining game. I play it quite well most of the time and do it because
like cards one wants to win almost every game. One exception is when some
ten year old wants to shine my shoes because he is earning money to pay
for school. I get my shoes shined often here.
29 Jan 2006 in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Today, I will start seeing one of the ancient wonders of the world. And
it is everything that one can imagine. It would take weeks to see all the
intricate parts of this treasure of humanity. What is amazing the amount
of stuff still left on the site after being plundered for centuries by the
western world and being destroyed by local communist goofs. So many of
the western countries have collected and shipped back materials. In the
long run they have save the art. But hopefully, one day, it will be back
here in this special place so the spirits of the ancient people can watch
over it. Some will never be returned because of the stupidity of the Pol
Pot government as they destroyed many irreplaceable things in the name of
Communism. I am not sure if I have enough knowledge to talk about all the
things that I observed, I have tons of pictures to share but will be lucky
to get them associated with the right places in this log. I am sure a
trained eye could do that. Hopefully, my notes will
work.
The carvings are incredible and cover most walls, inside and out. On one
palace, there were four-foot high carvings on the wall of people on every
corner and around every entry. Each of the carvings had some slight
difference from the others.The difference might be the way one hand was
held or one foot crossed. All these statues are carved into the solid rock
of the wall with less that half the body protruding outward. Robbers have
tried to hack some from the wall but have been unsuccessful so most remain
intact. Now you have to imagine almost every wall covered with these
drawing. The covering of the wall is hard sandstone that was brought from
a mountain over 60 miles away. The stone pieces are huge but most are only
about 8 inches thick. The builders did some interesting building. They
took a course limestone material called laterite and used this as a base
for all the inner structure and then capped it with the tougher and
stronger sandstone. The laterite is filled with holes so it is lighter
and much easier to cut into blocks. Then entire parts of most of the
structures are laterite and then are covered with the stone where the
carvings were made. One cannot remove any of the carving material but I
surely wanted to bring some back. I did bring sand back from Ankor Wat
for my sand collecting friend, Fran, in Chicago.
I heard the word bas-relief used. So I went to see some of those.
Basically, the ancients laid out a battle in pictures and then carved this
all into a stone wall. Several buildings in some of the complexes had
walls three stories high covered with the complex picture stories.
Eventually, my untrained eye just lost itself in all this jumble of
statues, carvings and reliefs. But I can tell you that every part is
awesome in detail and structure. Everything runs in a straight line. All
the buildings are lined up and form squares or rectangles. Mathematical
relationships exist all over the place. Much of the grounds are made to
accommodate the elephant, in some areas many elephants. I was told that
about a million people lived in the area at its cultural height. One of
the archeologists that I met said that water was the key to the decline of
the area, although parts have been cultivated forever. Somehow water for
the rice diminished and the people move . Another researcher I met was
collecting information on trees and making charcoal,hopefully to match
this new charcoal to that of ancient charcoal found buried near the
ruins. If the trees in the ancient charcoal can be identified and matched
to modern charcoal, then maybe the locals can be taught to harvest the
same trees instead of indiscriminately using any wood for burning. The
assumption is that the old way worked for thousands of years and can be
reused as modern forestry. Also, one AU researcher was trying to find the
old water ways and use those to try to reintroduce better irrigation
procedures and maybe actually use some of the old aqueducts. Everywhere
one sees work on the structures, so the Cambodian Government is putting
some of the entrance fees ($40 for 3 days) back into the monuments that
bring us all here. At some sites, outside money is being used. For
$10,000 one can have a stupa named after the donor. Big named companies
and especially the French have given lots of dollars. What is amazing is
that each month might bring a new find in any of the ruins. Some sites
are located 20 miles away from the center and these areas are slowly being
robbed by locals. Each Buddha head is worth money to western collectors
if the monument can be successfully removed from the country. The easiest
and most traveled route is down the Mekong or over the border into
Thailand. Either is very porous. I was driven around on a motorcycle
pulling a wagon that would hold four people. The first day was the $10
route and the drive stayed with you the entire day. He had favorite cafes
or stalls that were used to wait. Hopefully, the stalls could sell the
passenger a diet coke, water, or other tourist materials. Food was sold
and many of the stalls. Each had a half-dozen hammocks for the drivers to
use. They also fed and water the drivers. Pure mutualistic behavior.
