Well this is going to be a difficult one, given that you're all under 6 feet of snow, but we are not gloating but MELTING and actually it's not much fun being at 38C (100F in old money), watching the sweat trickle down each others' noses. I've never been anywhere so hot in my life, not even Zambia, and Singapore at the weekend was positively Arctic in comparison. But today's been a really interesting day in Phnom Penh. We've got a 'bespoke tour' for this week, which means we have a personal guide and driver. Cushy, I can hear those of you muttering who've been round the world on an ox cart with a rucksack and a pair of flip-flops, but in this heat and city it's the best idea. And it's good to have someone else telling me stuff- it's usually me with my head in a guide book.
Our hotel's absolutely fabulous; it's what these days they call 'boutique' and they upgraded us to a suite (no idea why but we weren't going to argue) so we've got a living room, bedroom and bathroom all to ourselves. The outside's lovely
and food is good.
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| Restaurant in the city |
Sightseeing today was a real mix of experiences and emotions, as you can imagine. Following a tour of the King's Palace with a visit to the Killing Fields was extreme. I don't have any way to describe the latter so it's best not to try. Our guide's father had been killed by the Khmer Rouge; his family had been forced out of the city into the countryside when he was 1 month old. We also visited Tuol Sleng detention centre which is now a museum. 10,000 prisoners were kept there over 3 years. 7 survived.
The centre of the city has some wonderful buildings like the King's Palace, museums and temples, but the outskirts of the city are filthy and poverty stricken. The average wage is about £500 a year. But the people are lovely, so friendly and open. Our guide was of the opinion that the economy is growing, but we found it difficult being the rich Western tourists even though tourism is a major industry and is of huge benefit to the country.
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| Kings Palace |
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| Two local lobsters!! |
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Amazing! The pictures and descriptions have re-warmed my extremities after yet another sub zero commute :-)
ReplyDeleteBrrr! Is it still snowy on the tops??
DeleteLondon is cold. And dry.
ReplyDeleteI am so enjoying this blog. The whole issue of our indecent wealth (and - in my case - fatness)I can only deal with by arguing for the importance of tourism and bringing our sterling/dollars into the countries. I've always been impressed by several intiatives maintained by British Airways cabin crews: when they have their leave/break in third world countries they set up and supply orphanages/schools etc and they continue to work in them and get funding. I don't know if any of these are still active.
We have some ideas about initiatives and will include something at the end of the blog...
ReplyDelete