Phnom Penh is nuts!

That is my first impression of this city. The bus ride here was the nicest bus ride I’ve taken this whole trip - AC that worked the whole way, a TV onboard showing Cambodian TV shows and a Stallone movie dubbed in Khmer, and a free bottle of water at the start of the trip. The rest stop was also pretty nice. There was no vegetarian food, so I had a plate of rice with soy sauce. I’m not veg right now, but tend to eat veg when I travel. It’s usually a safe bet, especially at rest stops. Dessert was a freshly cut mini pineapple. Yum.

Pulling into the city it felt more like India than ever, mostly because there was so much trash along the side of the roads. I took a tuk-tuk to one guesthouse and then another because I got a sketchy vibe from the first one, despite the fact that it’s the Lonely Planet’s top pick. I can’t remember if I mentioned this already, but the Lonely Planet seems to be the most widely used guidebook over here, and probably everywhere. It’s a good place to start, but there’s also the “Lonely Planet effect,” which means once a guesthouse gets listed in it their prices just about double. Sometimes it pays to look around on your own. In any case, I found one that’s also in the book, and I was glad I made the wise decision to take a tuk-tuk rather than walk around trying to find it because this city is huge. It seems really spread out. So for the first time this trip, tuk-tuk drivers are my friends. I’ve booked a half-day trip with one tomorrow. He’ll pick me up at my guesthouse in the morning and take me to the Tuol Sleung Museum, Cambodia’s version of the Holocaust Museum. I’ll catch the documentary they show every morning and after the museum, we'll head just outside of the city to the infamous Killing Fields. I’m not sure if I ever saw that movie, actually, but I’m looking forward to learning more about this horrible period in Cambodia’s history. It promises to be an informative and highly depressing day. However, I think it’s worth doing.

I’ll probably call it good on Phnom Penh after tomorrow. I’m not sure if I’ll try to explore another part of Cambodia, like a village or something, or head straight to Ho Chi Minh City. I’ve heard great things about Phu Quoc island, off the western coast of Vietnam, so I’m hoping to get one more beach injection before returning to the frigid Maine winter.


Wicker baskets.