Meet you at Cafe #19 or #8 was his parting word (all drivers male). Here
is the route taken this first day at the site. I suggest that you Google
Ankor Wat or the other locations and see the wonders that I have
experienced. This will also save my explaining as I can never do as well
as the experts.
1. Paid our Admission fee and received the three-day pass
2. Bypassed Ankor Wat and entered the South Gate of Ankor Thom
3. Bayon -- One of the main sites with many
carvings reproduced from this
site
4. Baphuon
5. Phimeanakas
6. Terrace of the Elephants paraded here and this overlooked a huge
field
7. Terrace of the Leper King. The bas-reliefs here were wonderful
8. Tep Pranam has an active new Buddhist Temple associated with it.
9. The Kleangs were storage structures.
10. Ta Keo
End of day one. You can imagine the energy used. It is 95+ degrees with
a full sun.Each site required some kind of climb, some three stories.
Most steps unless added by park were probably at 45 degrees and coming
back down was a trip for a fat old boy. I made most climbs. It was a two
beer stop when getting back to the hotel. Ten hours. Dehydration is the
enemy. Lots of bottled water can be found. When I travel, I drink only
bottled water with no ice. You can get might sick from one cube of ice.
30 January 2006. In Siem Reap, Cambodia
Started out earlier, 7:30 AM to try to beat the heat. First stop would be
Ankor Wat.I was ready for that as this is the crowning jewel of the Khmer
Empire. This fortress covers a full square kilometer (.6 miles on a
side). The morning in Ankor Wat went so quickly. This temple is also the
largest, tallest and most beautiful. Its outline is found on the
Cambodian money, flag and most important documents. Ankor Wat is
Cambodia. It is its pride in the past and stands as a model for future
greatness.
The Ankor Empire was for a thousand years the main player for SE Asia. Am
so happy to have seen and experienced this wonder!
1. Ankor Wat
2. Pre Khan
3. Neak Pean
4. Ta Som
5. East Mebon
6. Pre Rup
7. Banteay Kdei
8. Sras Srang
9. Prasat Kravar
And another day was done. This was a $12 day as the distance was longer.
The Ankor Wat ruin was the only one that required much climbing and this
was a dozy. The park people have added a metal support on the south stairs
that makes it much safer and easier to descend. The view from the top of
Ankor Wat is very nice and one can look out over the open courtyard below
and imagine what it must have looked like 800 years ago when it was filled
with monks and royalty.
Moving in and out of each room and area in any of the structures is
interesting. Each area has a stoop with an 18 inch high step that was
about 24 inches wide. I crossed hundreds of these during the two days.
Lots of good exercise! The ceilings of the passage ways are interesting.
An arch is formed by laying flat rocks on top of each other with no
mortar. The weight of the rocks keeps everything in place until a tremor
hits or plants intrude. Most of the ruins were once covered by the
forest. In the mid 1800s the French discovered the area and began to
strip back the forest and remove the trees. In Ankor Wat, the trees are
all gone. In Ankor Thom most have been removed except on the outer
boundary. In other ruins the trees are still in place and form their
roots around doors and walls. Removing the tree means taking it out one
smaller piece at a time. In one ruin, a scaffold had been built around a
tree and the tree was being removed a piece at a time. Now this is not
just a small tree. Most likely it was over a hundred feet tall with a
diameter that five men could not reach around. If it were cut down, then
it would fall and destroy the walls of the ruin. I also assume that they
try to take out pieces in a size where the resulting log can be sawn up
for lumber. Nothing goes to waste in this country. Even the wood chips
are picked up and used to make charcoal or burned in cooking fires. I have
pictures of these tree mammoths that have found a home astride the walls
of the structures.
Back in Siem Reap for dinner. During the nights here I found a couple of
places that serve Chinese dumplings and ate a fill. In one place, there
was a public passage way. Along the far wall were a number of beggar
families. No men, just three women and a bunch of children. The children
would sneak over and put their hands to their mouth indicating feeding.
