Leaving behind Ho Chi Minh's hordes of mopeds, we boarded a public bus for Phnom Penh, Cambodia with the Intrepid tour. The journey takes about 7-8 hours, although the distance is only about 300 miles. The landscape became much more jungle-y as we got further away from the traffic of Ho Chi Minh. The apartment buildings changed to small houses supported by stilts, surrounded by flooded rice fields and spotted with water buffaloes. The biggest difference could be seen at the border - where apparently we were the first to use their e-visa system because no one knew what to do with them. Vietnam's border crossing building was cold and communist with no decoration. The Cambodian side featured a glittering roof with spires soaring up in the air.
I didn't really know what to expect from Cambodia, but little could have prepared me for the wonderful city of Phnom Penh. Our hotel was just around the corner from the Royal Palace and National Museum. Everywhere we looked were gorgeous Khmer-style buildings. I wonder how long it will take until this city is as clogged with tourists and foreigners as Bangkok.
Our first glimpse of the city was a quick walk outside the hotel along the river, where we walked into a Buddhist ceremony of some kind with lots of incense and singing. We got a better look around just before dinner with a group cyclo tour. The cyclos are like a cheap taxi, where they push around a seat using their bicycles. Their business has been hurt by the motorized tuk-tuk cars, so this was a way to support them and a more leisurely way to sightsee. We passed even more amazing buildings, monuments and temples. Again, I was struck by the fact that most people have never even heard of this place, and there was so much wonderful stuff to see here!
After our cyclo tour, we had a group dinner at a local NGO-sponsored restaurant. This is where we first discovered the delicious Cambodian cuisine and their special dish - fish amok. Amok is the coconut curry sauce they make with the kaffir lime leaves and other spices. Simply mouth-watering and unbelievably cheap. I think our dish cost $5 at this "expensive" foreigner restaurant. My total bill, which included the amok, half a bottle of wine and a soft drink was $13!
Since it was New Year's, we decided to eschew our usual habit of heading back to the hotel to rest up for the next day of travel. We went to the Temple downtown where there were also celebrations going on for Phnom Penh's 650th anniversary. The most famous singer in Cambodia was even there, giving a concert. After going to a bar for about 10 minutes, Jon and I and Lynda and John, an Aussie couple from our tour, decided to head to the river for some fresh air and quiet. It was hot and humid, despite the fact that it was the dead of winter. We enjoyed some nice conversation - comparing Australia and America, and Europe - and watched the firework show over the Mekong River. It certainly beat watching the ball drop on a TV screen in America.
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