Phnom Penh - No pavements but a lot of bars

We arrived in Phnom Penh on Friday 12th of March full of trepidation - we had read that armed hold-ups were not unheard of and that drive-by bag snatching was pretty common. Luckily our stay there was entirely without incident and the worst threat we faced was from the traffic. We stayed on the riverfront, which is one of the more expensive areas for accomodation. The riverfront itself embodied all the contradictions of Cambodia - street-children begging in front of glitzy hotels, and metres of perfect promenade followed by areas where the 'pavement' was just a stretch of sand.

Our time in Phnom Penh was spent mostly in a series of cafes and bars - venturing out onto the street became exhausting due to the constant cries of 'tuk-tuk?' and the invitations to buy sunglasses, books or drugs. Walking around the city was incredibly interesting but difficult to do for long, as the narrow pavements became non-existant for long stretches due to the tables, chairs, stalls, shops and motorbikes which spilled our over them. We were forced to walk on the road instead, which meant constantly being on guard against the frenetic traffic...

We skipped the Royal Palace, both feeling a bit sick of sight-seeing after Angkor Wat, and baulking at the $6 dollar entrance fee. One 'tourist' site we did visit was Tuol Seng Prison, also called S-21. It was the major detention and torture centre of the Khmer Rouge and today stands testament to the atrocities committed there. The graphic photos and victim accounts were a real eye-opener for me, and I found it especially shocking to learn that the UN recognised the Khmer Rouge as a legitimate government until 1990. The genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge is so difficult to connect to Cambodia's vibrant present, and even more difficult to try and make sense of.

 Every night of our stay in Phnom Penh found us at the Foreign Correspondent's Club for their happy hour between 5 and 7pm. The bar has a rooftop terrace (where all the street view pictures in this post were taken) and a great range of cocktails. It was a good place to sit with a Singapore Sling and feel decadent, while people-watching and nibbling bar snacks.

We enjoyed our stay in Phnom Penh but were keen to get to somewhere a bit less chaotic to recover from its madness. On Tuesday 16th we travelled to Vietnam, and soon found the perfect beach hideout - a deserted island 150km from the mainland. Not a tuk-tuk in sight!