All were pretty dirty. The meal was a good one with lots of food and
extra rice. Too much food. Finally, I reached for the bowl of rice and
handed it to one of the boys. He went and sat by the wall and was handed
a baby that he fed while eating too. When they saw that food was available
more came. The waitress came over and asked if the children were a
bother. No Problem!. They brought an extra bowl of rice. I cleaned out
all the food on my table and handed the plate to one of the mothers. She
offered a plastic bag and I scraped the food into the bag. At the table
in back the people had left food and I offered that. Everything went into
the bag. Four Japanese tourists were setting nearby and were finishing
eating. I asked them if they wanted their leftovers and of course they
did not. All this went into the bag. The bag must have held the remains
of 10 different servings. When I left the restaurant the group of mothers
and children were setting around the bag eating by hand. Each of the
children and the mother offered thanks. Had I not taken this step the
food would have been returned to the kitchen. I am sure that it would
have been recycled but not to these people. Seeing people go hungry is
not a fun thing. I wonder if I would become immune to this Cambodian
everyday sight? So far I have not but over time things might change.
What is one hungry child when there are so many?
31 January 2006 Siem Reap, Cambodia
Took a ride out to the Cambodian Cultural Center for most of the day.
This is a tourist spot where the Cambodian Government has set up a huge
entertainment area based on displaying characteristics of some of the
country's ethnic groups. Built around a lake the path takes one by
villages built around the various cultures. In the Chinese village one
can see a reenactment of a Chinese event. These are performed on the half
hour in various villages, Khmer marriage; floating village fishing
dance,a elephants and water buffalo act in one; a American -- Cambodian
village with Christian church and two American-like homes are built on
site. One place has a wax museum of important figures and some ethnic
village scenes. Also found are miniature replicas of important Cambodian
buildings built to scale. A huge reclining Buddha Another area. One
tunnel (I cannot remember the name) was lined with the horrors that might
await people in their next reincarnation if they
do not do the right thing. Displays of all sorts of horrible things that
happen to such people lined the walls and sound of depredation echoed
around the tunnels. It was pretty gruesome. The Buddhist answer to the
Christian HELL. Any hellfire and brimstone preacher would love to have
some of the pictures to use during his Sunday sermon.
Time to depart from Siem Reap. I could stay an extra day and check out
other ruins and parts of the city. But I can only take so many ruins if
there is not a task involved. I envy the Australian researchers who have a
specific work to undertake and something to learn. There is so much to do
but that is not for me. I made arrangements for an early morning
departure to catch the fast boat down the Tonle Sap Lake and River to
Phnom Penh. $22. Would get a ride to the Boat Office at 6 AM and then
would take a 5 hour trip down river. Had more dumplings at a different
cafe, checked email and repacked for the early morning departure. Saying
goodbye to the Ancient Anchor Guesthouse would be easy. They take good
care of their residents. 1 Feb 2006 from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. The
cyclo driver was running late but finally arrived. I have a pretty good
sized bag but he hoisted it between the handlebars of the cycle. I put on
my backpack and held camera case beside me. The road out is dirt and very
rutted and bumpy. The Sun is just now coming up. Roosters are crowing.
We wind our way gently out to the main street and the sleepy driver is
happy to have all that weight gone. A 20 minute weight a the depot brings
a van. The bags are thrown in the back and we pile in. This van hold 7
people but 125 of us would eventually board the two bullet-shaped speed
boats for the journey down river.
The van drives 15 km out to the dock on Lake Tonle Sap. That is quite a
cultural ride as the van goes from rich Siem Reap to very poor and
subsistent fishing villages that line the road out to the dock. We board
the boat, Rambo 7. It has a steel hull that is built like a bullet. The
sound of the huge engine is ever present. The young backpackers climb on
the top and sit with feet dangling over the hand rail. Fat old men follow
suit. Smarter travelers find a seat inside. Locals stay on board selling
water, bread, cheese and fruit until they are kicked off as the boat
departs.
At first, the boat is towed out to the deeper water. We pass by a
waterside school where the students all arrive by boat. Passing by the
school, we observe the children playing soccer in a large flat area built
on a barge. It is enclosed so that balls and children do not fall into
the water. Finally, the deep waters of Lake Tonle Sap are reached and the
towing craft returns to the dock. The day ride begins and the huge motor
of the boat slowly reaches peak power. Inside or outside the boat one
cannot hear or talk easily. The boat soon reaches top speed. I assumed
that was about 60 miles an hour. The Lake is very wide and one cannot see
any shoreline for the first couple of hours. We just went. Flags were
placed in the lake to direct the path of the boats. Later in this dry
season some boats will run a ground in the shallow waters. Further below
we would come to parts of the Tonle Sap River that were only a football
field wide. The boat would slow here to make turns.
