Saturday 2-Sunday 3 February
Today our group of seven – David and Joy, Tony and Jenny
Georgeson, Di and Jim Ginis, and David’s sister Marion Davis embarked on our
next travel adventure
We departed Sydney on 2 February flying with Singapore
Airlines and spent overnight transiting at Changi Airport using the Skytrain (a
light rail system) to transfer between terminals. An early flight the following
morning saw us wandering Terminal 2 and exploring the delights of Changi
Airport which included water gardens with goldfish, other decorative fish features and an area
called Sanctuary @Terminal 2. This had a number of reclining lounges, an
internet room, a smoking room and beautiful gardens decorated with Singapore
orchids.
After our connection to Phnom Penh we soon became aware of
the different levels of development and sophistication between it and
Singapore. Phnom Penh is a city in transition with large numbers of new
buildings, most adorned with the traditional pagoda style roof decoration and
several western style condominiums. It also has many old buildings which aren’t
in good repair, often being quite run down. The electrical wiring has to be
seen to be believed – black spaghetti is
a close but inadequate description.
The traffic is an interesting mix of old and new. There are
cycle drawn Tuk-tuks but these are relatively few as most are drawn by motor
bikes or motor scooters. Motor scooters abound on all the streets. The drivers
usually wear helmets, but passengers don’t. We saw many passengers riding side-saddle
including one lady nursing a very young baby. An enormous variety of items are
carried on bikes. There are also an increasing number of cars on the streets,
mostly Japanese brands, and often at the luxury end of the market. We saw many
4WDs and quite a few Lexus. The traffic
seems to move quite sedately and if you can find a small break crossing the
road isn’t difficult. The bikes just deviate around you.
We spent an hour at the Russian Market, a covered market
where almost every conceivable item can be purchased. It seems to be arranged
in areas – clothing, fabrics, watches and jewellery, dressmaking, bicycle
parts, embroidered goods and DVDs but not very much electronics. In among these
tightly packed stalls is the food area. Fish, prawns, skinned frogs, mussels,
and pork are all displayed and for sale without refrigeration. The strong fish
smell accompanied by the occasional rotten vegetable odour, intermingled with
the smell of grease from used motorbike parts, all closely packed under a metal
roof in temperatures over 30⁰C was almost enough to turn my stomach. We escaped outside and found a café to have a
beer around 11am.
We had lunch at a
nice restaurant overlooking the Tonle Sap River. I had Cambodian Fish Amok,
while David had steamed fish with ginger, Both meals were very tasty. A
Cambodian dancer and her partner with a type of xylophone entertained all the
diners. This restaurant is obviously set up to cater to tourists, but at the
moment seems a safer place to eat than some other places especially given the
recent assaults on our senses.
Phnom Penh is full of civil servants and other government
workers given time off to celebrate the funeral and cremation of the late King
Father Norodom Sihanouk. People everywhere are dressed in black pants or skirts
and white tops, and wear a rosette of black ribbons. The main streets are lined
with Cambodian flags all at half-mast. All major buildings have shrines to
Sihanouk which comprise his face, flowers of tribute and black ribbon
decoration. Many streets have been closed off to traffic and there has been an
influx of foreign dignitaries. Among these is the Australian John Anderson who
was an early force in the restoration of order in Phnom Penh after the
overthrow of the Pol Pot regime.
Our day was completed with a dinner provided by Bunniks to
enable us to get to know each other better. The food was a set menu with a
delightful mix of flavours – Cambodian food is much more subtle in its flavours
than Thai food, for example. The cocktails here were a good investment – only
US$4 for a dacquiri. Beer is also cheap too, and very refreshing in the hot
weather.
