An entry in the TFS Travel Journal.
Wow, got to sleep in until 6am this morning! We rushed through breakfast and were whisked to the airport where we boarded our 7:40 flight. Arrived back in Phnom Penh, where we were met by the very nice guide, Sok (since Kim was at his brother’s wedding), whom we’d met briefly last time. As we dodged and honked among the motor scooters and bicyclists en route to our sightseeing, we passed a new factory which Sok told us was built by the Chinese and employs mainly women making garments for the good salary of $40/month.
We went first to the Royal Palace; it’s the traditional home of the King, but he hasn’t lived there since the early ’70s, though he’s expected to return somewhat soon. The walled Palace is quite lovely and serene (especially with no one living there), containing many traditional Cambodian-style buildings, with gold-tiled rooves with blue and red trim on the borders (representing the local ruby and saphire gemstones) and lined with the usual seven-headed nagas and garudas. There is also a small, conspicuous building, a gift from France in the late 1800s, which is totally French colonial style, light blue (also empty), and looks ridiculous.
We then walked across the way to the Silver Pagoda. The pagoda is actually a temple set in a large courtyard. Also in the courtyard are several stupas, grand stone towers containing the ashes of the previous royalty. The pagoda’s moniker derives from its floor, which is composed of solid silver blocks - 5,000 of them, weighing over 6 tons. It is also the home to what remains of the country’s collection of art and artifacts, but much of it was sold during the war by the bad guys and is now in museums around the world. The courtyard also houses the archives of ancient historical Sanskrit writings - a sample of which we saw, inscribed in the stems of palm leaves dating from around the year 400.
We also saw the longest mural/painting in Asia, which was painted early this century and tells the story of the Ramayana as it wraps around the entire courtyard. We also saw the elephant museum, a collection of hitching posts (a bit larger than for a horse!) and saddles used in the days when elephants were the primary means of transport, and labor, especially for the royalty. There was also a small collection of royalty-related paraphenalia, including the royal parasols. As in the carvings at Angkor City, the more venerated a figure is, the more parasols he has, so it was clear who was the king in those carvings since he had 14 parasols. Makes sense in an environment of such intense sun.
It was too damn hot to do anything more outdoors, so we went to the Royal Hotel for some relaxing in their lobby followed by lunch, which was delicious lemongrass soup in a coconut shell and some noodles with shrimp for Wendy, and fish chowder and a plate of grilled chicken satay with pita and hummus for Milton. We were then whisked back again to another airport, where we boarded the Vietnam Airlines flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
The flight was a bit bumpy, and the landing bordered on frightening. We met Kong (”as in Hong Kong”) and our driver and were taken to the (not so) Majestic Hotel. A short rest, and we set off for a brief afternoon city tour of this bustling metropolis. A fascinating blend of shiny new office towers and third world stands, markets and living conditions. Again, driving around was like being in a video game, as cyclists of all manner constantly come at you from all directions. We passed on the War Crimes Museum (which used to be called “The American War Crimes Museum”, which gives you an idea of what it contains) and instead walked around their large central market, seeing clothing, cosmetics, produce, live chickens, frogs, ducks, etc. We were also perpetually beseiged by beggars, some looking truly horrific. We strolled some of the local galleries, seeing no artwork of any interest, except for some of the famed lacquer ware — bamboo or wood, painted interesting colors (including gold and silver) with local figures and lacquered to a nice sheen. They were also amazingly light, being made of primarily bamboo.
We were by then right near the hotel, so we returned to the room. We rested for a couple of hours, then went down to the lobby to meet Kong, who took us to the Blue Ginger for dinner. As tonight’s dinner was included, it was a bit of a B & R experience since we had our own fixed menu. It was, for the most part, quite good. We started with a turnip and cabbage salad, which we both thought we’d hate, but actually enjoyed. Then beef in “lot” leaves (some Vietnamese plant), which was really good. Also grilled pork, stir-fried beef and a (really) hot and sour seafood soup. Wow, we needed the Regent’s kleenex-box-on-the-table after that last one. As we dined, we were entertained by a quartet of comely Vietnamese women dressed in the traditional Ao Dai — a brightly colored (lime green, in this case, with an Asian pattern) long sleeve dress with a side slit (all the way up to the waist) skirt (worn with long silk pants), made of a sheer, synthetic fabric — who played some very Asian musical instruments. It was quintessential plinking and clicking, and it was great to actually see performed what we’d usually only heard as background before.
As we were eagerly anticipating an early bedtime, we didn’t stick around for the women’s second act and drove back to the hotel. What a nighttime scene! A chaos of neon, lights, and, especially, motorcycles. We returned to the room and tumbled into bed.