The Tonle Sap River system is interesting. The Tonle Sap Lake is a dead
end lake that is filled each year by overflow water from the flooding
Mekong. During monsoon the Mekong sends water up the Tonle Sap River to
fill the upper lake. During the dry season the water flows down river to
the Mekong. This is the largest lake in SE Asia and is one of its
richest fishing resources. No Sand. About an hour out, I asked to go
inside. During the first part of the trip, the Lake was very choppy from
the high winds. The wind was cold in the early morning and I was now
completely wet. I passed my heavy backpack to a young, agile boatman and
he carried it to the door of the boat, about 30 feet, as the boat is very
long and thin. I held on to the hand rail and one-hand-at-a-time moved to
the door. The footing was wet and very slippery and the water rushes past,
the boat never slowing. I was the 2nd to move and many more followed,
especially from the back section of the boat. ALL were wet and cold.
Three hours later, I left my backpack and camera case on the seat and
moved out to let the wind and Sun dry my wet body.
My recommendation for all future boat riders is to go get a seat and then
go up on top. You have the best of both riding places. As people crowed
in, I sat beside a bearded fellow from Korea named Lee. We soon become
friends and at Phnom Penh shared a taxi and stayed at the same hotel. He
has been traveling around Asia for two months and is an editor for a book
company in Seoul that produces the writing and biblical commentary of a
Korean preacher. Interesting guy. He had not spoken to an English
speaking person for about 25 years. During his travel he used English as
the main communication but usually in tourist places. It took us a while
to establish a dialog. I know only Kim Chi in Korean and that does not
get one far. His English improved steadily. My Korean never got far. At
the Ankor International Hotel, we ended up meeting a group of people from
all over the world and for two days met each evening for a beer and to
talk. One night we all piled into a Tuk-Tuk, four in each, to travel to
the waterfront for dinner.
A Tuk-Tuk is this wagon contraption hooked to the back of a motorcycle.
It is a common form of transport in Cambodia. Lee moved in one short
afternoon to having no English speaking acquaintances to eight. He
carried a very fine camera and took pictures of many things that we count
as common. Two days later, he caught a boat out south to Saigon. Such
passings of people and friends are part of the travel adventure. People
that I met in the market in Siem Reap, I met in the market at Phnom Penh.
I may meet them in Laos,. There exists in every country this tourist
loop. One of the things one does in any travel meetings is to ask if
people have information about a town or country where you are preparing to
go. People always share. Ended up the day with a trip to the Central
Market. This market is primarily a tourist place and is well organized
with similar items located in stalls down the various wings. Later, I
will make a final stop there but did purchase a t-shirt.
2 Feb 2006 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Spent this day doing tourist things. Hired a cyclo driver to take me to
the Laos Embassy where I applied for a Visa to enter Laos on the Feb
14th. Cost of Visa is $40 for two week stay. That is all the time that
I need. Also went to the Vietnam Airlines office to purchase a ticket
from Vientiane to Hanoi. I had hoped to get a ticket out the morning of
the 28th to fly to Hanoi where I could board my VN Airline trip to Hong
Kong and then back home. No such plane out. I can take one in the
morning of the 27th but not on the 28th. So I have booked a flight out
and will have to get a new visa for one day in Vietnam. Such is the way
in the developing world. They have only one or two flights on any one day
to any one city. The exception would be in Vietnam where many flights go
each day between Saigon and Hanoi. Also many foreign airlines serve those
cities. One roles with the punches in these times. Will pick up
passport and Visa in 48 hours. Cyclo drops me off at the Royal Palace and
I explore that place. The Royal Palace was where the King lived and is
still the site of Royal events. One part serves as a seat of some
government activities. The buildings are built in Cambodian architecture
and are located behind a walled enclosure. Many of the structures are
Buddhist shrines. One is called the Silver Pagoda and is covered with
silver tiles. Everything is quiet. In some of the shrines, Buddhist monks
and sisters tend the facilities. In another a huge set of Buddha's
footprints are found. I was kicked out of this lovely spot as many such
places close for the lunch hour. Outside, a traveler-wise cyclo driver
told me that I could not get into the nearby National Museum until 2:30
AM, a two hour wait. He could drive me to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Center
and that would be open during lunch. OK....I went to the Center. But
before going in, stopped at the Bhoddi Tree Cafe for lunch. This cafe is
considered to have one of the best menus in the city. I was not
disappointed. After a restful and quiet lunch in an easy chair, I
ventured across the street to the former high school where Pol Pot and his
cronies killed and beat tens of thousands of people. Also known as
Security Prison #21, this place is a gruesome reminder of what people do
to each other in the name of government. I hired an English speaking
guide. She had lost family here. For an hour we walked through the
hallways, finishing with a memorable movie. Normally rowdy people were
reduced to a quiet shuffle by the horror of this place. How can one stand
in front of shelves full of human skulls without feeling numb? What
remains here is the achieves of the animals that ran this place. These
were captured in 1979 when the invading Vietnamese entered the city.
