Getting from Siem Riep to Phnom Penh was a five hour journey down flooded highways thanks to the monsoon season downpours. We arrived in the capital and even though followed by a strange taxi driver we checked straight into the Dragon Guesthouse on the same street as the Capitol Bus drop off point. It was a lovely little homely guesthouse with a great room for $8 a night.
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| A City Street in Phnom Penh |
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| Even having breakfast on the guesthouse balcony the Tuk-Tuk drivers wave and sell tours |
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We had time for a quick bite at the hotel before heading off to the riverside to meet some friends from Sihanoukville who were in town for the international football match. We enjoyed a Becks (Not usually a fan by any means but for a German Brewed Pilsner with plenty of taste it was actually great. It just shows that in most circumstances beers in South East Asia are below par and it does not mean I will continue to drink Becks when I get home. Takes me back to my youth) and Angkor Beer on draught at Paddies Rice Irish Bar, it was nice to catch up and we arranged to meet them at the Olympic Stadium the following afternoon.
Not to be missed our first day took us to the Cambodian Olympic Stadium for what turned out to be a very entertaining match, not necessarily because of the football. Cambodia beat Malaysia 1 – 0 and to be honest this score was never going to change after half time when the monsoon heavens opened. I have watched a lot of football in my time but I have never witnessed a football match like it. The standard of the game went from quite good to a children’s kick around as the pitch completely flooded within ten minutes.
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| Arriving early at the Olympic Stadium |
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| Could you imagine climbing through a fence to get into a Premier League game. Welcome to Cambodian soccer |
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| The Gaffer & Star Right-Back of the Lions F.C. ready for kick off. Great game prep Matt for the weekend a can of Angkor beer next to the guy that picks the team... |
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| Cambodia & Malaysia line up with FIFA Fairplay |
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| Some Action. Cambodia Celebrating their GOAL... |
The ref decided not to abandon the game and it turned into twenty two professionals trying to kick the ball out of large puddles. It was pretty amusing and the 3000 or so crowd were in hysterics. The spectators, including us were also extremely wet as the majority of the stadium wasn’t covered, for $1 entry though you can’t grumble. It was a cracking afternoon and you shouldn’t expect to see Cambodia or Malaysia in a world cup anytime soon. <><>
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| Players leaving the swimming pool at the final whistle |
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| The Main Stand. Not bad for $1 |
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| The Final Score |
This left us to say bye to the Sihanoukville Lions F.C gaffer Ian and the majestic right back Matt before we swam through the sewage flooded streets back to the Dragon where we would be setting up camp for the night.
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| The water levels on the streets rising |
After being wet, cold and dirty all day our DIY table hot plate (BBQ) dinner was just what we needed. Cook your own beef with vegetables and soup, incredibly tasty.
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| Kate-DIY BBQ |
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| My turn. Too much concentration... |
With the sunshine, humidity and heat back we were hopefully mentally prepared for what we knew would be an emotional day. Our first stop was to the Genocide Museum Tuol Sleng which was the former security office S21 in Democratic Kampuchea. Previously a school on April 17th 1975 during the Pol Pot Regime it was converted and used for detention, interrogation, inhumane torture and killing. Nowadays the museum shows the old torture rooms, photographs of all the victims there and information to educate about the brutality that occurred during the Khmer Rouge. It was a harrowing experience, extremely emotional but everyone should learn about this history in the hope that it never happens to a country again.
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| The entrance to S21 |
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| One of many Interogation Rooms |
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| One of the old school blocs turned into a detention camp |
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| Holding cells built inside old classrooms |
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| The harrowing faces of the inmates stairing back at you. Out of 20,000 held only 7 survived |
Feeling a little broken it was time to take a 13km Tuk-Tuk ride out to Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre also known as the ‘Killing Fields’. This is the place where prisoners were executed and the bodies were put into mass graves. It was a long mentally exhausting day it felt like a day of history and death and was extremely upsetting. It’s a hard thing to see but after spending time in Cambodia I feel you need to open your eyes to the history in order to understand the country and this is one way of doing so.
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| At the 'Killing Fields' this building housed a tower of human sculls exhumed from the mass graves |
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| One of the grave sites |
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| The Killing Fields |
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| Victims Clothing |
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| Bone fragments & clothing remain in the earth of the pathways |
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| Uniforms worn by Khmer Rouge Soldiers |
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| The end of a emotionally, insightful, tiring day |
This was one evening when we definitely needed a beer and we came across the locally brewed Kingdom Beer.
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| Just in time to drink the Kingdom... |
KINGDOM, CLOUDED LEOPARD PILSNER, CAMBODIA, 5%ABV, 330ML BTL
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| Cambodia's Premium Pilsner |
Kingdom Breweries is the newest Cambodian boutique brewery launched in 2010. Their flagship Pilsner lager is brewed by German Master Brewer Peter Haupenthal, using only the finest Czech and German hops, premium German malt and top-quality water. The brewery is found on the banks of Phnom Penh’s Tonle Sap River. It is available in 330ml bottle form and was launched on draught at the end of 2010. It is Cambodia’s true premium beer.
Kingdom’s Clouded Leopard Pilsner has a naturally crisp finish but unlike most Cambodian Lager’s it is more than a thirst quencher. The brew is a clear golden colour, light and clean with a zesty robust flavour and very satisfying.
Some locals think it is a little too bitter, but for any beer lover it is a great blonde flavoursome lager.
‘Cambodia’s lush, mysterious jungles hide more than the splendours of Angkorian majesty. Deep ion these green bastians rare beasts roam wild. The elusive clouded leopard, the strange plated pangolian, the stalwart kouprey-if not mythical, at least immensely difficult to find. Kingdom Pilsner, Cambodia’s first truly premium beer, celebrates this enigmatic empire, singular in flavour and a little hard to track down. Kingdom’s rare quality is well worth the adventure’
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| Kingdom Clouded Leopard Pilsner |
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| Perfect with the Local Spicey 'Amok' Dish |
http://www.kingdombreweries.com/about/
With one final day in Phnom Penh before heading back to Sihanoukville it was back to a day of normal sightseeing. We explored the well developed riverside, passing the War Memorial, Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda and even found the impressive local market where I managed to finally find an Angkor Beer T-Shirt to add to my growing collection.
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| Phnom Penh's Waterfront |
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| War Memorial |
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| The Royal Palace that houses the Silver Pagoda |
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| Central Market |
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| On the hunt for an Angkor Beer T-shirt |
The highlight of the day and one that definitely showed that the world isn’t all bad was a visit to the NGO-Friends, a training restaurant run by former street youth and their teachers. The restaurant was amazing and built next to the centre and there was also a shop ‘Friends and Stuff’ which sold handicrafts made by former street children and their families. Quote from their leaflet ‘Buy stuff change lives’. So we did, we like to do what we can when we visit NGO’s on our travels.
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| The Friends NGO Centre |
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| Trainee staff hard at work in the Friends Restaurant |
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| Amazing service & great treats for the sweet tooth |
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| The restaurants patio area backing onto the educational centre |
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| Buy Something, Change Lives |
www.mithsamlanh.org
This was a nice way to end our time in Phnom Penh and it is definitely a city worth visiting. You get a true sense of the history and the culture within Cambodia.
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| Some Culture.That's right an Elephant walking down the street in rush hour traffic |
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| If only this was true, but the guy gives us hope as we leave the Capital |
It was now time for a trip down memory lane and our return to Sihanoukville to catch up with friends and visit the children at CCPP.
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