Phnom Penh

We've been back home in Ashland a week now, busy recovering and catching up on a variety of things, so here's a late posting on the last little bit of our trip.

We finished up with a couple of days in Phnom Penh, mostly to visit our nephew Adam and also to meet his sweetie Thy and her son Jimmy.

We took a larger bus from Kampot back to Phnom Penh, and it was more comfortable than the sardine-fest we'd taken down there.  We opted to return to the Double Leaf Boutique Hotel (where we'd spent one night previously); it's a comfortable place and very convenient to Adam's apartment.

After arrival and cleaning up, we spent a little time wandering around the Russian Market (just a couple of blocks away).  It's an interesting place: there are a few sections with tourist items, but also a large section devoted to stalls selling used motorbike parts, another devoted to miscellaneous hardware items, and a third with mostly regular (non touristy) clothing.  Adam was busy with work in the evening, so we ate at one of his favorite $2 dinner places, right by our hotel.

Phnom Penh is a difficult city for walking, even by SE Asia standards.  Streets tend to be very narrow and packed with moving motorbikes, tuk-tuks, and cars.  There are no sidewalks so walking is right there in the midst of the traffic.  Anything more than a couple of blocks calls for a tuk-tuk ride.

Adam and Thy graciously took time out of their lives to show us around Phnom Penh.  We spent part of the day walking around the Royal Palace (a large museum complex).  The Royal Palace features a very detailed mural depicting the Ramayana that runs for over 600 meters along a covered walkway.

After the Royal Palace we walked along the riverfront and eventually climbed up the hill to the Wat Phnom temple.  Not huge, but one of the only  patches of green in the city.

Next day we tuk-tukked over to the Genocide Museum, which is located in a former school that the Khmer Rouge converted into a notorious torture center and prison.  The prison was run by the former head of the school, Duch, who was a key character in OSF's recent production of Cambodian Rock Band.  Many former classrooms are carved up, by bricks or wood, into tiny cells.  There are countless photos of people who were brought to the prison; most were tortured and eventually killed.  Adding to the unease, the cinder-block architecture is slightly reminiscent of the old Taylor Hall at SOU.

In the afternoon we spent a little more time wandering around with Adam, and saw his apartment.  It's quite spacious and has balconies off the two large bedrooms.

In the evening we watched Adam, Thy, and Jimmy play in their weekly dodgeball game at a nearby indoor sports center.  It was a very aggressive and fast moving game; we were glad to be on the outside.  After dodgeball we joined many of the players for drinks and snacks at a Korean bar.

Next day we had a series of flights to get home.  In the Phnom Penh and Taipei airports, and on the flights originating there, over 90 percent of the people were wearing masks due to the active coronavirus scare.  After we stepped off our long flight in Seattle, I don't think we saw another mask.  We were met in Medford by Lisa, and in a surprise by Zac also, who was returning from a trip to the Bay Area.

Great trip; good to be home.

Kampot

We spent a little time while in Siem Reap chatting with expats who are long-time Cambodia residents.  We talked about how tourism changes places, and how Siem Reap has changed with increased tourist traffic (exhibit 1: Pub Street).  Ellen wanted to end our trip with a few days relaxing at a beach so we were looking at the Cambodian coast.  Our friends recommended Kampot as a great example of what Cambodia used to be.  It's near the coast so we decided to give it a try.

It was a long 3.5 hours jammed like sardines in a small bus from Phnom Penh to Kampot.  We took a tuk-tuk to the Our House Bungalows.  Although we reserved this spot somewhat blind, it turned out to be great.  It's located on a quiet street with a few houses and a mostly (for now) empty lots, but only about 15 minutes walk from the action in the center of town.  Our little bungalow has a small kitchen and living room, plus a separate large bedroom.  Very nice gardens and grounds, and exceptionally friendly and helpful staff.

