Cambodia - Phnom Penh

This should be a short one, I just need to catch up before things start getting busy again.  Today was a travel day so I am laying low at a hotel (Citi Home) in HCMC until I leave for the north in the morning.

Last post was the end of my time in Siem Reap.  I caught the 8:45 am bus to Phnom Penh (PP).  I haven't had much luck with bus seat mates but this time, I got a single traveller who spoke English!  The jackpot.  A Californian man who is in the pipe trades, whatever that means.  We has 6 hours so be ranted about Trump for a while.  You have to suss out the Americans a bit first but travelling Americans seem to be anti-Trump. This guy was particularly interesting because he used to be a Republican but now he says he doesn't care who runs next, he will vote Democrat.  It was a different perspective than I am used to.  He was very thoughtful and insightful about the whole smozzle.

Anyway, we got on well enough so we made dinner plans for later that evening.  (Don't get excited, he is married).   We went to a place around the corner from my hotel (back to the RS Hostel) called Dave's Noodle and Dumpling house.  They make their own noodles and dumplings out front on the street so you can watch.  I ordered dumplings and duck noodles.  Both so good they would make you weep.  (I went back the next night and had more dumplings and some fried salad rolls.  Again, so good!.  This time that place was full so I sat with another American and listened to another rant about Trump.  I think they want to get it off their chests when they meet an outsider.  Maybe they just want to make it clear that they are not on the Trump bandwagon.  Anyway, dumplings!)

I only had one day in PP so I wanted to hit as many highlights as I could.  I had arranged to meet Earl (the bus guy) in the morning.  He wanted to go to the museum and I didn't care so that's what we did.  It was only a block or two from my hotel. No pictures allowed but luckily, I am a hardened criminal so I took several with wanton disregard for the rule of law.

My name is Earl

This is the main piece, a bronze statue from Angkor.

The courtyard garden

After the museum, Earl and I parted ways. I wanted to go to S21, the Khmer Rouge interrogation camp.  It was as ghastly as you might imagine.  This is where 20 or so thousand people were tortured before being taken to the killing fields. Only 7 people left S21 alive. 

Who said that line about one death is a tragedy but a million is a statistic.  Well, after looking at pictures of dead bodies and hundreds of faces of people who were destined to die, and skulls and bones of more dead people, it is numbing.  This all took place in a school.  It still looks like a school, in fact we passed another building that looks exactly the same that is still being used as a school.  For some reason, that seemed to be what my brain could not comprehend.  This ordinary building, in an ordinary neighbourhood could contain such horror.    Anyway, here are some pictures.  I didn't take any of the dead bodies so it should be ok (well, there's one but obscured, just to show how the rooms were displayed - each with a photo of the body found in the bed when S21 was discovered, otherwise empty of prisoners)

Barbed wire surrounds it

Just a school building

Interrogation room.  I think the worst part is how beautiful the light was in these rooms

Intake photos, walls and walls of photos of the soon to be killed

Like this hardened enemy of the state

Display of skulls from the killing fields.

This is a memorial in the school yard, several of these plaques show the names
of every known person brought through S21.

That was enough for me, by far.  I did not go to the killing fields to see the millions of bones.  There were pictures in this room though.  Some skeletons still had blindfolds and bindings on.

After that, I went back to my room to recoup and clear my head.  And to figure out my next moves.  I was leaving PP the next morning but I didn't have a hotel in HCMC or tickets (or any idea of tickets on what mode of transport) out of HCMC.  So, I spent a couple of hours on the internet.  I found a train from HCMC to Da Nang, about halfway up Vietnam, recommended by Rachelle, the one who made me come here with her enticing free travel book. 

Tet is the new year celebration here, it is the BIG holiday.  Much like our Christmas, things shut down and travel before, during, and after is difficult.  So, needless to say, I had a hard time finding a 'soft berth' ticket on the train.  It is 18 hours overnight.  I had a choice of hard seat, soft seat, hard berth (6) or soft berth (4).  Everything was sold out.  Even hard seats on many trains.  But I found a few soft berths on one train so I grabbed one. It isn't ideal, timewise but we'll see.  Plus, I booked hotels for the next three cities and a plane ticket from Hue to Hanoi.  So, I should be set. 

