Thursday 20th March
Instead of taking the bus from Battambang to Phnom Penh, we decided to do the journey in a bit more comfort and forked out $50 to get a taxi to the capital. It would be quicker and get us to where we wanted to be without any sort of hassle. The taxi picked us up at 09.30 and we set off through the traffic, the driver setting the tone for the journey right from the off, weaving through the traffic and spending almost as much time on the left side of the road as the right. There were a few hairy moments during the four hour journey, and I definitely reached for the imaginary break peddle at my feet on more than one occasion.
However, as strange as it may seem, I figure that the fact that everyone drives like crazy means that other drivers know what to expect. So, if one driver sees a car driving directly at him, and showing no indication that he is going to move out of the way, that driver will pull over into the ditch and so avoid a collision. Also, none of the vehicles seem to have a great deal of power, so speeding doesn't really fit into the equation (the Toyota Camry is the car of choice for most people in Cambodia). Despite the scary moments, as long as you get to where you want to be in once piece you always end up laughing at the experience in hindsight.
We got to Phnom Penh at 13.30 and had some lunch before Simon and I set off in search of a hotel and some decent value rooms on the riverfront. We knew we would be paying more than we did in Sieam Reap and Battambang, but we were more than happy with the rooms that worked out at $15 each at the 'Mekong Palace Hotel'.
After getting freshened up, we took a tuk-tuk to the Psar Tuol Tom Pong, more commonly known as the 'Russian Market', towards the south of the city. It's a large covered market, jammed packed with stalls selling knock-off DVDs, CDs, watches, clothes, shoes and assorted nick-nacks. One of the few items of interest were the many used opium smoking pots that were for sale (the volume of them would suggest that the whole of Cambodia was hooked on the stuff!). Nothing took my fancy and I thought most of it was just worthless junk anyway, so my money stayed firmly in my wallet.
We walked back through the town and took in the sights and sounds of the city. I was pleasantly surprised to find the local people smiling at us, kids waving and saying hello from the backs of the motorbikes they were travelling on with their parents – this kind of thing doesn't normally happen in big towns! The people of Phnom Penh seemed to be as friendly as those in the provincial towns we had stayed in in Cambodia, and it made me warm to the place from the start.
Phnom Penh is similar to any other town in SE Asia: loads of motorbikes, street vendors, tuk-tuks, and life taking place on the street. On the other hand, it also has a European feel to the place, not surprising given the fact that the layout of the city was planned during the era when Cambodia was a French protectorate. We walked by the Independence Monument and on through a large pedestrianised area which was full of people playing games and families relaxing. It made the place seem very comfortable and safe. I liked the fact that part of the city had been given over to the people to enjoy, something that didn't seem to be the case in the traffic-obsessed city of Bangkok.
We stopped for dinner at a Khmer restaurant and I ordered spicy frogs legs (another legacy of the French, I'm just glad they didn't leave behind the rudeness!). It was quite enjoyable but Maria and Simon couldn't say the same with the food that they ordered (it was a pity, but we hadn't yet come across any Khmer food that we really enjoyed). An ice cream and a stroll along the riverfront, past the dirty old men sitting in the seedy 'hostess' bars, rounded off a very enjoyable evening, a good end to a good day. It had been a very good introduction to Phnom Penh and I looked forward to spending a few more days there.