We enjoyed chatting with some of the other guests.  There were two German women (one of whom lives in Shanghai, and with the coronavirus wasn't sure about flying back to her job).  We also hung out a bit with Frank and Shaheer, two young men (from the US and UK) who had met teaching in Kuwait.

Kampot is clearly on the SE Asia backpacker circuit.  It's a great place to fall of the grid and live the easy life on very little money.  The downtown area is full of little restaurants and bars, mostly geared toward a younger international crowd.  It also seems to be on the brink of change.  We saw some new construction activity: mid-size hotels in the city center and houses on the periphery.  I expect it will be a very different vibe within five years.

We spent our first day just walking around and getting to know the city.  We found a couple of interesting art galleries showing work by local artists.  There are restaurants with every kind of food, even a good French boulangerie and an excellent bakery run by a man from Bolzano Italy.  We shared slices of Sacher Torte and strudel from the latter, both of which were outstanding.

Ellen inside an art installation

This region has been an established site for pepper growing since the 13th century, and Kampot specifically has been known since the days of French occupation (late 19th century onward) as a source of great pepper.  Production stopped during the Khmer Rouge era, but in recent years several large pepper plantations have grown up in the surrounding countryside.

It's about a 45 minute ride to the pepper plantations, so we decided to rent a motorbike for the trip.  Renting a motorbike here was a little more formalized than at the Nguyen Shack near Ninh Binh.  The hotel desk wrote down my name, and held onto my passport until the bike was returned.   The rental agreement included the following: "How to start Move the steel up, open key then take the break and click starter."  Translation: To start the engine, lift up the kickstand, turn the key to on, squeeze the left brake handle, and then press the start button.

Getting to the pepper plantation was a bit of adventure.  One of the dirt roads our hotel recommended we take still had large puddles from recent rain, and after feeling the tires slide around a bit on the slick mud I decided to turn around.  We found another dirt road, all dried out, and took that one instead.

La Plantation is run by a French couple on about 50 acres of land.  In addition to the pepper farm, they grow some other products (everything is certified organic), and they also have restaurants, cooking classes, and a tasting area.  After our tour we tasted about a dozen different varieties of pepper, and bought a few to bring home.

We stopped for a little lunch at this tiny restaurant by Secret Lake on the way back.

Kitchen helpers of both the canine and feline persuasions

Next day we decided to explore up-river from Kampot.  There are a number of places to stay along the river and we wanted to check them out.  We spent a little time hanging out at Meraki, which had been recommended to us by a couple of people.  There are a few bamboo bungalows, an outdoor bar, lots of grass and play areas, and not much else.  It's an extremely chill spot, and counter-culture central: I don't think we saw anyone there older than our kids.  

We rented a kayak nearby to paddle the Green Loop which follows a couple of slow-moving rivers through the jungle.  Along the route we passed several spots with new construction activity.

Afterward we enjoyed a little snack at the riverside restaurant where we'd rented our kayaks.  Plenty of locals were enjoying the weekend there as well.

When we returned to our bungalow at the end of the afternoon, our host noticed that the front tire of our motorbike was soft.  We topped it off with a bike pump, but by morning it was soft again.  We pumped it up and I rode a short distance to a tire shop.  I used Google Translate to show the young man there the problem.  He came back with a squirt bottle of soapy water and poured it on the still-mounted tire until he found the leak.  He then hand inserted a rubber plug, trimmed the rubber on the outside with a knife, and that was it.  The whole process took about three minutes, and cost 3000 riel (75 cents).

We had planned to make a day excursion to Kep Beach and nearby Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island), but we were enjoying our time around Kampot and never worked up sufficient motivation for the trip.  Instead, we spent our third day exploring by motorbike on the other side of the river.  There are quite a few river-front bungalow compounds.  Several km upstream from town there is an area of rapids on the river, but in this dry season the river is too low.

We also checked out the area along the river in town where boats leave for nightly sunset cruises, but decided to pass.

