Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Greetings, dear readers. Today finds us in the capital of Cambodia. Just yesterday we were in the capital of Malaysia, having regretfully left the unexpected oasis that was Langkawi. Being a Muslim country, I have to report that Kuala Lumpur is nothing like Phnom Penh or, for that matter, Luang Prabang or Bangkok. OK, we were only there for one night, this being a CavTours Whistle-stop One-Off Tick-the-Box Special, so these are very much first impressions. KL itself is an hour's ride by bus from its international budget flight airport (think Gatwick as opposed to Heathrow), the city is very well developed, the skyline dominated by the twin towers of the Petronas skyscrapers and the nearby observation tower, every bike rider wears crash helmets (unlike the straw hats in Hanoi, for example), and the bars are all concentrated in one or two streets. Being Muslim, alcohol is discouraged so prices are around 5 or 6 quid a pint at least (so not a place I'd recommend if you make it this far, Steve). I had one scary moment: the bus discharge was a chaotic affair; eveyone burrowing into the bus's hold themselves to grab their bags, tripping over each other in a hurry to grab the waiting taxis to their hotels. I grabbed what I thought was ours and chucked them into the taxi boot and, just as the driver slammed the boot shut, caught a glimps of mine and had the passing panicky thought, "that isn't my bag!". I'm glad I had the presence of mind to make him open the boot: it wasn't! So an even panickier few moments later had me running back to the bus to see if I could swap it for the proper one. One late and expensive night later saw us on the return bus (bag under seat this time!) and the outward flight to Cambodia. One more capital city ticked off.

Now Phnom Penh: a completely different kettle of mussels! Situated at the confluence of the mighty Mekong River (remember her? - Just down the current from Luang Prabang in Laos) and the Tonle Sap River. This city is more like Bangkok in spirit but carries a far more diverse and worrisome history on its shoulders. Its actually not that big a city and reasonably easy to navigate (having a river on one side helps). It is packed with side streets, bars, restaurants, wats, palaces, shops and markets and just walking down the crowded streets is an experience. I've lost count how many photographs I took this morning of every-day street life and lost count of how many times someone has shouted "tuk tuk?"at me. I love cities like this: just keep one hand on your purse, one eye on the traffic and one eye on the road and you should survive the day intact. It is quite apparent that this is a city, and a country, that is emerging from some of the bloodiest civil wars in the late 20th century and feeling its way around a place on the world stage, certainly as far is tourism is concerned. We have taken the safe option of staying in a five star hotel (courtesy of the wife's business - I couldn't afford this on my pension; sob sob!), the Raffles Le Royal Hotel. Ultra, ultra colonial swank, but I couldn't help but laugh to myself as our feet echoed off the stark black and white tiles of the hotel corridoor past the cream coloured heavy wooden apartment doors: the place reminded me of a lunatic asylum. "Its time for your electroshock treatment, Mr Lampen". I asked Mike what time the nurse was going to visit our room but he said I'd have to pay extra for that! Happy hour in the Elephant Bar was accompanied by a man on a piano, a half-yard of Tiger beer, and fellow guests who look as if they'd stepped out of a period in Indian history. Still, it was a lot cheaper than kuala Lumpur.