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By
: Jon McCoy, Picture by : Bobby Viceral.
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PHNOM
PENH-The Capital City
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Arriving
in Phnom Penh for the first time, my friends and
I were amazed that the city is actually a far cry
from what we had imagined it to be. People are cheerful
and the roads are not too bad. world, but except
for those arriving without a valid visa, which had
to tolerate a little longer to get clearance, our
passports were rather quickly processed. Soon after
immigration, our luggage was already on the belt.
The airport is small though, considering this being
in the capital of the nation. However, from the
many light-boxes on the walls of the arrival terminal,
displaying advertisement of various services available,
we knew already that we are coming to a Phnom Penh
different from the terrorized past that somehow
still stay logged in most people's minds. On the
way, we passed a buzzing wet-market of sort and
saw many enterprises along the road. The place is
full of activities--people are going about doing
their things and there are shops after shops on
both sides selling all sorts of products and services.
But where do tourists go? What can we see in this
country?
I was anxious to check into the hotel that we booked
through a tour agency back home, leave our luggage
and hit the town. On arriving the Sharaton Hotel,
we had a good laugh at the name. It is indeed the
Sharaton Hotel spelled with an 'a' and not that
it was a spelling error made by the clerk back home.
It is a fine hotel with an excellent staff of very
friendly people. The rooms are clean and although
the toilet amenities are not exactly those you would
want to |
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| take home as souvenirs,
they do have toothbrushes, shavers, combs and hair dryers.
While joking with the receptionist at the counter when
we were checking in, I was told that the hotel is soon
to adopt a new name. The government is putting things
in order--those copyrights and intelligent property issues.
The name Sharaton is regarded as an infringement and would
have to be changed. The owners are renaming it The Casa
Hotel. How about that? |
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Royal Palace
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| On the recommendation
of the hotel bellboy, we left our bags; each grabbed
a motodop (motorcycle taxi) and headed for the museum.
The motodop is a convenience everyone here has grown
accustomed to, since there are no regular taxis
plying the streets. For the equivalent of US$0.30,
the ten-minute or so ride to the museum was a true
bargain. The museum is near the riverfront where
rows of restaurants are located along the riverfront
street Sisowath Quay. (We planned to have lunch
after our visit to the museum). For a small museum
entrance fee of US$2 each, we were treated to sights
of astonishing artifacts and understood better some
events in the history of Cambodia. The visit at
the museum took us a little longer than an hour
because there was just so much to see and to vet
one's curiosity. The riverfront restaurants selection
of food was not all that appealing. Perhaps it was
just not the moment because after roaming the museum
grounds, our feet needed more consoling than our
appetite for food. Most of the eating places are
without air-conditioning and we chose the airy balcony
of the Bali Café to rest our feet. The balcony
overlooks the mighty Mekong River and for a scourging
hot day, |
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| what little breeze
from the river is a welcomed relief. Having rested our
feet after devouring a fast platter of Indonesian fried
rice each; we took a stroll down the road and headed for
the Royal Palace. Unfortunately the royal residence is
closed to visitors but from the outside it is indeed a
majestic sight well worth seeing. Fortunately for us,
there is the Silver Pagoda just next to the Royal Palace.
It must have been our lucky day since we met a tour guide
busily guiding a group and explaining away as we moved
with the group. The Silver Pagoda is also known as the
Emerald Pagoda - a former wooden building rebuilt in 1962.
The floor is covered by more than 5,000 pieces of silver
tiles each weighing 1 kg in weight. This is home to the
highly revered 17th Century Emerald Buddha that is actually
made from Baccarat crystal. Behind this, is a 90kg solid
gold statue of the Buddha crafted with 9,584 diamonds?
Amazing! The Royal Throne Hall in the pagoda was built
in 1917 and is used only on special occasions. Colorfully
painted murals cover the surrounding walls measuring some
600meters in total. This is truly a must-see when visiting
Phnom Penh. |
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| We were
told that in Phnom Penh, there is also the Tuol
Sleng death museum that is actually only a reminder
of the cruelty of the past regime and since our
time in Phnom Penh was limited to only two days
(effectively only one and a half day), we thought
we'll call this a day and reserve our energy to
explore the popular market places the following
day before we head for the land of the Angkors in
Siem Reap the day after. That evening, we ventured
across the Japanese Friendship Bridge in search
for dinner and discovered the 'City of Food'. There
are just so many restaurants congregated on one
single stretch of road--its incredible. The following
morning after a sumptuous hotel breakfast, we took
a leisurely stroll with our off-duty hotel. The
temple on this man-made hill was built in 1372 by
the same wealthy lady Penh, whose name the capital
city has adopted until now. The peaceful surroundings
attract many foreign tourists and locals alike.
Foreigners are required to pay one dollar each to
tour the premises. Our 'guide' then took us on a
'Market Tour' around the city. Our first stop was
the very well ventilated Central Market (Psar Thmey).
Built by French architects in 1937, this giant complex
is the largest and busiest market place in Phnom
Penh. The architecture of the complex is such that
even on the hottest days, the interior remains cool
and comfortable to be in. At the Central |
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National Museum
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| Market, one can
find just about anything and everything. Grilled creepy
insects, snakes and even giant hairy spiders are up for
grabs as snacks. Our next hop on the moto taxi took us
to the Toul Tom Pong Market (Russian Market). Here is
one I would personally recommend to would-be antique hunters
and computer enthusiasts. They have just about every type
of computer software on the planet and antiques shops
occupy nearly every corner of this market place. We spent
almost the whole afternoon at this market. Our guide told
us that there are two other popular wholesale markets
that cater to locals--the O'Russei Market and the Olympic
Market. But we were simply too exhausted to be further
tempted and decided to return to our hotel. After a shower,
we met at the lobby that evening to decide on dinner.
Just when we were undecided as to what we should have,
someone came through the main hotel entrance, swinging
the glass door open to usher in an aroma we may all not
forget for a long time to come. The smell of the Khmer
BBQ chicken, the Muan Ang is out of this world! It is
perhaps our good fortune that we got to taste this local
delicacy before we left Phnom Penh. As one who had never
been to Cambodia before because of all the controversies
we read, I am glad I did make the trip. This surely will
not be my last. |
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Suite
B8, Regency Square, InterContinental Hotel, 294 Mao Tse Toung
Boulevard,
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tel: (855) 23 213 133 Fax: (855) 23 213 033
E-mail:
editor@leisurecambodia.com |
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