On our last full day in Phnom Penh, we thought about investigating other sections of the map... too much free time :)
We had breakfast around Central Market, a queer yellow building whose initial design was made by a French architect.
If you walk around Phnom Penh, you'll find old buildings as curious as that - charming reminders of Cambodia's colonial past.
One of the main backpacker haunts was around a lake that we could see on the map, but couldn't quite locate. We knew we were in the right place but Beoung Kak Lake seemed to have disappeared!
But we were not dreaming. There used to be a lake here, and there were houses hanging over its edge where foreigners would share a beer and watch the sunset. We were told that the lake was covered up to make room for more buildings. For now it may look like a desert landed in the middle of a shantytown, but you could feel that the age of the high rise has arrived and soon the lake would be just a memory.
A little creek from the water being suctioned off the lake is the only clue of what this place used to be.
We said we'd ride as far as we can, perhaps even making the journey to an abandoned town called Oudolom outside city limits.
We stopped here a while to watch life pass by.
Henri decided the most convenient place to stop was next to a cemetery.
By mid-afternoon we agreed we had gone too far and were too hungry to make it all the way to Oudulom, though we met some tourists who were trying to make it there by sunset at least....
We went back to Phnom Penh for Mexican bites and alcohol. Plenty of it. I don't know why we were, by then, too bored by the idea of seeing yet another tourist spot. Had we finally hit our saturation point? Were we spoiled by sights already seen that we couldn't muster the energy to be amazed anymore?
The thing is, for me at least, each destination tries its hardest to have its own Eiffel Tower or Great Wall, that "thing" you just HAVE TO see. And when it falls short of expectations (like the palace in Phnom Penh), if it fails to awe or affect, I feel like I wasted my time. Why do they try so hard? Can't you just like a place for its own charms?
I mean, just sitting next to the river I was flooded by the engaging spectacle of Cambodian life.
A bit south of the river, we saw a commercial complex around what looks like a future Marina Bay Sands. The locals were huddled around a bike competition for who can drive slowest.
Speaking of slow - we took it slow on this leg and did a lot of socializing, and reading, and eating, and laundry... so we didn't see all the temples. (There were so many, it was hard to keep track.) We finally made a visit to the last temple in our neighborhood before sunset, because it seemed like the best opportunity to say goodbye.
It was the perfect time to say thanks for personal discoveries, and ask for a little vacation within our vacation. We had yet to recover from the border crossing - Who knew traveling would be so stressful!
Wish granted - in Sihanoukville.
We had breakfast around Central Market, a queer yellow building whose initial design was made by a French architect.
If you walk around Phnom Penh, you'll find old buildings as curious as that - charming reminders of Cambodia's colonial past.
One of the main backpacker haunts was around a lake that we could see on the map, but couldn't quite locate. We knew we were in the right place but Beoung Kak Lake seemed to have disappeared!
But we were not dreaming. There used to be a lake here, and there were houses hanging over its edge where foreigners would share a beer and watch the sunset. We were told that the lake was covered up to make room for more buildings. For now it may look like a desert landed in the middle of a shantytown, but you could feel that the age of the high rise has arrived and soon the lake would be just a memory.
A little creek from the water being suctioned off the lake is the only clue of what this place used to be.
We said we'd ride as far as we can, perhaps even making the journey to an abandoned town called Oudolom outside city limits.
We encountered imposing sights along the way.
Including the mighty Mekong, that thunders through southeast asia from the cold bosom of Tibet.
Ironically, it was also where life metaphorically ends.
Henri decided the most convenient place to stop was next to a cemetery.
By mid-afternoon we agreed we had gone too far and were too hungry to make it all the way to Oudulom, though we met some tourists who were trying to make it there by sunset at least....
SUCKAS.
We went back to Phnom Penh for Mexican bites and alcohol. Plenty of it. I don't know why we were, by then, too bored by the idea of seeing yet another tourist spot. Had we finally hit our saturation point? Were we spoiled by sights already seen that we couldn't muster the energy to be amazed anymore?
The thing is, for me at least, each destination tries its hardest to have its own Eiffel Tower or Great Wall, that "thing" you just HAVE TO see. And when it falls short of expectations (like the palace in Phnom Penh), if it fails to awe or affect, I feel like I wasted my time. Why do they try so hard? Can't you just like a place for its own charms?
I mean, just sitting next to the river I was flooded by the engaging spectacle of Cambodian life.
A bit south of the river, we saw a commercial complex around what looks like a future Marina Bay Sands. The locals were huddled around a bike competition for who can drive slowest.
Speaking of slow - we took it slow on this leg and did a lot of socializing, and reading, and eating, and laundry... so we didn't see all the temples. (There were so many, it was hard to keep track.) We finally made a visit to the last temple in our neighborhood before sunset, because it seemed like the best opportunity to say goodbye.
It was the perfect time to say thanks for personal discoveries, and ask for a little vacation within our vacation. We had yet to recover from the border crossing - Who knew traveling would be so stressful!
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