Phnom Penh and the road to Sihanoukville, Cambodia

By Glen Bruels
This is part of a series called Seabourn Half-World cruise
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A clock in the garden. It's the only one I have ever seen with a second hand. It would cut your legs off if you got in the way!
A clock in the garden. It’s the only one I have ever seen with a second hand. It would cut your legs off if you got in the way!

 

A big ole' wicker Garuda!
A big ole’ wicker Garuda!

 

Ahhh, the pause that refreshes!
Ahhh, the pause that refreshes!

 

Hello, sailor boy!
Hello, sailor boy!

 

Don't ask!
Don’t ask!

 

The shrine for safe travel. Believe me, it's needed!
The shrine for safe travel. Believe me, it’s needed!

 

Made it to Sihanoukville alive! Yaay!
Made it to Sihanoukville alive! Yaay!

Well, it is time to leave the countryside for the big city and the long drive to pick up our ship.  I wish we had more time to spend in Siem Reap.  On our last night, we had dinner at a wonderful French restaurant and the food and service was fantastic.  Our server was so nice – she was constantly giggling and having a good time with us.  We felt right at home.

In the morning we caught a short flight to Phnom Penh and the drive from the airport to the city was as long as the flight from Siem Reap.  Phnom Penh is a big city with all the big city benefits and problems (lots of heroin addiction and an unfortunate amount of human trafficking).  We were happy to visit their national museum and large pagoda (missed the royal palace and Deb wanted to try to bribe our way in J), but it just didn’t feel the same.  The atmosphere was kind of depressing and our tour guide constantly talked about the corruption in the government, the growing disparity between the rich (members of government and the business owners who have rather incestuous relationships with government) and poor (everyone else).  Other than a pretty good lunch at a restaurant named Titanic (glad it wasn’t a floating restaurant!), we were happy to “get out of Dodge.”

The next 4 hours were an “E Ticket Ride” on the highway heading south to Sihanoukville.  Traffic signals – just guidance; passing/no passing zones – what are those; speed limits – hah!  Oh, and you think that a 2-lane road only holds 2 lanes of traffic – nonsense (how about 3 or 4?)!  What brought it all home was that the driver asked to make a stop.  He bought some bananas and some incense.  After starting again, he pulled over about 2 miles ahead – to a shrine dedicated to safe travel!  Needless to say, it was a pretty busy place!

After 4 very exciting hours, we made it to Sihanoukville and the ship.  We were thrilled to get back to the safety of our nice little stateroom as well left for Bangkok.

Phnom Penh -- still lots of traffic but more cars than motorbikes.
Phnom Penh — still lots of traffic but more cars than motorbikes.
Three on a bike? We saw up to six!
Three on a bike? We saw up to six!
I told you they liked Korean stuff!
I told you they liked Korean stuff!
The Royal Palace -- closed for lunch!
The Royal Palace — closed for lunch!
The National Museum -- pretty cool!
The National Museum — pretty cool!
Still a lot of French architecture here.
Still a lot of French architecture here.
Fruit bats, anyone?
Fruit bats, anyone?
Another day, another temple -- Wat Phnom.
Another day, another temple — Wat Phnom.
An offering of Lotus Blossoms for Buddha.
An offering of Lotus Blossoms for Buddha.
A personal appeal
A personal appeal
This entry was posted in Cambodia, Travel
Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

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