After the not so well slept night, the day arose to see most of us feeling more or less under the weather, mostly so Ville and somewhat myself and Jenny.
Regardless of this we still decided to go get some breakfast out and check The great market, Psah Thom Thmey while in thew neighbourhood. Our initial aim was to re-visit that delightful baguette place we had found a couple days earlier. We could not find that though, mainly because I had no recollection where it was, so we decided to settle for some place near the market – easier said than done.
Eventually, after quite some trodding back and forth in the vicinity of the market, we managed to find this weird lil corner corner restaurant, that mainly served the locals. After breaching the language barrier we finally managed to order our food. Most of us opted for rather light fodder and I did not – for this once – stray from the general consensus. After all, I had heard and read a lot about the Cambodian noodle soup, which is a common breakfast and snack food, and I knew that I would need to try it sooner or later. Now was the time. Once the soup arrived, I was greeted with a tad bit salty, fish stock based liquid with plenty of yellow noodles, carrots and chicken pieces swimming in it. There was also some greeneries in it, most likely spring onion or possibly leek. The taste was not that dissimilar from other noodle soups in the region, though the fish stock did give it a bit of extra flavour. All in all I can clearly see why the soup is so popular in there, it is really revitalizing in the heat of the day and is easy & fast to eat. Meso likes!
After we had finished, we had some debate what to do and eventually opted for a quick pass through the market and a quiet day writing, picture editing and chilling out. The market itself is an impressive four winged building with a high gleaming central dome. Each of the wings houses different kinds of goods, while the central square houses jewelry booths and clock/sunglass stalls. All in all the selection in the central market was more upscale than in any of the other markets we had visited this far. I was eying some jade necklaces, but did not end up haggling for a price suitable for my needs.
The rest of the day went fast resting and typing in all sorts of misplaced thoughts to the depths of my personal archives. We also did a quick swap of picture material from the past week or so, just so that everyone has all the pictures taken during the journey.
In the evening we set out to find one good restaurant suggested by the guide book I bought before leaving Finland, called The Rough Guide to South East Asia on a Budget, a handy lil electronic book I browse mainly with my phone. Everything else works like a charm, but the epub reader I use – Aldiko – can’t handle the maps in the guide. Anyways, we took a tuk-tuk to the location and after some driving back and forth, trying to find the address we had given to him, the driver dropped us off about a block from the destination. We walked the last few hundred meters, just to find that the restaurant did not exist anymore and that the guide was already outdated. So no Lebanese treats for us that night. We decided to go to hunt for some other decent looking place as the beach boulevard – Sisowath Quay was filled with all sorts of restaurants, mainly catering to the needs of the foreign visitors.
First we opted for cocktails at a nice corner place a block from our original target. The cocktails were about the best we have found anywhere to this date, but there was a small inconvenience that prevented us from staying for dinner at that place. We were all the time pestered with all kinds of salesfolk and beggars, and we could not move to the upstairs with our drinks. So off we went, to find a proper eating place for ourselves. We finally found a place that seemed to suit us all about two and half blocks from the last place – an Italian themed place serving pizza and pasta along the local food. I opted for yet another bowl of Khmer curry and it was heavenly. After finishing the meal, or well most of us as Ville was having still stomach issues and could not down his pizza, we headed to the local pharmacy/market where we picked up some electrolyte stuff for Ville. I also picked up a non-toxic anti mosquito spray – a real find I tell you – and moisturizing and pleasantly perfumed hand sanitizer gel, both something I was planning on picking up already in Siem Reap.
After arriving back at the hotel, we still picked up some snacks for the upcoming journey towards Sihanoukville and our Christmas destination, Koh Rong. After that packing and some more typing took the rest of the time awake.
All in all Phnom Penh seemed somewhat drowsy large city, with a small center filled with tourist places and widespread local habitation. It was growing really fast though and it was definitely wealthier than Siem Reap. A lot of it still seemed to be walking the fine line in between of being straight out slum and the typical Asian b-grade habitation area. Never the less, I felt that there was still a lot to see and explore and I definitely wish to be able to revisit Phnom Penh again some day.
Fun “fact” of the day: There is about one high rise in the whole Cambodia, judging by the fact that there is just one in their capital.