From the 13th – 22nd of October I had the pleasure of having my dad visit me in Cambodia. Just like any good daughter who wants to show off the country where she lives I planned a fun filled collection of activities and things to keep him entertained and help him relax after all the work he does back in Oz.
First element of being an awesome host is food. We ate Mexican, Italian, Lebanese, Chinese, Latin American, Western….oh yeah and one night we had Khmer food. So good food, check.
When travelling you need some luxary, so I had booked for dad two nice hotels, one in Siem Reap and the other in Phnom Penh. At least then I’d know dad would be comfortable, can relax and enjoy himself
Of course no holidays would be complete without shopping. So I though a couple of opportunities in for this. Perhaps this wasn’t dad’s favourite part but he did pick up some gifts for people back home plus a new ipad case for himself which he was mighty happy with.
Then you need some good entertainment. Well we saw some apsara dances in Siem Reap, plus we picked up a bunch of dvds in the markets.
Next requirement is adventure. Well I thought a trip around the Angkor temples would pretty much cover that.
However, the previous King, the current King’s father, past away while we were in Siem Reap and his body returned to Phnom Penh the same day as we did. That added some extra adventure. With quick road closures for the 7 days of mourning and the crowds gathered outside the palace to pay their respects it gave us an added adventure of how to get around - passing baracades and moving driving along the roads overflowing with motorists. Thankfully the position of the hotel allowed many things to be in walking distance.
So when my dad was asked what was the highlight of his time in Cambodia he had an ample list of things to chose from. However, dad concluded that his highlight was seeing me drive a moto around town. I guess like any dad who taught their daughter how to drive they take pride in these accomplishments.
Liberties taken here as this photo was snapped by a friend rather than my dad.