After showering off at our bungalow we walked back into town for happy pizza (which worked better than expected) and watched the sun set over the river.  Even though we never made it to the ocean, we very much enjoyed spending a few relaxing days in Kampot.  Next morning we took a more comfortable bus back to Phnom Penh for the last little bit of our trip.

Around Siem Reap, part 2

In the wake of yesterday's Blogger glitch, here is a bit more on the temples around Angkor Wat, and a few other things.  Apologies for some duplication.

The archaeological park is not just Angkor Wat, but includes many other temple complexes spread over about 400 square kilometers (over 150 square miles).  Each temple site is different.  Some (like Angkor Wat) cover a very large area; others are smaller (only 5-10 acres in size).  Some are mostly restored while others remain mostly as they were found other than basic measures to stabilize structures for safety.  Restoration work is ongoing at many of the sites.

Most of the temples date from the 10th through 13th centuries, during the height of Khmer culture.  The scale of work completed: bringing the large stones from a distant quarry, building the structures, carving the stone decorations and sculptures, is incredible.

Bayon temple

Most of the Buddha statues are headless.  The Khmer Rouge worked to eradicate Buddhist culture in Cambodia during their time in power, and facilitated the destruction and looting of the Angkor Wat area.

The Angkor Wat temple, is a huge complex surrounded by a large constructed moat.  It is incredible that the whole complex was built in 37 years.

Classic view of the east gate

Large trees in one of the interior sections

Stairs to the upper section.  Yes, they are that steep

Looking over a western section.  Moat is beyond the far tower.

On our last day in Sim Reap, our expat friends there (Dave, Scott, and Jess) gave us some great advice about our next destination, Kampot.  Next day we took a bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (all the way to Kampot is too many transit hours for us).  We enjoyed a very nice dinner with nephew Adam and a few of his friends, then took another bus next day for the remaining 3.5 hours to Kampot.

Around Siem Reap, Cambodia, part 1

Blogger has been having some issues, and the last couple of days of "saved" work seems to have disappeared.  Not happy.  I am going to post this as is, and put up a second posting with additional material.

We've just wrapped a few days in and around Siem Reap Cambodia.  (Actually, a few days go; I've been slow getting this posted.)  We flew there from Ho Chi Minh city.  Cambodia (like Vietnam) requires a visa for US citizens, but they now have a visa-on-arrival process in place.  This turned out to be slightly chaotic, but adequately functional.  We each filled out a brief form on the plane.  On landing, we (along with many others) lined up at a counter where we handed over our passports, the form, and $30 each (cash only).  The next person down the line took our digital pictures.  Then we joined a large scrum at the other end of the counter, and waited a few minutes for our names to be called, at which point we were handed the passports with visa attached.  All in all maybe ten minutes.

We were met at the airport by a tuk-tuk driver from our hotel, the Two Dragons.  Once there we had a little dinner and called it a day.  The Two Dragons is more of a backpacker-style place than some of the others we've been staying in.  Rooms are basic but clean; shoes are left near the entrance.  It's on a quiet street with a few other similar places and a few small restaurants.  The hotel has strict rules, indicated on this sign in the room.

Cambodia operates under a dual currency system.  The official currency is the Riel, but virtually all prices are quoted in US dollars, and the exchange between them is a constant 4000 to 1.  The ATMs usually dispense dollars, not riel (though some provide a choice).  Coins aren't used, so small change is given back with riel bills (1000 riel, for example, is about a quarter).

We were still a little sleep deprived from staying up way too late for Tet, so we arranged with our driver, Thy, to leave for Angkor Wat around 9 (many visitors leave early to catch the sunrise there).  It's not far from Siem Reap.  Along the way Thy stopped for us to buy tickets (we opted for the three-day option).  It's a bit of a production as each printed ticket includes your photo; tickets are checked on entrance to each of the temple complexes.

