PHNOM PENH #5

Tuesday, 4 April

Tea Break at Mekong River

We headed to a Restaurant called the Mekong River in Sisowath Quay as Popiah was complaining of being hungry. We forgot totally about lunch! I sort of lost my appetite after the visit to the Museum. Nevertheless, I pulled myself together, and tried to accept this as history and there would be a better future for the Cambodians.

We had Amok fish, it was quite good that we ordered another helping. The rest of the food in this restaurant did not suit my fancy. Probably I just lost my appetite. We decided to walk back to the hotel, at the same time, checking out the streets. We were surprised that there was an evening market near Sisowath Quay. Not much like our Malaysian’s pasar malam – most goods sold here are perishables. Cousin sis decided to have a go at the flies-infested pumpkin dessert. For the rest of us with weak stomachs, decided not to take risks.

The busy evening market

Crossing roads in Phnom Penh is rather tricky. The key word here is to remain calm and patient. Even little kids crossed the road without much effort. As for us, we crossed the road only when the traffic is clear.

Since it was still early, 6 pm when we reached hotel, we decided to rest before we go out to check out the night life.

We decided to check out Street 51 – where a row of bars were situated. We went to Heart of Darkness at 8 pm. It was too early. Before going in, we checked the warning notice at the entrance. No guns, no grenades allowed. We were even frisked before we go in. I was surprised by the tight security here. At first, I was thinking it is all because of the fucking terrorists, but then realized that, in Phnom Penh, owning a rifle, gun or grenade is legal, which the government now trying so hard to eradicate. There were instances where people were gunned down on the streets.

This was where I tried to unwind after a long day. The list of cocktails was dirt cheap!! Margheritta at only USD3, tequila at USD1.50, Long Island tea at USD2?? Since it’s happy hour, the drinks come with 25% discount! I asked Chubby if we could have everything on the menu. She stared at me and thought I had gone nuts.

We ordered drinks upon drinks. We get the pool table all to ourselves as there were nobody in Heart of Darkness, except for a few workers and a few mat sallehs. We went wild. As Popiah, Cousin sis and Ms Tambi were practicing their zero skills at playing pool, the rest of us drank like a fish. We downed 12 tequila neat in less than 30 minutes. That was when I started to feel tipsy and told them to go bar hopping. We hopped to the next bar – Howie’s Bar. I was already feeling nauseated.

The few last things I remembered were; we had some fried chicken as Popiah was complaining of being hungry (yeah – again!!), all kinds of profanities came out from my mouth, I sent an sms to Takeshi saying I am drunk - as if he could help me; thousands of kilometres away, Chubby puking her guts out, they had to haul my ass to the tuk tuk, I puked my guts out in the sink and clogged it, I instructed my cousin sis to pay USD2 to the cleaner to unclog the sink, Cousin sis rubbing some tiger balm on my head way too hard till it hurts, and then, I passed out.

Wednesday, 5 April

I woke up in at 3.30 am, and puked my guts out again.. and again. I was sleepless till the first morning light. I felt okay but still nauseous.

Busy Streets of Phnom Penh

I was glad that I could do some last minute shopping at Central Market and Russian Market, despite a stomach being turned upside down from too much drink the night before. There, we spent money like crazy. I myself bought 7 pairs of Adidas track bottom at average USD2.50 each and picked up some nice handmade handbags made of silk. There were stacks upon stacks of pirated versions of Lonely Planet, selling at USD2 to USD9. We even had another round of coffee in Russian Market where the lady boss remembered us before going back to the hotel; and bid good bye to Wan Nak and Phnom Penh.

Summary:

Phnom Penh is indeed an eye opener for us. Instead of always holidaying in idyllic beaches, places with good food, good music, etc, we went to a once war torn country and overwhelmed by the sufferings of the people here. It was good to immerse ourselves in the camaraderie of the survivors, and utterly inspired by their instincts to survive.

Cambodians, albeit being marred by the horrific history of genocide which probably be remembered for a few lifetimes, is a growing country. I am truly amazed and inspired by the people of Cambodia. They may not possess many material wealth, but one common thing that they have, even worth more than gems and jewels; their ever generous smiles and determination to survive. On the contrary to what most people think, it is perfectly safe to travel to Phnom Penh.

Wan Nak needs to brush up his English before he could be a good tour guide. He doesn’t talk much and would smile shyly whenever we tried to talk to him. Nevertheless, he took good care of us – guiding us across the crazy roads of Phnom Penh, taking care of our shopping goods while we went sight seeing, bring us water when we were thirsty, bought us face masks. For those who are going to Phnom Penh, if you cannot find a reliable tuk tuk driver, you can always call Wan Nak (012-241 250). I think he would remember us – the 6 girls who almost break his tuk tuk, on the way to Tonle Bati! Ha ha!

I am ever grateful to Takeshi for some useful pointers prior to my trip to Phnom Penh. The candies indeed come in handy. I guess biscuits and cookies would be a better choice for my next trip to Cambodia.