So the winter pondering of where to go in the spring came
around again. Usually I start thinking and mulling around October/November to
give me time to plan. I knew this time I wanted to head to Asia. The only
previous trip was to Bali in 1999. I started questioning my brother who had
been to Asia several times. As usual, Thailand was at the top of the list but
my brother suggested Cambodia … not a typical place for American tourists, and
I liked trips that were a little off the beaten path, and seeing Angkor Wat was also intriguing and
mysterious. Brother also said Cambodia
was very cheap, other than the airfare. So booked my trip for March of 2009.
Another long plane ride!!! I booked a
small, boutique hotel called the Kabiki (I really wasn’t sure what that meant)
and getting there from the airport was a bit tricky. The hotel didn’t provide a
pickup service, so I just found a tuktuk willing to go to the hotel.
Fortunately I had printed up the address. For some reason the driver wouldn’t
take me all the way down the street so I had to walk a ways to find the gated
entrance to the hotel.
It was interesting
indeed! Very green and lush grounds, but a bit overgrown and simple lobby. The
front staff spoke English and directed me to my room. If I remember, there were only 12 or 15 rooms, some inside, some
outside. My room was an inside room and quite large! Much larger than I
anticipated. There was a tile floor and
a large wooden bed with a canopy. I slept most of the night and got up to a
breakfast on the hotel patio. It was a perfect yet simple breakfast of coffee,
juice, small pastries and fresh fruit. I
looked for a hotel website…but the TripAdvisor page will have to suffice. Looks
like there have been some nice upgrades to the property since 2009
I really had no set plans but had the front desk agent offer
suggestions for the day and had them circle places of interest on a map. She
also recommended just walking back down the end of the street to find a tuktuk.
She said they were all very safe and would take me around the city very
cheaply. This is what I did! I met a delightful young man who, for almost the
rest of the time in Phnom Pehn took me around to all the places of interest:
the Golden Palace, a market in the city, several Buddhist temples, the Killing
Fields and one very interesting day trip out of the city.
Oh the humidity!!! I think I might have mentioned that
Desert Ladies DON’T.LIKE.HUMDITY! I think I showered every morning and evening
and maybe once again in the afternoon. It was helpful to rest in the early
afternoon after a morning of sight seeing.
I just now found my little World Travel Journal and this is
my list of things that I did
*Killing Fields (very disturbing and sad)… Cambodia is still
coming out of a very troubled, recent history and this is a must do.
*The Golden Palace
*The Russian Market~not a great marketplace by itself, but
many great stalls and small shops to wander around and of course great food…apparently
I liked the fish curry and rice
*The Royal Palace
*Udong Temple
* Cooking School: this was probably the best thing I have
ever done…certainly the funnest. The hotel staff recommended it.
The first night out I went to dinner along the restaurant
row and found of all things a middle Eastern place. I had a great chicken
couscous. It was quiet and I chose to eat at the small patio in front. Others
headed up the stairs. A little while after I finished my dinner, 2 gentlemen, I
think they were from Australia joined me for conversation. Always nice to chat
with people.
Comments
on the Udong Temple: I think this was my 2nd or 3rd day
in and I showed the tuktuk driver where I wanted to go on the map. He shook his
head and said something like “I take you somewhere else!” Okay, sure, why not!
We started heading out of the city and I had not experienced such scenery:
watery farms, houses on stilts, cattle in the street and the occasional orange
robes of the Buddhist monks. About an hour into the drive I was a little
curious but not really worried. I asked the driver “where???” and he pointed
off to the left and I could see a mountain which was where we where headed. As
we got closer and closer I could see what appeared to be a temple at the top.
CRAP!!! I HAVE TO CLIMB UP THAT AND IN THIS HEAT! Climb I did! It was stairs of course, but
there were LOTS of them. Most of the way up a group of charming, handsome
little boys kept me company. I’m sure they were intrigued by my bright red
face. They spoke a little English and kept calling Obama! Obama! This just a
few months after the 2009 Inauguration and I was delighted of course. I did make it to the top and the view
was breathtaking. Here’s a bit more from TripAdvisor. Seems like current
reviews indicate the road out to the Udong has become a bit unfriendly. I
enjoyed the ride out! And that is has become messy and dirty at the mountain,
always a shame. Because I traveled off
season it was relatively quiet. It was an exhausting trip back.
https://en.tripadvisor.com.hk/Attraction_Review-g469400-d3572005-Reviews-Udong_Mountain-Udong_Kandal_Province.html
Cooking
School:
I
have to say this was one of the most enjoyable parts of this trip. Again, the
hotel arranged it for me. I walked, a short way from the hotel to a small
restaurant where I was greeted by a young man. I was the first one there and we
were waiting for a few other people. First he took us to the outdoor market.
What a great experience. He bought some things and off we went back to the
restaurant. The teaching kitchen was up top and it was great fun. We made a
curry chicken dish, sticky rice with mango and a few other things I can’t
remember.
The
next few days were spent traveling up to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. It was a
long bus ride up north…thank goodness for iPods and books. At one stop for
snacks and bathroom, I wandered over to a street stall interested in what they
had: fried bugs..UM…NO THANK YOU! I settled for some fresh cut pineapple. The
hotel that was arranged for me was interesting to say the least! It cost about
11 bucks per night and I was there for 2 nights. I guess it was clean and there
were no bugs and I got a simple breakfast of coffee and rolls. It was close to
the Night Market and lots of restaurants, which I enjoyed.
I
only spent one day at the treasured and mysterious Ankgor Wat, but wow, what a
day! Also hot and humid. The pictures below tell the story.
So the winter pondering of where to go in the spring came
around again. Usually I start thinking and mulling around October/November to
give me time to plan. I knew this time I wanted to head to Asia. The only
previous trip was to Bali in 1999. I started questioning my brother who had
been to Asia several times. As usual, Thailand was at the top of the list but
my brother suggested Cambodia … not a typical place for American tourists, and
I liked trips that were a little off the beaten path, and seeing Angkor Wat was also intriguing and
mysterious. Brother also said Cambodia
was very cheap, other than the airfare. So booked my trip for March of 2009.
Another long plane ride!!! I booked a
small, boutique hotel called the Kabiki (I really wasn’t sure what that meant)
and getting there from the airport was a bit tricky. The hotel didn’t provide a
pickup service, so I just found a tuktuk willing to go to the hotel.
Fortunately I had printed up the address. For some reason the driver wouldn’t
take me all the way down the street so I had to walk a ways to find the gated
entrance to the hotel.
Comments
Post a Comment