Vientiane, Laos to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Horrible is the only word I can think of that adequately describes Phnom Penh. OK, maybe stinky, filthy, noisy come to mind. I can only compare it to cities I have been to in India. Years ago Karen drove through Gary, Indiana and the analogy she made was: when bad people die, they go to hell. When really bad people die, they go to Gary, Indiana. I am not sure what type of people end up here. I have not been to Gary, Indiana but I wonder if it holds a candle to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
We left the quiet, gentleness of Laos aboard Vietnam Airlines flight 921. The flight lasted 1 hour 15 minutes arriving ahead of schedule in Phnom Penh. The visa application was quick and efficient and Canadians were charged the same amount as every other nationality. A driver was waiting at the entrance to take us to our hotel.
Back to busy, congested streets. Crossing streets will no longer be easy and we will feel we have survived some great feat each time we do. All around looks like construction or deconstruction, I can't tell which. Garbage piled in heaps; at least to my waist in areas. Horrible!
This is our first experience with a "Boutique" hotel. Now, I have learned not to be too swayed by the pictures shown on line and what a property really looks like. This was no exception. The word "Boutique" tends to draw the Western mind to think of something luxurious. Asia uses this term a little loosely. There is nothing wrong with the hotel. In fact our room is enormous. Two large bedrooms, one with a sitting area, a large bathroom and we have a pool and deck at our disposal. However, luxurious it is not. Luke described the odor that seems to seep out of some pipe in the bathroom as asparagus bred with cabbage. The hallways are all open to the outdoors so the noxious smells of the city seep in.
After settling in, Jack and I needed to find something for our hungry boys to snack on. I was feeling so disgusted regreted prepaying for three nights in this dump of a city. I had read how many people avoid PP and move straight to Siem Reap. Why couldn't we be one of them?
The man at the front desk was so kind and helpful. I asked him where we should go to eat supper in the evening. He directed us to a restaurant on a neighboring street. We walked over to scope out the menu and retreated. Numerous insects prepared using different cooking techniques along with stuffed toad were some of the starters.
At the end of our street is the largest market - Central Market. This large, yellow, dome covered market sells everything from jewelry to clothing to cleaning supplies to produce and other food. We walked to the far end to find the food. The smells made my stomach lurch. The fish was definitely fresh as it was still squirming and slithering. The majority of the food I did not know what it was and was overwhelmed with the amount of trash and decomposing matter that would be overpowering to any nose. We finally found something that resembled an angel cake and bought it. That, and 3 Fanta we were trying to find our way out. Reaching daylight I looked in the bag at the cans of Fanta and threw them out. Too much sand and dirt on the tops that I did not think anyone should ingest.
Luckily we happened upon a real supermarket on our way back. It was clean, had shelves and food we could identify. Ashlee- we even found Tim Tams! Maybe we won't starve here.
We arrived back at the hotel the same time as Ans and Avert. From her expression I knew she had the same impression as we did.
Need to book tickets tomorrow to make sure we get out on schedule.
