3 days in Phnom Penh

I spent three lovely days in Phnom Penh with my flatmate from Dhaka. She moved there a week after I left Dhaka - her husband is the Admin Officer for Peace Corp Cambodia and she's finally getting settled into her home in PNH after spending a year hopping between Phnom Penh and Dhaka.

As a tourist, Phnom Penh doesn't have much to see. It was a nice laid back place to spend time though, since I was able to stay with E & M and they showed me their favorite local spots. I have to admit, the food in PNH was the best I've had on my trip so far. I had a great breakfast burrito with bacon (twice - great tortillas, I miss Mexican!), Khmer (or Cambodian) food, and French/Continental. I also was able to check out some really nice clothing stores that I probably wouldn't have found on my own. That's the best part about visiting friends' - they know their towns and they show you the ropes. Especially in foreign countries, you skip that first day of bloopers where you figure out how much to pay taxis or tuk tuks and they can give you tips that only the locals know. (Like it's way too hot to see the Royal Palace in the afternoon and you should go first thing in the morning!)

I also did a cooking class while in Phnom Penh - it wasn't my favorite class due to the long lulls in between cooking courses (and the rather unsocial group of other students - thank goodness L from the Luang Prabang class happened to be there!), but I did learn to make an excellent fried spring roll with taro. I'll make some when I get home and throw a party and make a dish from all those different cooking classes I've taken. =)

Lessee...yep, that's pretty much in for Phnom Penh. I saw the National Museum and Wat Phnom on my first day there (after a great breakfast at Comme de Maison), then met up with E & M for lunch at Cafe Yejj in the Russian Market (fantastic tortillas for breakfast burritos with bacon). Then I relaxed at the house and did some internet stuff before a massage and German food for dinner at Wilhelm Tell. (Who would have guessed?? It was excellent!!)

The second day was the cooking class - all day. Then Cambodian food for dinner at the Khmer Kitchen. (My fish amok was gritty, so they took me somewhere to have good fish amok.)

The last day, I returned to Cafe Yejj for another breakfast burrito with extra bacon. Hit the Royal Palace for a dose of Disneyland Kampuchia (my own personal joke...you'll understand when you see the pictures - the palace grounds somehow reminded me of the Epcot Center). Then I met E at some cool stores for their Christmas sale...then we both had lunch with M at The Shop. I shared a delicious tuna and white bean salad and sundried tomato mini baguette with aubergine puree.

Then, I hopped on a plane in the afternoon for a 35 minute flight to Siem Reap. I didn't realize that the drive was only 5 hours...but a friend from the Laos Cooking Class turned up in my Cambodia Cooking Class (small small world). She came to Phnom Penh from Siem Reap by bus and she didn't recommend it. Good thing I got a flight. It's a bit expensive now that I know Siem Reap is close - but worth it for sure.

Anyways - Phnom Penh was a real nice change of pace in the traveling lifestyle. I really enjoyed catching up with E & M and getting an insiders' view of Phnom Penh. It's DEFINITELY easier to live there than in Dhaka. There's a lot of changes going on - I guess the supermarkets have recently upgraded and are stocking lots of western products. The cheese selection was pretty jaw droppingly awesome. (That french influence I assume.) There were cheses that I hadn't even heard of, much less tasted! The traffic and costs of tuk tuk rides have also increased in the few weeks that E has been in town. Craziness!

I'm off early tomorrow morning at 7am to Angkor Wat and some of the other ruins in the area. I'm staying at the Golden Banana Bed and Breakfast for the next several days. I'm in Siem Reap until the 20th. (It's REALLY REALLY touristy like the backpacker area - Khao San in Bangkok. I'm not loving it so far - but I'm hoping to be blown away by the ruins.) More soon!

I'm back to Phnom Penh on the 20th, head to Hong Kong via Bangkok on the 21st and then fly back to SFO on the 22nd. =)