Independence Monument | Lows, heights and mosquito bites!

Hello Again.

Thanks for staying with us!

After S-21 and The Killing Fields, Emma and I needed some light relief. In all honesty, it took us about 48 hours to properly recover from that experience. So we decided to take it easy, in and around Phnom Penh.

The Lonely Planet had recommended a guesthouse called the Lazy Gecko, but it had been full when we attempted to book in. None the less, it was only just up the road from the guesthouse where we did end up staying. Lazy Gecko’s food was meant to be very good, so we checked it out.

As luck would have it, Lazy Gecko specialises in British grub, and they lay on a few vegetarian options as well, including a vegetarian Sunday Roast. One of the waitresses who works there is a lovely lady named Koda, and we became such regular customers, we got to know her quite well. It transpired that Koda is also a budding artist, and had decorated many of the rooms in the Lazy Gecko herself.

Koda

It was also at the Lazy Gecko that we met Inge from Belgium. Inge was a great laugh, and introduced us to her friend Ilsa. The pair of them suggested that we all head out to a fun fair one evening, and after we had all downed a few drinks, we did. In all honesty the fun fair was a no smoking affair, but we decided that that rule didn’t apply on the big wheel, and it certainly didn’t when we went up on it – Ho Hum.

Ilsa on the left and Inge on the right

We had a great night on the various rides that were on offer. But it certainly wasn’t Alton Towers theme park resort, and judging by the screams from the young people on the Pirate Ship, we concluded that Fair Ground rides and attractions are still in their relative infancy in Cambodia. Still great fun though.

Actually I was quite scared on the Ferris Wheel!

By day, we wandered around on foot, resisting the offers of Tuk Tuk rides, other than in the evenings. Phnom Penh is a pretty chilled out city. The public parks host sound systems where local people engage in synchronised dancing, and despite Pol Pot’s best efforts at exterminating them, Monks are a commonplace sight on the streets of the city these days.

We ate this delicious tapas at Friends restaurant, a training centre for young Cambodians, some of which were street kids. Definitely worth a visit

After the theft of the clippers, Trent had to pop for a haircut..first time he's been to a hairdressers in 20 years!!

After the theft of his clippers, Trent had to pop for a haircut..first time he’d been to a hairdressers in 20 years!!

Similarly, in stark contrast to Pot’s views on Cambodia’s neighbours, a large Vietnamese Friendship Monument has been erected, in addition to a Memorial Statue in remembrance of Cambodia’s much loved late King Sihanouk. Nearby also stands the Independence Monument, all of which are worth a punt, if you fancy stretching your legs on a sunny afternoon.

The Vietnamese Friendship Monument

King Sihanouk

Independence Monument

All in walking distance of Street 258, where we stayed. Though the street numbering system is chaotic, and does not make any sense in Phnom Penh!

In the evenings we frequented bars, our favourite of which was the Zeppelin Cafe, situated on Street 51. An old guy DJ’s at the back of the bar, guarding his much loved vinyl collection, although most of the tunes he plays are via his PC, these days. Rock is his speciality, but me being me, I thought I’d try my luck asking for a bit of punk to be played!

To my pleasant surprise he obliged us with The New York Dolls, The Clash, the Sex Pistols, the Dead Boys and the UK Subs! What then really struck a chord with me was that he next cranked up the Subhumans ‘The Day The Country Died’! I love that song, but listening to it in public in Cambodia was just something else!!

Great place, though I would say the bar staff didn't seem so enamoured in the music...

Great place, though I would say the bar staff didn’t seem so enamoured with the music…

Bear in mind that when the Khmer Rouge overran Phnom Penh, the entire city was totally deserted within days, when its occupants were marched out by the Khmer Rouge to undertake forced work in the countryside. Suddenly a British punk song, which envisages a western country collapsing under the weight of capitalism, took on an entirely different meaning…

We eventually decided to book a transport to Kampot, famed for its French colonial architecture, and exquisite pepper! We were not to be disappointed!

We planned to return to Phnom Penh to see Koda four or five days later. None the less, on our last evening before departure, Koda was such an angel that she bought me a bottle of whiskey, to take with us!

What an angel…

I’d be very surprised if a member of bar staff in a pub or restaurant would ever make such a generous gift to a foreigner in the U.K, that’s for sure!