Siem Reap

This is what $5 a night looks like in Cambodia. Apparently there's a place around here with $1 rooms that have bamboo walls.

A Change of Scenery

Early tomorrow morning I'm taking a bus to Siem Reap, the departure town for the ancient Khmer temples of Angkor Wat, and it's about time. I really need a change of scenery. It's not that Siem Reap will be any different than Phnom Penh--or any other place--in any fundamental way. I've traveled enough to know that your perception of a place is more important than its actual qualities. It's so easy at the start when everything is new and interesting. After two weeks the city hasn't changed but I find myself sitting around playing Pixel Dungeon and browsing Reddit rather than exploring the town.

So I haven't been able to post anything for a week. I've even done some stuff worth writing about: exploring silk island with my Mom, visiting the Royal Palace with my Cambodian friends Kunthea and Rathana, watching a documentary about Asian shadow puppets in a German bar. I couldn't quite get my fingers moving on the keyboard when I had some time to type though. The topics don't seem that exciting after the fact.

Yesterday I tried to pin my malaise on the city. My ideas included: I don't feel the right vibe here, the temples are gaudy monstrosities inside and out (except when their rooftops stick out from the skyline), buying things is my most common interaction with Cambodians, the weather is too damn hot,and there's tons of pollution. I wasn't being fair though. Nothing on that list is keeping me tossing and turning night after night. There are all kinds of things that are great about being here: Cambodians are super friendly (tuk tuk drivers are not pushy here at all), they love trying to speak Khmer with foreigners, nighttime in the city is beautiful, and the food is fresh and delicious. The real issue is that, at some point last weekend, my internal vacation clock turned over from a fun-and-relaxing upswing to a worrying-about-real-life downswing.

I'm betting that having something new to explore will rekindle some of those upswing feelings.

Good Enough to Eat

The fruit here is definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The mini bananas are like concentrated versions of the larger variety I usually devour and the dragon fruit I haven't really figured out how to describe yet. Both are good excuses to bust out the new markers too.

Phnom Penh Rooftops

A single skyscraper dominates the skyline of Phnom Penh. It's visible from every corner of the city but the few people I asked didn't know anything about it. Yesterday I decided to investigate.

The tower looms over the area I like to think of as downtown. The central market, the main bus station and a modern mall are all nestled together within two blocks. I headed into the mall, aka Sorya shopping centre, to get a good look at the tower. At the top of Sorya, eight stories up, is a restaurant with a view of the city. There wasn't a single customer despite it being early afternoon. The hostess didn't mind me looking around so I found a shady spot on the balcony to sketch the tower (see below). Three quarters of its surface are covered in straight glass panes like many of its contemporary siblings but the fourth wall is made of overlapping arcs of glass that make up a long curve. It appears as though a cocoon is slowly being shed to let something escape. On some floors it looks like windows are missing entirely but it was too far away to see why. I returned to the streets to check the tower out from inside; the upper levels would have even better views of the city.

The base was surrounded by construction. Though it looks like it's mostly finished the lower levels are stocked with tools and materials. At least I found the name: Vattanac Capital Project. It's going to house offices, stores, and apartments and at 39 stories it's by far the biggest building around Phnom Penh.

As I retraced my footsteps I realized how vividly coloured the city is. Sketches in black pen aren't doing the sights justice. Luckily I found a stationary store that carried a few markers pretty easily. A little closer to home I came across the Olympic Stadium and from its stands I could see a bit of the surrounding city. The orange and green roof of a pagoda provided a chance to start colouring the city.

Fresh Chicken

The National Museum of Cambodia details the history of the ancient Khmer empire through statues and other stone artifacts found throughout the country. These sketches are a few of the pieces I liked.

Apparently they reigned over most of present day Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam for some time. Cooool.

Phnom Penh: an introduction

The streets of Phnom Penh are choked with exhaust fumes and little blips of the horn. It's just after noon and the full force of the Phnom Penh's fleet of oversized Lexus's and undersized motorbikes are going about their business. It's not that there's too many vehicles but that there isn't enough a space. In the centre of the few open boulevards I stumbled upon the noise recedes and the air clears.

But on the majority of streets I can make out pieces of blippy-horn conversations:

"Hello, you're in the way."

"I don't think this red light applies to this exact model of Honda ditchripper. Make way!"

"Would you like a ride in my tuk-tuk, monsieur tourist?"

Traffic flows along without any trouble. Schools of ditchripper-remoras latch onto SUV-sharks and form slow moving blocks while some intrepid loners speed on ahead. At any point a vehicle can come jump into the flow at any angles. The school flows around the interloper and continues on. I haven't seen an accident yet. I'm happy; I imagine the carnage would be spectacular.

It's hot but not sunny. A storm is coming into town but storm sometimes just means spotty rain. Maybe the key to avoiding a downpour is wanting it to come. I had been looking forward to taking shelter from torrential rains in some Khmer cafe as soon as the guide book informed me that August is part of the rainy season. I haven't had any luck though.

Eventually night comes and takes away the heat. It hides the dirt and garbage lining the streets, allowing Phnom Penh to emerge under the glow of street lights and neon advertisements.

Holiday in Cambodia

Last week my cousin Jonathan invited me on a day trip around BC in his plane. We flew from Victoria to Chilliwack to have some brunch pie, then up to Pemberton for lunch. The power was out at the pub by the airstrip though so we left hungry. The return leg of the trip took us over Whistler and Nanaimo, where the pub was open for business. The sketches of Jon's Cessna, the mountains, and the clouds are the best of the trip.

Thanks again, Jonathan!

The next leg of my summer trip was flying to Cambodia via China. My Mom and I left Vancouver at noon Monday morning and landed at Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capitol, around 11 pm last night. The 12 hour flight from Vancouver to Guangzhou, China went relatively quickly. I brought enough books and gadgets to keep myself occupied. Sitting around the Guangzhou airport for five hours was a drag but at least I got to taste ten dollar watermelon juice.

All I've seen so far of Phnom Penh is the back of a tuk-tuk and a grocery store. The view from my balcony is a bit different from Kitchener-Waterloo though.