To the capital

Friday, November 12, 2010

Another transfer day, our last, but there have been a number of days on this trip when at least half of the time is spent getting from point A to point B; we’re covering a lot of ground.  Dropped my luggage in the lobby before grabbing breakfast, and by 7:30am we were on the bus for Phnom Penh.  According to the itinerary, we were supposed to take a local bus (would have been the only local ground transport in 20 days) but J.P. was told to use the private van instead.  I’m not complaining.

We stopped in Kompong Tom, a town known for being the best place to try fried tarantula and also where Pol Pot was born.  I passed on having a nibble, but Norm was all about the spiders.  He had three on the front of his shirt at one time.  Gross.  J.P. also took some time on the bus to educate us on Pol Pot ahead of our tour tomorrow of the Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek.

Unlike the ride from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, this one was straight and relatively smooth.  We arrived in Phnom Penh at 1:30pm and headed to our rooms to freshen up.  Unfortunately, the room Ros and I were given smelled like smoke and I refused to stay in it.   Our fearless leader came through and got us another room (this one being extremely hot because the air con hadn’t been on).  At 2pm we ventured out into the city for a late lunch at a local Chinese joint.  I quickly ordered fried dumplings cause I figured they were a safe bet, but as always, Ros studied the menu trying to figure out what she wanted and asking 20 questions about the contents of each dish.  She really never stops.  And she ended up with two dishes which was way too much food.

By the time we got to the waterfront, it was already coming on 4pm.  Unlike Vientiane, Phnom Penh’s waterfront has been fully modernized with a beautiful walkway and flags from every country lining the water.  They even had the new Myanmar flag flying.  Before going to the National Museum, Elli, Ela, Jacek, Ros and I stopped for a coffee at Café Fresco.  Delicious latte.  Elli and I were the first to arrive at the museum and it turned out that it closes at 5, not 5:30 like our books said, meaning that we had about 20 minutes to explore.  We wandered in anyway figuring we could have a quick peak.  It mostly contained Khmer sculpture from the Angkor period, so we got to see original sculpture of some objects we saw at the temples.

On our way back to the Foreign Correspondents Club, where we were having drinks and dinner, Elli and I strolled along near the Royal Palace and waterfront talking about Cambodian history and other genocides.  A very upbeat conversation, or not, but it was really nice spending time with Elli.  I even told her it was a shame she booked her own room because it would have been nice to spend more time with her (and less time with Ros).

We were the first to going J.P. at the FCC for drinks.  Half-off all drinks between 5 and 7pm; I ordered an Angkor Sunset and then a strawberry daiquiri just before happy hour ended (I still hadn’t finished the first drink).  The group trickled in as it approached 7, and of course, Ros showed up just before 7.  You could tell that J.P. was getting nervous about her getting lost, but she just had her normal attitude and ordered two drinks just before happy hour finished.  She ended up at my half of the table because she took Jacek’s seat while he was enjoying a cigar (which I wouldn’t let him smoke near our table). 

The FCC is in a superb colonial building and acted as a wonderful venue for our last group dinner (our flight to Bangkok tomorrow is 8pm so we won’t have time for a group meal).  We presented J.P. his a thank you envelop and a poem (mostly written by Elli, below).  Since I felt like I’d tried enough Khmer I ordered a tapas style waygu taco and shared a margarita pizza with Elli.  The food was fair, definitely not the best meal of the trip.  Everyone was in good spirits, and as much as I’m looking forward to a break from Ros, the three weeks did pass quickly.  Hard to believe the tour ends tomorrow.  My time in Asia is almost over.  I’ll be back in the States in less than a week.  Ahhh! 

Sleepless along the Mekong River

An Epic Poem, by Elli Panagiotakou

One early morning JP the Viking

Took us to Myanmar for shoeless hiking

Pagoda-ing, templing, vomiting

Crapping, cruising and smoking

From Myanmar to Laos with a days delay

Onto the Mekong river to cruise for a couple days

In Luang Prabang we finally arrived

Looking for monks, elephants, Joma and the tree of life

On the road to Vientiane we set off early morning again

Ups and downs, rights and lefts, left us all stomachless

At last in Vientiane, but not for long

Yet another sleepless night to get to our next stop

In Siem Reap initially we got our tickets

With our wonderful artistic pictures

Sunrise by the temples next morning on

Meant none of us got much sleep once more

In pitch black morning with our torches we searched

For a right sot to view the magnificent set

Angkor Wat emerged from darkness

And JP got stung by monsters

With our Tomb Raider style

We ventured temples Angkor-wide

To see Siva eye to eye and

Climb up to heavens heights

We are now in Phnom Penh

To witness things very dark and disturbed

However the overall message is clear

The places we visited were unique and the people dear

John Petter our guide divine

Fought traffic and crowds most of the time

Generous, caring, protective and strong

He taught us what life is about in this part of the world

He made the children laugh and girls giggle

Every time he pretended to be part of the animal kingdom

He arranged a special plane on the road from Mandalay

And a private bus to Phnom Penh to spare our delicate tail

Now that our trip is almost done

We share the memories and laugh

And we say to JP: kah pun ka, tse zu be

Kop chai, agun tom tom and

Preah Oii!

Thanks J.P.  Preah Oiiiiii