Seeing the Sights of Phnom Penh and Beyond

     It wasn’t long before we missed Siem Reap and the quieter pace of that city, however we were determined to see what we could and deal with the noise and pollution of Phnom Penh. We traveled to the Night Market, the Russian Market and the Central Market. The Night Market seemed to be more for locals than foreign tourists with many food stalls, ordinary clothing rip-offs, and a talent show on stage. We watched three boys mimic the many boy bands in a dance routine to someone else’s music. I did manage to pick up a couple of things, but the market was quite small and we were through it all before we knew it. The Russian Market was a real let down, just more of the same of usual markets and nothing Russian at all to be found. The Central Market was huge and carried just about anything under the sun but was so crowded by stalls and hot we didn’t stay long. I did pick up a few more things here though but bargaining was fierce. I am definitely marketed out. The aggressiveness of sellers can really wear on a person, and then when we sit outside for meals on the busy river front, the children take to the streets to peddle scarves, books, bracelets, wallets, and so on and are even more aggressive. When we were out for supper a few nights ago I found myself swarmed at the table by children, so I bought from 3 of them and another girl showed up who was very upset I bought from those other three but not from her. She became quite rude and sullen, so I finally had to send her away, telling her to get lost if she was going to be rude, and that I had no intention to buy from her. We also get hit on by women with small babies looking for food money, and occasionally a man carrying a baby. We never know if they really want money for food or to fuel some habit of their own as we’ve heard that too. Going to the temples is no different – aggressive sellers both adult and child wanting you to part with your money, to offer you a tour, to fan your heat soaked body, etc. These are the most aggressive as they follow you around like a puppy dog and then demand that you pay them despite telling them you don’t want their services and have told them to go away. I’m looking forward to going back to Australia where I can be ignored and walk around in peace without someone shouting “special price for you! Bring you good luck!”

     We went to the National Museum a couple of days ago. It was interesting but just more of the same in each room we entered – statues of every size and shape, made of stone, precious metals, or otherwise of mostly one thing – the many versions of Buddha and several other Gods. It was quite hot inside despite the many fans blowing air around, and we left after an hour or so.

     We toured the Royal Palace yesterday, such as it was. It was more the palace grounds and some of the outbuildings used for prayers, events, and so on, many of which were currently closed to the public. The gardens were not really impressive, but the buildings were very ornate and overdone. There were lots of tourists milling about taking photos, but we could only take photos outside as cameras were not permitted inside any of the buildings, as was the museum.

     Today we decided to get out of town for a bit to visit Oulong Mountain where there was a temple at the summit that we could walk to. Oulong used to be the capitol city of Cambodia, but now it is just a sleepy town filled with farmers.  The tuk tuk drive was about an hour over bumpy roads, slow going but allowing us a peek inside of people’s lives as they moved through their day. There were several portions of the road that were flooded or near flooded and several homes that were flooded as their stilts were not quite high enough. There were several beautiful homes surrounded by shanties as zoning is clearly not part of municipal planning. The stench rising from the flooded areas was overwhelming – garbage piles and free flowing sewage get only worse when flooded in the heat. The ride was pleasant none the less as children waved to us along the way and shouted “hello!” to us. Once we arrived at the mountain, the staircase loomed in front of us – reportedly 509 steps, but it didn’t seem that high. We took it in stride and off we went up, up, up to the top, taking a few breaks along the way to enjoy the stunning view from above the flooded flatlands. The temples at the summit were more of the same, but beautiful and the view from the top was amazing. Cambodia is quite flat through most of the country and we could see for miles and miles. After a break at the top we descended and returned to the tuk tuk and bumbled our way back to Phnom Penh, some 50 kms away.

     We had the driver drop us off at Wat Phnom, a local temple site that is still in use, and more stairs! Nowhere near as many as the mountain though, so we were up before long. We had heard that one could find a fortune teller here but we didn’t see any and no one we asked seemed to know what we were asking. What I did find though is they had an elephant one could ride around the temple’s rotary on the outside for $20. Having missed my opportunity in Siem Reap to do so, I gladly paid and climbed up onto the 51 year old female elephant named Sorna. It was a slow lumbering ride around the rotary, right out in traffic with the cars and motorbikes. I felt like royalty as people stopped to take photos of the elephant and I, and children waved to me as we went by.

     From there we went in search of a restaurant for some lunch before returning to the hotel to cool off and rest. We made it back about an hour before the rains came crashing down again. It doesn’t rain long, but it does rain hard when it comes. It poured last night as well. We had been out to a new restaurant opened by a former tuk tuk driver named Sary. He has a guesthouse and restaurant and we sat and chatted with Sary last night over several cocktails and dinner. About 10pm we finally called it a night feeling quite boozed up with Long Island Mistakes (Long Island Iced Tea with grenadine added by mistake but we loved it so kept ordering the same) and headed back to the hotel.

     Only two more full days in Phnom Penh before we leave on Sunday to go home. I might stop by a travel agent tomorrow to see about a boat ride to Silk Island where they spin silk and manufacture garments. I can’t believe our trip is nearly over, but I am looking forward to my own space again, and my own bed, and curling up with Dundee.