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Jul - Sep 2002: This is a continuation of my China trip, but includes travels to other countries in Asia.

Southeast Asia, month 2

Jennifer Radcliffe
2005-11-12 10:50:55

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capital!

Phnom Penh is a relatively quiet Asian city. The riverfront is lined with palm trees and nice old colonial style buildings painted in soft pastel colors, and the city has lots of wide tree-lined boulevards and a few gold-encrusted temples here and there.

Like Bangkok, I find it hard to really get a sense for the boundaries of the city, however. It's flat and doesn't have many distinguishing landmarks; it's really just a massive sprawl of tenements that seems to go on forever. How I know I'm in Cambodia is that only the major roads in the city are paved - even in the capital, most of the smaller roads are potholed-filled dirt (or mud, if it's raining) ones! Unbelievable. I hope I get a chance to visit Cambodia again in 10 years or so, I'm sure it's going to be completely different.

I really enjoyed visiting the national museum, which has many Angkorian reliefs and statues of Buddhas and Hindu goddesses from the 12th century and earlier. The splendor of the royal palace was a treat as well. I lingered in Phnom Penh longer than I planned to, enjoying the laid-back atmosphere of the city and the good company of my new friends. We said goodbye on the morning of the 23rd, as they are going back to Thailand and I'm heading to Vietnam.

One sidenote about Cambodia - crime is a bit higher here than in other nearby countries due to the poverty of the people and the corruption of the government. While in Phnom Penh, someone went into my bag and stole $100, and I got ripped off for much smaller amounts a few other times while dealing with locals. Also, it's harder to just relax and fit in here as a foreigner than in surrounding countries. In the local's eyes, foreigners = money, so we constantly get harassed and accosted while walking down the street. Squads of motorbike drivers sit on corners and harass you as you walk by - Moto-bike? ...