Ramen Burger
The national currency in Cambodia is American dollars. Go figure. They only use riel, true Cambodian currency, for change. One dollar is around 4,100 riel. This pile of bills is about 70 cents:
Phnom Penh is Cambodia's capitol and our first stop. We arrived March 27th, or "Smiling Day" at the international airport:
(I'm a finalist!)
Cambodia is the only place I've been where you can see a single motorbike with up to eight living human beings riding it at once-- the equivalent of a clown car, but on two wheels.
The ballistic, unorganized manner of traffic is a defining characteristic of Phnom Penh. There are very few traffic lights, and they are seen as a suggestion at best; you can drive opposite traffic if you want; motorbikes hold whole refrigerators on their seats, secured by a single bungee cord; thirty-foot, sharp steel poles are transported on a motorbiker's shoulder (take extra care not to tailgate him); truck beds have mounds of whatever they're transporting, with an additional 15 people sitting on top. It's chaos.
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| Underloaded bike. Photo Credit: http://www.parish-without-borders.net/cditt/cambodia/dailylife/2006/dailylifekh06.htm |
The ballistic, unorganized manner of traffic is a defining characteristic of Phnom Penh. There are very few traffic lights, and they are seen as a suggestion at best; you can drive opposite traffic if you want; motorbikes hold whole refrigerators on their seats, secured by a single bungee cord; thirty-foot, sharp steel poles are transported on a motorbiker's shoulder (take extra care not to tailgate him); truck beds have mounds of whatever they're transporting, with an additional 15 people sitting on top. It's chaos.
We came to PP back in 2012 and did the depressing stuff — saw S21, the torture prison from the civil war, and the Killing Fields, where innumerable people were murdered — so this 2015 trip was determined to be lighter-hearted. We used PP as a pit stop to eat good food (some areas are majorly gentrified) and grab a bus to the beach.
Tuk-tuks are the taxis of PP. You can get just about anywhere for $3, but you HAVE TO HAGGLE. Some of the drivers are nice and helpful, others are not. Most are blind to the irony of asking if we want to see the killing fields and then go to a shooting range nearby, where we can shoot weapons identical to those used during the genocide. If you want to kill something, you're in luck! For $300 you can shoot a bazooka at a live cow, you sick fuck.
Unfortunately, PP is far from a safe place. Every legitimate hotel worker, tuk-tuk driver or restaurant employee will warn you to not walk with a purse, and signs about purse-snatching are abundant. There are a few red-light districts, and some statistics report up to 40% of Cambodian sex workers have AIDS. Drugs are everywhere and bad meth (i.e. ice/yaba) is a problem in the country. Little kids are known for pick-pocketing. Pretty much... watch your stuff, don't hire hookers and don't do drugs. Be vigilant.
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| See the warning? |
During the day, you can visit two different markets: The Russian Market is an unorganized, hot and dirty market where you can get cheap souvenirs. It's home to trinkets, silk scarves, shirts that say "No Money No Honey", and an impressive wing of hardware supplies.
Central Market is a more organized market under a beautiful dome. The main dome has tons of jewels (some real some fake, all priced as real), and you can find "higher-end" items and souvenirs here: nice clothes, suits, custom made shoes, electronics, etc.
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| I found this guy from his "Best Iced Coffee" page on Facebook |
Because a lot of Phnom Penh was built under French Indochinese rule, there are some seriously gorgeous French-inspired buildings and walkways near the city center. Preah Sihanouk Boulevard, leading up to the Palace, is a romantic park and recreation area with fountain shows and organized workout groups every night.
The Independence Monument is also worth a look.
The Independence Monument is also worth a look.
At night, a walk along the river on Preah Sisowath Quay is always interesting. Start at the Palace and walk north to the Night Market. One side of the street is lined with restaurants and bars, and the other is a long, narrow park, where families play and groups workout. It's especially seedy in this area. "You wanna smoke, brudda? Weed, mushrooms, opium?" -every tuk-tuk driver to Ian. Oddly, no one offered me anything. AM I NOT COOL?
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| Night Market |
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| Palace |
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A fake monk grabbed Ian's hand, tried to "bless him" by alternating taps between his forehead and Ian's, similar to a frat bro handshake mixed with some hokey pokey. Then he slipped a bracelet on Ian's wrist and asked for money. Real monks don't beg to foreigners or sell anything or have any use for money. For shame!
We were happy with our three days in PP, and we were all ready to get to Sihanoukville, until our good friend Food Poisoning came to visit. Sigh. We stayed a few more days.
We initially stayed at Rambutan Resort, which is super swank. We had a private outdoor bathtub, huge room and bomb ass breakfast included. Get the eggs benedict.
Rambutan was a little expensive ($60/night) to stay for longer than a few days, so we switched over to Hotel 240 ($40/night). Hotel 240 is on street 240, which rules because tuk-tuks know how to get there. It is very close to the Palace, River Walkway, markets, parks... basically everything. We booked through Agoda and got a great deal. Breakfast included. Private swimming pool. Bam. (The uneasy comfort of colonialism comes cheap in Phnom Penh.)
We felt better (and skinnier) after the food poisoning, so we continued on to Sihanoukville. (See next post!)
"What should our password be?"
"What day is it?"
"Well, yesterday was Wednesday, so today must be... Sursdey."
