December 7

We spent only one night at the OK Guesthouse. It is a backpacker’s paradise but a bit rustic for us. The shower was good though with lots of volume of hot water. Rooms were small but not bad. On interesting thing was that instead of a blanket, they had a silk sheet. Remarkably it was warm enough but the outside noise was too much. A $10 a night, what really do you want? I am continually surprised at the number of backpackers of all ages in evidence in Cambodia. Some very well educated and successful people love trekking and backpacking and staying in very cheap accommodations.

Before dinner, we checked out a couple of other hotels but when you added the price for two rooms it quickly became evident that a Service Apartment was a good deal. These apartments are really nice, two bedrooms and two baths, first-rate televisions and furniture, security and very clean. Meant for executives who are staying for a week or more, they are a bargain.

We met Tmao, an accidental acquaintance of Allen’s who helped with Hip’s passport and Thailand visa. Very sweet and bright he is just starting his tour business and I think he should do well. Very personable and outgoing and very knowledgeable about Cambodia. We had a nice dinner by the river, which was actually the Phnom Pehn end of Tonle Sap the largest lake in Cambodia. There is a walking area by the side of the late where at night people congregate and socialize. May restaurants and bar line the street along the river and you certainly don’t have a difficult time finding a place to eat.

After dinner we crashed and had a lovely night’s sleep. The next day we toured the Grand Palace. Nothing particularly different from other Palaces we have visited except this one was not in as good repair. Seems like everything in Cambodia is just not very well maintained. Still lots of gold and fancy woodwork but sort of showing its age. We were wearing shorts so because of “respect” we had to rent long pants. So looking like we were wearing pajamas, we roamed the grounds. If I never see another Palace or temple I will be very happy. They represent vast amounts of money spent on these edifices when a lot of people are staving. Just a waste.

That night we met another friend of Allen’s who was just starting a job in PP. Very nice and very proud of his country and city. He told us of some unique places to visit, so it was nice to see someone who had some suggestions. We were really at a loss as to where and what to see besides the torture museum of the Pol Pot regime and the killing fields. I was not interested in seeing any more brutality. Allen had seen both places and “Aek and I were just not interested, and since Allen had already seen, we passed.

To sum up Phnom Penh, it is a very large city, very dirty, and very crowded. People sleeping on the street sidewalks, trash piles everywhere, extreme poverty, begging on the street, and overall not a place you would want to visit very often. However, the food at the many restaurants was good

Yesterday we received a message that my mother had taken a fall and was in pain at home. Richard was unsure whether or not she had another vertebral fracture and was taking her to the pain doctor that day. Not good news. She suffered a fracture last November and was just getting back on her feet. This is a setback. We will know more in a few days.

Also the typhoon that devastated parts of the Philippines seems to have skipped south of us but hit Aek’s home town with lots of rain and wind. His little chicken farm’s roof collapsed but he lost no chickens. He is worried about them however so we thought best he returns home for a week and rejoins us in Kuala Lumpur. He has been to Siem Reap a number of times so the time would give him a chance to check out things at home and repair the damages and still rejoin us. His home is in the southern most part of Thailand and only about five hours from Kuala Lumpur by bus.