Category Archives: Cambodia
From Bangkok to Phnom Penh
With a mid-afternoon flight scheduled, I couldn’t plan to do much today in Bangkok. Rather than battle with heat, humidity, crowds and traffic, I decided to do something close by and cool. A shopping mall! The nearest mall was Terminal 21 only two stops away on the SkyTrain. There was definitely enough to occupy me for 2 hours. There were seven floors about three of which were devoted to food courts. I wasn’t hungry and so bypassed the many delicious items on offer and occupied myself haggling over the price of some very lovely silk scarves and earrings. Fortunately the Don Muang airport also had a food court and I had time to chow down a spicy noodle soup with fish balls. The flight to Phnom Penh was uneventful but immigration was a hassle. The unsmiling immigration officers were like the progeny of the Khmer Rouge. On the long taxi ride into town through the outskirts, Phnom Penh displayed all the grim poverty of the third world. Unpaved streets, chaotic traffic, motorcycles, stores filled with cheap clothes, tire stores, auto parts stores, people dressed in rags sitting next to steaming bowls of soup or smoky grills selling their Wares to … Continue reading →
Phnom Penh
The first thing I noticed this morning and looking out the window was that wind was blowing through the palm trees. The breeze got stronger as I walk to the river. What a pleasure! I felt that I could finally explore the town on foot which, after Bangkok, I didn’t think I was going to be able to do. Travel Arrangements I immediately decided that I would stay on an extra day in Phnom Penh and take the bus directly to Siem Reap on Tuesday. First stop was the tourist office on the river. The gentleman couldn’t be more cheerful and helpful, like all Cambodians I have met so far. The city map was extremely well done and he was well-versed in events around town. I learned that the Kings Coronation Day, although important, did not mean that museums & sites would be closed. Good news! He also advised me to be down at the riverfront at 7 p.m. to see the fireworks. Work before pleasure though. I needed to arrange my bus ticket to Siem Reap and the ticket office was a couple of kilometres away near the river port. By the River The Riverside Promenade was busy with … Continue reading →
Phnom Penh Sights
Today was breezy as well but I still decided to take a tuk-tuk to the Genocide Museum or Toul Sleng. The ride there took me through a different port of Phnom Penh, more modern and with wide boulevards. Toul Sleng Toul Sleng or Camp S 21 served as a torture and interrogation Center for the Khmer Rouge. Some 20,000 people passed through there before being executed in the Killing Fields outside of town. After being arrested by the Khmer Rouge the detainees were taken to this former high school now a detention center where they were photographed, thrown into cells, chained, interrogated and tortured, sometimes to death. It was gruesome. The audio guide was excellent and explained the purpose of each room and how the Detention Center operated. It also gave background on the people involved in running the Khmer Rouge and this particular detention center of which there were dozens in the country perhaps hundreds. The audio guide also allowed you to hear the stories of actual survivors of which there were few. Although the audio guide warned listeners at various points that the testimony and the visuals were going to be difficult, I somehow hadn’t realized exactly … Continue reading →
Phnom Penh to Siem Reap
I boarded the Giant Ibis bus at 9:45 this morning and was pleased to find that the bus was new, modern, air-conditioned and not crowded. It even had WiFi We headed out of town and eventually found ourselves heading north on a two-lane paved Road. It was a great way to see a bit of rural Cambodia from the comfort of the bus. On the Road Here are some of the things I noticed: Bright new mosques. Could they be courtesy of the Saudi Arabians? Fish farming Every village seem to have a bright new two-story building painted in bright colors. I suppose it may have been courtesy of international Aid agencies but the buildings looked curiously empty. (N.B. In a later conversation in Don Khone, I learned that they were probably constructed by the villagers with money from the sales of logs. I learned that Cambodians will sacrifice everything, even proper meals, to build a home. Cambodian People’s Party signs were everywhere. They certainly weren’t campaign posters because this is a one-party state. I suppose that it was to remind the villagers that the Cambodian people’s party was keeping an eye on them. Very skinny cows and very sturdy … Continue reading →