Pictures of all those who were killed and maimed line the walls and
separators of the rooms. The Khmer Rouge were very methodical in their
work and organization. Many of the jailers are still alive and have
returned to the farming communities from where they started. I am sure
that their minds are still filled with the terrible images.
3 Feb 2006 in Phnom Penh
Hired a cyclo driver to take me out to the outside extension of Site 21,
Choeung Ek.This farmland area lies 15 km southwest of the city along a
dirt road that is now being widened and paved. The site has over 120 mass
graves where almost 20,000 people were clubbed and buried. They used
clubbing to save ammunition. One can still walk across the fields and find
pieces of clothing sticking from the ground. A tall Stupa-like structure
was built to commemorate the dead. Through the glass walls of the
monument one can see shelf after shelf filled with the skulls of the
victims. A very quiet and subdued place that one MUST visit. Humans must
have such visual memories so that we do not let this happen again. Of
course, that night I see on CNN the picture of Darfur in Sudan. Maybe we
humans cannot learn.
Leaving the Genocide Center, I needed change of place and had the driver
drop me off at the Russian Market. This place is named because for the
80-90's the Russian advisors to the government shopped here. The market
has everything and is crowded and busy. I ate lunch in the food stalls.
Had a soup with rice. The soup had dried shrimp and sardines in cabbage
with chili sauce. Topped off with a beer, it made a cheap but adequate
meal. No other long noses eating here but my presence brought much
business to the cooking stall. Leaving this crowded area, I found a
driver to take me up town to the Wat Phnom and the nearby post office.
Hit the post office first and found some stamps. Then walked to the Wat.
This is an active Buddhist worship site built on a hill along the shores
of the Mekong. Nothing special as most such structures begin to look
alike but it is a special place in the history of the city. From here, I
walked back to the hotel, a distance of some 15 long blocks. Afternoons
are hot but with using the shaded sides of the street and brushing aside
the offers of the many cyclo drivers, I made
it back. After all it is just a straight walk down Norodom Street. So
ended another emotional day in Phnom Penh.
For dinner, I walked down three blocks from the hotel to a cafe called
Friends. The young men and women working in the facility are street kids
that are being trained to work in the restaurant industry. Built around a
mentoring process, they also offer training in small engine repair,
barbering and others. They have a small shop for selling the items of the
students. Started by a Frenchman, it has European advisors, but primarily
a Cambodian staff. They feed and train almost2000 students daily and
hopefully return these kids to families and to productivity. This is a
worthy cause. The students find work in the hotels that are beginning to
be built in the city by large multinational corporations. These kids will
soon find their jobs in the future Hiltons of the city. The food was
great and shared a table with an American, Long Beach, photographer who
was at Friends as a volunteer helping to develop a photography training
program. This was his second trip. Friends has another cafe across town
that I tried the next night. It is called Romdeng and is a bit more
upscale. Had a Cambodian green curry dish with noodles. Cambodian food
is a bit closer to Thai food than Vietnamese that is more Chinese.
4 Feb 2005 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Never moved from the hotel area today. Spent most of it writing this
journal and writing postcards. Did take off for dinner at the Romdeng
Cafe but other than that I moved from hotel to Internet spot and back.
Did get my clothes repacked and laundry done. Did nothing but write. You
have to know how much I love you to ride a computer for eight hours of
writing. Am going to proof this one more time and get it out to you. I
know that you are waiting with baited breath for the next issue.
I will most likely stay in Phnom Penh for a few more days and then head
over to Sihanoukville on the coast of the Gulf of Siam. This will be a
place with little to do except hit the beach and do some snorkeling. I
will see how long I last doing little or nothing.
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