Is this really Cambodia? It’s hard to believe how different Phnom Penh feels from the entire rest of the country. Whereas almost everything I’ve seen so far has been well below poverty, here in the capital you’ve got huge palm-lined boulevards, Raffles Hotels, and glistening Mercedes abound.
In many ways, it feels like a completely different country than I’ve been living in for the past 2 months. You can’t help but wonder if the rural Cambodians – living in their thatched bamboo huts and hauling their water up from wells – have any idea how their country’s elite live every day…
- “What’s that noise?”
“Oh, of course. The couple on th...
- Fairyland Guesthouse: my home for the ten nights I spen...
- Although my room was the smallest thus far,
- This was probably the first place in Cambodia that felt...
- It had an excellent Western-style bathroom, a nice view...
- …If not for the pestering tuktuk driver who was always ...
- Because securing Chinese and Russian visas was “order o...
- Go figure. No announcement on their website, no record...
- Feeling annoyed beyond words, I headed back home to ret...
- But on the way there – by total coincidence – I strolle...
- Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, aka “S-21,” is a former hig...
- The kinds of things they did to their own men, women, a...
- It’s almost impossible to grasp, that each and every st...
- But as I’ve already said my piece on the Khmer Rouge’s ...
- Since my plans for getting a Chinese visa had gone out ...
- It was almost too easy. Based on my research, getting ...
- And since the consulate was right near the riverfront, ...
- So this is where all of Phnom Penh’s tourists are hidin...
- (…Even though the riverfront itself is admittedly quite...
- For the next couple days – while waiting for my Russian...
- …Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m not overflowing with ...
- For instance, one day at dinner I met one of the most i...
- Unsurprisingly, this meeting led to a treasure trove of...
- …But I won’t. Sorry – I gotta keep moving forward :)
- After our enlightening and unforgettable meal, my new f...
- Then it was back home and back to work once again.
Note: These posts are behind realtime; the above took place in March, 2012.
That temple in picture 21 is pretty spectacular. Also, sounds like a very memorable talk with the Irish guy!
That temple is the Royal Palace 🙂
That guy sounds like he has had one hell of a life.
Seriously! Not one I’d want for myself, but fascinating to hear about first hand.
The pic w/ the rooster is hilarious!
Seems exactly like something you’d see in China 😉
Agreed with Andy! Almost as bizarre as the guy with his herd of goats on a train in India 😀
Hahaha oh, India…one of these days I’ll finally make it out there 😛