Here is my 'calendar' that I update as I add confirmed transportation and hotel plans

After that, I headed to Phnom Wat.  The temple on the only hill in the city.  I discovered that phnom means hill.  It wasn't too far but I took a tuktuk because it was close to closing time. 

The 'hill' 

Each buddha had money and a lotus flower

The place lit up just as I was leaving

Since it wasn't far, I decided to walk home.  It was getting dark but no worries.  I walked back to the main night market area.  I popped into the market for a minute to see if I could find a cleaner box but I couldn't.  So, I walked toward home.  And walked and walked.  Eventually I passed a huge circle with a glowing tower in it.  I was distracted because I was playing with the night function on my camera.  But I could not find this circle on the map.  Then I found a street sign.  There must be some mistake.  I was at the wrong end of town and the circle I had passed was Phnom Wat!. I had a done a complete 180 and passed where I started.  I had taken a turn in the market and ended up heading southwest instead of northeast.  So much for my new found directional skills.  The neighbourhood was getting sketchier and I was all turned around.  But fortunately, in SE Asia you are only as lost as the nearest tuk tuk so I just gave up figuring out where I was and let someone else figure it out.

Here are some night function photos from my walk

This one might have been regular function.  It's a good shot though

I was fascinated by these buildings

When last we parted, I was attempting to pack that hideous box in my pack and still only also have my day pack.  I managed but barely.  Lost my pajama bottoms and my skirt in the fight but I arose victorious. No more questions from tuk tuk drivers about how many people with be accompanying my bags.

This morning, I remembered about the lack of coffee service at the Giant Ibis bus station so I had one at the restaurant beside my hotel.  Coffee with milk here (or cafe au lait for 50c more at the fancy places) is espresso with sweetened condensed milk.  Sounds gross, is actually amazing!

8:45 bus.  I again had the worst seat on the bus.  row 3.  There was a black box (speaker?) under the seat in front so I couldn't cram my overstuffed day pack under that seat.  And my seat had some sort of raised grate uder it.  So I had to take some stuff out of my bag and shove it into the seat pocket so I could cram my bag under my seat.  It didn't quite fit so it was sticking into my foot space so I barely had any room for my feet with the speaker box and my bag. 

I watched this very large man smoking outside of the bus and was relieved when he sat in another row.  But not for long, the conductor came by and told him he was in row 3, beside me.  Damn.  He then proceeds to ask if he can charge his phone in the plug on my side of the seat.  So now, no leg/foot room, a giant sitting squished against me and a cord running across my lap.  Great.

He was nice enough.  From Philippines, lives in Bangkok.  But just before we were about to leave, the conductor comes by and tells him there are two seats in the back row he can have.  And he says 'no I'm good here'  WHAT!!!!  Dude, we are like sardines with cords in here.  Go to the back!!!

He seemed quite content so I piped up to the conductor, I'll go to the back.  I am no fan of the back row but it had to be better than this.  Well, let me tell you, the best decision of my LIFE.  My decision to buy into the real estate market before the boom, second to this decision!

I drag all of my bags and water and food etc to the back and find nirvana.  Normally, the back is five seats across.   This one was four.  So, the seats were 25% wider.  There was so much room back there that they had installed reclining chairs with foot rests!  And I had two of these seats!  Heaven.

I was an old hand at the border by now so no trouble there.  Lots of tourists to follow this time but no need, I am a pro. 

Arrived in HCMC, found a taxi and came to my hotel, chosen for it's proximity to the train station.

Oh yeah, the taxi driver tried to scam me.  He thought I was new to Vietnam so he tried to charge me 800K VND for the ride instead of 80K.  I told him that was  $45 dollars and not likely so I handed him 100K.  He doesn't know anything about dollars, the meter says 800K.  Well, those meters include the decimal and I know that.  When I started calling him a thief in a loud angry voice , he started throwing my change into my hands.  The jig was up.  He couldn't get me out of his car fast enough. 

I had a shower and ate my last energy bar for dinner. I just want to relax, read my book and update the blog before an early bedtime.  Which is now.

Here are some random photos from Phnom Penh.  Good night.