Tuesday 16 Aug 2011. Phnom Penh
Penya comes to pick us up to the Central Market in Phnom Penh at 7.30am. It's a market with stores selling normal stuff for the people of PP. We see some clean food stalls selling Khmer foods and debate about trying some of them as we also see some foreigners sitting down for their breakfast. In the end we step away as we already had our brekkies at Frangipani.
We sit across from the Market in a cafe run by a Teow Chew in his little plastic stools, watching people going about their business. We talk to this old man who converses with us in Putong Hua. He tells us he lost all his worldly possessions in his life during the Khmer Rouge rule 1975-1979 and fled Phnom Penh. He bought some assets back since then (after the Pol Pot regime had been defeated and overthrown by the Viets) and now runs his guest house cum cafe. He says the country is now peaceful. He never feels there is any animosity between the local Khmers and Cambodians of Chinese descent in answer to our question.
The Royal Palace
Palace Guard
Palace Ground Info Board
We go to the Royal Palace within 15 minutes walk from Central Market, where the King lives but decide not to tour it as we feel it is not right to charge tourists $6.75 p.p. for entrance. Should it not be free? After all it is the Palace.
National Museum
Instead we go to the National Museum to appreciate the artifacts, statues, coins, utensils, idol objects that were uncovered in this part of the world. This Museum offers a wealth of historical information to tourists by their exhibits. This is worth the $3 entrance fee. Unfortunately we are not allowed to take pictures of the objects.
In front of the river front
Anise Restaurant
Anise Restaurant
Anise is our preferred place for lunch at 2C St 278 off St 57. The old lady owner "Kheng" is Cambodian American. In 1975 she escaped from the Khmer Rouge and went to France with her children. For 2 years they lived there in a strange land. They finally re-settled in California and they lived there for the next 34 years.
6 years ago she returned to P.P. with her American husband and opened this restaurant, a guest house and a spa on St 57. She owns the assets and the business. She says she is happy now that she is back in her own country and land.
We choose to go to nearby Amret Spa (3 St 57) for foot massage and aromatherapy. Again we find the environment excellent but the massage is not so fantastic. It seems to us that this country has what it takes to be on par with her neighbors in terms of restaurants, spas, tourist attractions but fail to deliver the end products because the human skills and communications skills are somewhat lacking.
Tonight we choose to have Italian at ARIA D'ITALIA (41E0 St 310, BKK 1). We want something tonight other than Khmer food. I get the recommendation from the P.P. Guide Book.
I order seafood pizza, mozzarella ravioli, a carafe of Italian Rose, tiramisu and Bon coffee. Everything turn out very well for us - we love their food especially the pizza with thin, crusty base. Who doesn't love a crusty pizza?
The Cambodian lady boss is very friendly to us and chats with us about her business and the real estate market in P.P. We enjoy her company and give her restaurant a 9 out of 10.
We sit across from the Market in a cafe run by a Teow Chew in his little plastic stools, watching people going about their business. We talk to this old man who converses with us in Putong Hua. He tells us he lost all his worldly possessions in his life during the Khmer Rouge rule 1975-1979 and fled Phnom Penh. He bought some assets back since then (after the Pol Pot regime had been defeated and overthrown by the Viets) and now runs his guest house cum cafe. He says the country is now peaceful. He never feels there is any animosity between the local Khmers and Cambodians of Chinese descent in answer to our question.
The Royal Palace
Palace Guard
Palace Ground Info Board
National Museum
Instead we go to the National Museum to appreciate the artifacts, statues, coins, utensils, idol objects that were uncovered in this part of the world. This Museum offers a wealth of historical information to tourists by their exhibits. This is worth the $3 entrance fee. Unfortunately we are not allowed to take pictures of the objects.
In front of the river front
Anise Restaurant
Anise Restaurant
6 years ago she returned to P.P. with her American husband and opened this restaurant, a guest house and a spa on St 57. She owns the assets and the business. She says she is happy now that she is back in her own country and land.
We choose to go to nearby Amret Spa (3 St 57) for foot massage and aromatherapy. Again we find the environment excellent but the massage is not so fantastic. It seems to us that this country has what it takes to be on par with her neighbors in terms of restaurants, spas, tourist attractions but fail to deliver the end products because the human skills and communications skills are somewhat lacking.
Tonight we choose to have Italian at ARIA D'ITALIA (41E0 St 310, BKK 1). We want something tonight other than Khmer food. I get the recommendation from the P.P. Guide Book.
I order seafood pizza, mozzarella ravioli, a carafe of Italian Rose, tiramisu and Bon coffee. Everything turn out very well for us - we love their food especially the pizza with thin, crusty base. Who doesn't love a crusty pizza?
The Cambodian lady boss is very friendly to us and chats with us about her business and the real estate market in P.P. We enjoy her company and give her restaurant a 9 out of 10.
2 comments:
Phnom Penh looks quite civilize in the photos you took. You should also take photo with the lady boss from Anise Restaurant as well as the Italian restaurant too... :P
PP is ok. No did not get the photos taken
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