One Sandal

I had a dash of trepidation coming to another Asian capital on the bus ride this morning, after being somewhat overwhelmed by KL and Bangkok. And our first bus stop within the city did little to alleviate my uneasiness, with about a half dozen motorbike drivers literally running next to the bus door as we pulled to a stop, all desperately offering their services. My final stop in Phhom Penh was only about 5 blocks from the guest house I wanted to check out, and I probably refused the service of 20 motorbike and tuk-tuk drivers in the 15 minutes it took me to cover that short span. ("You want motorbike? Massage? Lady? Marijuana cigarette?") On arrival, I decided to splurge, and my room has air-con (A/C, air conditioning, however you like it) and what a sweet hum that machine of chilly goodness was after a hot walk through a tropical cityscape. And I've even got cable television (2 English channels!) in my room with a private hot water shower-toilet, all for the outlandish sum of eight (8) US dollars per night.

As I arrived rather late in the afternoon, I was unable to engage much of the formal sights here in Cambodia's capital, but a leisurely walk in the late afternoon sun turned out to be just what I needed. Phnom Penh is a bit frantic, to be sure, but it's far more navigable and pleasant than either KL or Bangkok. It boasts something that neither has, as well: a very pleasant river running along the edge of downtown with parkside along it, and rows of bars, hotels, internet cafes and shops opposite the park. A group of 4 shirtless 10-12 year old boys stopped me along the riverwalk to show off the tiny live birds they held in their hands, and I fell prey to their charm and agreed to buy them a bag of (overpriced) dried fruit from a woman vendor walking along the riverbank with a wicker basket of sweets and treats. That's one scam I'm OK with falling victim to.

But the city is rather lovely, the French colonial architecture blends well with the river and (what's left of) the Buddhist Wats that are about town. (In addition to essentially evacuating this entire city in the early 1970s, the Khmer Rouge's arch-Stalinism did bry allow for religious expression, and in addition to the murder of thousands of monks, many of the religious structures of Cambodia where destroyed). Despite the fact that Cambodia, like the rest of the world (and especially in the ASEAN countries) is moving towards universal English education, this whole country is full of French tourists.

Crossing the street is a skill I'm slowly getting used to. It's rather simple, really. Find something resembling a traffic gap, and walk, with confidence and swiftness, and assume (pray) that the cars, motorbikes, and bicycles will slow down for you. I'm actually getting OK at it, but my heart still skips a beat at times.

I'm still uncertain how I'll spend my my remaining days in Asia, with the intrigue of Vietnam and the party of the Thai New Year wrestling with my internal day planner. One unmentioned element from my last post is that the cost of getting to Hong Kong is turning out to be much more than I had planned. It's actually much cheaper for me to get to and from Bangkok, and I plan to call Continental Airlines to see if I can switch my return flight to BKK, regardless of what I decide upon. Thanks for your input on that (and there is till time for more comments!), and I'm leaning at this point to heading back to Thailand, and figure out the rest of it as it comes.