The archaeological park is not just Angkor Wat, but includes many other temple complexes spread over about 400 square kilometers (over 150 square miles).  Even just the few close-in temples are way too much for even two days.  The usual way to visit (other than on a tour) is to hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day.

Each temple site is different.  Some (like Angkor Wat) cover a very large area; others are smaller (only a few acres in size).  Some are mostly restored while others remain mostly as they were found other than basic measures to stabilize structures for safety.  Restoration work is ongoing at many of the sites.

Most of the temples date from the 10th through 13th centuries, during the height of Khmer culture.  The scale of work completed: bringing the large stones from a distant quarry, building the structures, carving the stone decorations and sculptures, is incredible.

On the way back to town we stopped at the killing fields museum.  During the Khmer Rouge period under Pol Pot in the late 1970s 25% of Cambodia's population perished.  The exhibits, highlighted by the reports of survivors, are depressingly informative.  The exhibit included photos and brief bios of some of the Khmer Rouge leaders, including Duch (who was a central figure in last year's OSF production of Cambodian Rock Band).

After our first day exploring some of the temples, in hot and humid conditions, we were exhausted.  We showered and rested a bit, then walked down our street looking for dinner.  We walked into a seafood place with a BBQ grill out front.  It turned out to be more for locals than tourists.  The menu was entirely in the Cambodian language, so our server pulled up a gallery of photos on her phone, and we pointed to a few items for dinner.  We had no idea what the prices would be, or what exactly we were ordering.  The food (a grilled fish and an oysters dish, plus a rice dish and some beers) was delicious and plentiful.

When the bill came, it was for about 38, so I assumed dollars and handed the cashier two twenties.  As we left the restaurant, she came running after us to say we'd overpaid: the check was 38,000 riel (less than $10).  Well that was a little embarrassing.

Next day we decided to explore around Siem Reap itself.  It's a mostly compact and walkable small city.  There's a market area in the old section and nearby a full assortment of shops, bars and restaurants.

Along the river

A local artisan organization provides free tours of their silk farm and factory, so we took their shuttle and enjoyed a fascinating tour.  We saw how they cultivate the silkworms through their life cycle,  how they spin thread from the cocoons, and saw the weavers at work.  Although they grow the mulberry bushes on site, the worms are raised on harvested leaves indoors due to predators.  The items for sale in the shop at the end were beautiful but way out of our range.

We met a nice couple from Alberta on the tour, and ended up sitting at a bar over beers and snacks swapping travel stories for quite a while after the tour ended.

Back at the hotel, just as Ellen came out of the shower the power went off, not just in our place but all over town.  The hotel has a generator so we had lights and water pressure, and fortunately within an hour or so the power came back on.  We headed over to the appropriately named Pub Street area for dinner.  The streets are closed to traffic in this few-block area, and were packed with people.  There are dozens of bars and restaurants.

The following morning we again met with Thy for a second day exploring the temples.  We started with Angkor Wat, which is a huge complex surrounded by a large constructed moat.  It is incredible that the whole complex was built in 37 years.

Ta Som Temple

Inside one of the temples was an old and toothless woman who wanted to put bracelets on us and give us a blessing for good luck.

We took her up on it.  (Not sure how well it worked, though: later that day Ellen ate something that upset her stomach for a couple of days, and next day in Phnom Penh an ATM ate my card.  I had to go to the bank's main office later to pick it up.)

On the way back to Siem Reap later in the afternoon we stopped at the Apopo center for their short tour.  They use trained rats to sniff out the mines and unexploded ordnance which are all over Cambodia.  The rats, very large and imported fully-trained from Africa, search on a grid pattern under a team of handlers, and can clear areas more quickly and effectively than any other method.

In the evening we walked down our street to one of the very few brew pubs in Cambodia.  Beer was flavorful and a nice change from the usual Cambodian lagers.  Afterward, we spent some time chatting with Dave, the pub's owner, and Scott, the owner of our hotel, both expats with many years living in Cambodia.