Air, Land and Sea – Travelling in Cambodia
Thursday 14th of September
Today was a day when we experienced the whole range of travel options, land, sea and air.
The morning began after yet another lovely night in the hotel in Siem Reap. We had breakfast at the Hotel. At 8.30 we were on the bus to the airport. The journey was only 30 minutes and we were back at the Siem Reap International Airport. We had a hours wait here, half the group had left the hotel an hour earlier than us and had flown to Phenom Penh, so we had to wait for the plane to return to take us to Phenom Penh. The place was a fascinating site. It was a 54 seat propeller driven plane that even I had to bend down to enter. It looked about 50 years old. Things got even more worrying when we took off, apart from the plane shaking as it took off, we then had what looked like steam entering the cockpit. Apparently this was an old fashioned style of air-conditioning, but it was quite scary The guy in the front seat almost disappeared entirely.
On arrival at Phenom Penh we were given a brief tour of the town, past a number of the historic sites and then we were taken to the Royal Palace area. This was well worth a visit, the palace area included a range of buildings which reflect the development of Cambodia from the time the capital moved to Phenom Penh, through the French occupation and beyond the Khymer Rouge days. The palaces were astounding. The Silver Pagoda, names as the floor is entirely tiled in silver, were great sites. All the time our guide reminded us how these objects had been saved from the Khymer Rouge only because the king remained held here in house arrest during the time of their government.
The guide had horror stories to tell us about the Khymer Rouge, the whole of Phenom Penh was cleared and people forced to go back to the agricultural areas to try and make a living. University Lecturers and other “non-contributing” members of society were killed. The guides own family lost six or seven members during this tragic period.
Following the palace we went to the Independence Monument, reflecting the independence from French colonial rule, and travelled to the Central Market, which is the busiest nosiest market I have ever seen with the exception of the Arab market in Jerusalem. (Incidentally this market is going to be in an episode of Casualty this weekend!)
Phenom Penh is a busy friendly city, not as modern as Siem Reap, but still somewhere I’d be happy to spend some time in the future.
We had lunch at a hotel in Phenom Penh and then drove the four hours from the Capital to Sihanoukville, where the Ship now was. The journey showed quite a lush well watered land, apparently it is like this during the monsoon (which we missed today) but not during the dry period. Many of the houses are build on stilts to avoid the floods that the monsoon brings.
On getting on board it was time to shower, change and be ready for the Martini time and Dinner, this was followed by drinks in the Casino Bar and bed at 12.30.
Food and Drink
Breakfast was a lovely buffet. Today the juice and fruit was followed, for me, by two eggs, bacon and ham with some lovely rye bread. Drew opted for sausages and bacon.
Lunch – yet another Cambodian Buffet, these was some lovely fatty pork dishes and yet again a range of noodles soups. Mainly however the food was similar to that mentioned yesterday. We both had glasses of Angkor Beer to wash it down.
Since our last visit to the Club Bar a new Martini had been added to the list as a special. This was Pometini, which as the name implies is vodka, dry vermouth and pomegranate liqueur, something I’ve not tried before, but was very pleasant. Drew and I both started with this. I then had a Flirtini, one I had tried before and Drew had a Mimosa – Champagne and Orange juice.
Dinner – Tonight I had a Prawn Cocktail, with an American hot sauce, to start, Drew had asparagus spears in puff pastry with tarragon butter sauce. Drew then had Oxtail Broth and I had Lentil Puree, again both of them were tasty. I then had a rack of lamb with green beans, garlic mash and sautéed red onions. Drew had opted for the Chicken Kiev with beets, pea pods and parsley potatoes. Both Drew and I finished off with Stilton. We drank a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc with the meal and had a glass of port with the cheese.
We finished off in the Casino Bar where I had three large brandies and Drew three large Tawny Ports, I think we slept well!!
Today was a day when we experienced the whole range of travel options, land, sea and air.
The morning began after yet another lovely night in the hotel in Siem Reap. We had breakfast at the Hotel. At 8.30 we were on the bus to the airport. The journey was only 30 minutes and we were back at the Siem Reap International Airport. We had a hours wait here, half the group had left the hotel an hour earlier than us and had flown to Phenom Penh, so we had to wait for the plane to return to take us to Phenom Penh. The place was a fascinating site. It was a 54 seat propeller driven plane that even I had to bend down to enter. It looked about 50 years old. Things got even more worrying when we took off, apart from the plane shaking as it took off, we then had what looked like steam entering the cockpit. Apparently this was an old fashioned style of air-conditioning, but it was quite scary The guy in the front seat almost disappeared entirely.
On arrival at Phenom Penh we were given a brief tour of the town, past a number of the historic sites and then we were taken to the Royal Palace area. This was well worth a visit, the palace area included a range of buildings which reflect the development of Cambodia from the time the capital moved to Phenom Penh, through the French occupation and beyond the Khymer Rouge days. The palaces were astounding. The Silver Pagoda, names as the floor is entirely tiled in silver, were great sites. All the time our guide reminded us how these objects had been saved from the Khymer Rouge only because the king remained held here in house arrest during the time of their government.
The guide had horror stories to tell us about the Khymer Rouge, the whole of Phenom Penh was cleared and people forced to go back to the agricultural areas to try and make a living. University Lecturers and other “non-contributing” members of society were killed. The guides own family lost six or seven members during this tragic period.
Following the palace we went to the Independence Monument, reflecting the independence from French colonial rule, and travelled to the Central Market, which is the busiest nosiest market I have ever seen with the exception of the Arab market in Jerusalem. (Incidentally this market is going to be in an episode of Casualty this weekend!)
Phenom Penh is a busy friendly city, not as modern as Siem Reap, but still somewhere I’d be happy to spend some time in the future.
We had lunch at a hotel in Phenom Penh and then drove the four hours from the Capital to Sihanoukville, where the Ship now was. The journey showed quite a lush well watered land, apparently it is like this during the monsoon (which we missed today) but not during the dry period. Many of the houses are build on stilts to avoid the floods that the monsoon brings.
On getting on board it was time to shower, change and be ready for the Martini time and Dinner, this was followed by drinks in the Casino Bar and bed at 12.30.
Food and Drink
Breakfast was a lovely buffet. Today the juice and fruit was followed, for me, by two eggs, bacon and ham with some lovely rye bread. Drew opted for sausages and bacon.
Lunch – yet another Cambodian Buffet, these was some lovely fatty pork dishes and yet again a range of noodles soups. Mainly however the food was similar to that mentioned yesterday. We both had glasses of Angkor Beer to wash it down.
Since our last visit to the Club Bar a new Martini had been added to the list as a special. This was Pometini, which as the name implies is vodka, dry vermouth and pomegranate liqueur, something I’ve not tried before, but was very pleasant. Drew and I both started with this. I then had a Flirtini, one I had tried before and Drew had a Mimosa – Champagne and Orange juice.
Dinner – Tonight I had a Prawn Cocktail, with an American hot sauce, to start, Drew had asparagus spears in puff pastry with tarragon butter sauce. Drew then had Oxtail Broth and I had Lentil Puree, again both of them were tasty. I then had a rack of lamb with green beans, garlic mash and sautéed red onions. Drew had opted for the Chicken Kiev with beets, pea pods and parsley potatoes. Both Drew and I finished off with Stilton. We drank a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc with the meal and had a glass of port with the cheese.
We finished off in the Casino Bar where I had three large brandies and Drew three large Tawny Ports, I think we slept well!!
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