Day 7

Well, today was not a great day. We were to check out of the Phnom Penh Hotel and move to the Cambodiana. The Cambodiana is a 4 star hotel that has been in Phnom Penh for quite a while. It was here in 1991 and we ate in it frequently but couldn't afford to stay in it! Brennan's first birthday cake came from the Cambodiana (thanks Deb!) and I thought it would be fitting to spend his 15th birthday here.

Yoen was to pick us up at 9:30 to go to Toel Sling, which is the museum of the genocide so that we could see a documentary film at 10 am. He had car trouble and was late so we came straight to the hotel to check in. The hotel has a run down feel to it although it is large and tries to be posh. I think the Phnom Penh was a better hotel and less money. Oh well. Some of the restaurants we ate in here in the hotel before are moved around but I think the pool is in the same place. It looks old and in need of some repair. But there is a lot of activity here along the river where this hotel is so it will be good.

Since we were late for Toel Sling Yoen suggested that we drive a bit out of the city to where we could take a ferry over to an island where everyone who lives there weaves cotton and silk. We drove for about a half hour to the Kompong Thom province I believe it was and took a very dilapidated ferry across to the island. It was hot. Really really hot. I thought today might be the day that we all melt. The island was very interesting. Very simple stilt houses, cows walking around, lots of children calling out "Hello!" but noone seemed to speak English. Yoen asked several people if we could watch them weave and we bought a couple of pieces of fabric mostly to be polite. They are beautiful, however, and I think I paid $1.25 for a beautiful piece of silk. We walked quite a ways down the island to see a temple and monastery and it began to rain pretty hard. As hot as we were the rain felt good. But.... the path down to where the ferry would pick us up this other end of the island was VERY steep and would have been hard to navigate in good weather conditions. By the time the boat arrived to pick us up, it was in bad shape. I was terrified to even try to go down the hill. Kaley tried and slipped -- but since she's coordinated she caught herself by the hands in a crab position and managed to get back up. I began sliding and tried to turn around to come back up but instead I did a header into a muddy hillside. Ouch. Sore elbows, complete mud wipe out and badly bruised dignity. Derek fell next. We were like dominos. Villagers were gathered around to watch the spectacle, pointing and laughing. Not one of my finer moments. We realized that our only choice at that point was to walk back to the original docking location, but what we hadn't noticed was that Brennan had made it down the hill and was on the ferry which was now pulling away to cross the Mekong River! Fortunately, he had the good sense to just stay on the ferry and ride around until he got back to the dock where we were going to get on. He actually looked quite calm, sitting there in his Foothills jersey, MP3 player & headset going. No problem.

We went back to the hotel where we got plenty of stares as we went through the lobby to get to the rooms. By the time we had changed it was too late for Toel Sling yet again. Oh well... tomorrow. It was still raining outside so Yoen suggested that the kids might enjoy the mall. Near the very timeless Central Market there is now an 8 story mall containing all kinds of little shops, bigger shops, and even a food court. We went to the food court for lunch and that was the second disaster of the day. There were no western foods available and to be honest all of the food stations looked pretty questionable to our delicate American tummies. We each drank a coke while Yoen ate soup and other weird stuff. He brought over a bowl of noodles he wanted us to try and it was pretty yucky,. Some kind of rotten fish sauce. We looked briefly in a couple of stores. Jim was looking for another tape for the camcorder. He found the sam battery he bought in Bangkok for $35 for $135 dollars. Prices were bad.... but still, a mall in Phnom Penh. Amazing.

After dropping our laundry at a local laundry where they will wash our clothes, dry them outside and then iron them we stopped briefly at Central Market. Between the rain and the beggars we left fairly quickly.

Yoen dropped us off at the hotel and we decided to spend a quiet evening and eat here. The dining room is just like it was in 1991. We were the only ones in there, too. Sort of weird. Food was MUCH more expensive than in the restaurants on the street and the food was just OK. Nothing to write home about, but I guess I am anyway! It's going to be a long couple of weeks as far as the food goes. We're already getting a bit tired of figuring out what is safe to eat, where to eat, and trying strange foods. Oh well - that's part of the adventure right? But the bright and shiny "Pencil Supermarket" is right across the street and there are always snickers bars over there!

Service here in this hotel is pretty bad, too. I had to call the front desk and let the phone ring about 30 times. I finally ran down thinking that night be better and 3 guys were standing there just talking. I think the hotel caters to Europeans and has adopted the very laid back attitude to go along with that. This area of the riverside is now lined with big hotels, including a huge casino hotel that is still under construction next door.

Phnom Penh is a city of amazing contrasts. You see such incredibly poverty stricken areas, people living very simply who seem very content with their lives, and then those who have attained higher social status driving around in their range rovers. I suppose it is like that anywhere, but the contrasts are very evident and extreme here. The city is so much more crowded and the garbage, beggars, traffic, and noise seem so much more amplified than they were in 1991. Yes, Phnom Penn has a mall, range rovers, fancy hotels, etc.... but they also have a population being devastated by HIV, hunger and poverty on every corner, and incredible struggles for survival. Progress isn't what it's cracked up to be I'm afraid.

Well, enough philosophizing. Like I said, today was sort of a blah day with a series of less than perfect circumstances. Tomorrow will be a better day hopefully and we'll have more funny stories to share. Thanks for reading and your notes & prayers.
Hugs -
Lisa & Crew