Cambodia: Phnom Penh

We left for Phnom Penh at 7:30am for what I now expected to be a breathtaking journey - and not in a good way. Having had a few experiences on the roads in this part of the country, I knew the potholes would be plentiful and every time we approached an especially large one, I'd hold my breath as the bus swayed left then right and back again until we finally lurched onto more solid ground. This was in addition to what driving is like on the smoother roads - constant honking and overtaking the cars/motorbikes/tractors in front of us - at a dizzying speed. To ease the anxiety, they usually play Cambodian music videos or a cheesy karate film.

Public Service Announcement at the toll booth.

Arriving in Phnom Penh after a 7.5-hour cross country journey, we were too cranky to deal with the always expected barrage of tuk-tuk and moto drivers as we de-bussed. We walked away from the central market and found a nice guesthouse near the Mekong river in a lively area of town. We were spoiled with hot water and a shower head not over the toilet for a change.

Market near our guesthouse.

Typical barber shop.

Outdoor kitchen.

Being in a capital city was exciting as we reveled in the many options for restaurants and pubs dotting the riverside and adjacent streets. One night we were lucky to observe the celebration of the mid-autumn festival. Many shops had small shrines set up with various offerings and along the riverfront people were creating similar shrines with candles to float in the river with a traditional band playing music outside a temple.

Shrine at the liquor store.

Here are some more sights from around Phnom Penh.

The mighty Mekong River.

Cyclo a.k.a. bicycle taxi.

There are very few stop signs or lights in Cambodia and even when they are there, people maneuver as they please. This is a crazily typical example of what it's like. The different directions of traffic sort of melt into each other until they reach the other side of the intersection.

Traffic in Phnom Penh.

Burning trash in the street.

Inside the central market.

We knew when we came to Cambodia that they were in the midst of a historic challenge to the current Prime Minister, Mr. Hun Sen, in the most recent election which was held at the end of July. We arrived in Cambodia at the end of August and it was only at the end of our month-long stay in the country (two months after the election) that they officially announced Mr. Hun Sen's highly contested win which will extend his term another 5 years. You can read more about it here. We were fortunate to miss the 3 days of protests in the capital city, but did see heavy security near the Royal Palace and one small demonstration.

Barricades outside the Royal Palace + monks.