Phnom Penh- The Good

Phnom Penh started out pretty well, as I had made friends with a girl from Toronto, and we went looking at some places around the lake. That night we just sat on the patio and enjoyed the view of the lake, and chatted about our travels. Meagen was near the end of her trip, and was soon to meet her father in Nepal so they could do some trekking together which was kind of cool. The lake district of Phnom Penh is basically a Backpackers enclave, with nothing but Guesthouse, internet cafes and cheap restaurants, and it was great. I kind of like when everyone is grouped together like that. Reminds me of the student ghetto at Queen's. You're always running into people you've met from other places, and its just a nice place to relax after visiting the sights of Phnom Penh.

The next day I went to the Lazy Gecko cafe, and had one of the best breakfasts of my life. Now I love Pho, but man can not live on noodles alone. They served a full English breakfast with eggs, beans, toast, fries, bacon, and sausage, all with your own bodum filled with good coffee. One thing I haven't mentioned yet is that in Vietnam if you order "Milk Coffee" you get a cup of coffee with a little metal thing above the cup where the water filters through. The milk...sweetened condensed milk. It makes for some seriously sweet coffee, so it was nice to get regular coffee for a change. Megan walked by, and joined me, but she couldn't go see the sights because her friend was meeting her in a day or so, and she promised to wait to see the major ones with her. So after the hearty breakfast I left to go see the sights of Phnom Penh.

At the killing fields I ran into Thomas, Miles and Catherine form the boat tour, and they invited me to join them for dinner at the Foreign Correspondants Club that night. I tried to find Megan to get her to come with me, but I couldn't find her. It was too bad, because I never ended up running into her again. Now the FCC is exactly like you would expect it to be, a French looking place filled with tourists and Ex-pats, and it was quite a nice setting for dinner, because sometimes you really just need a good burger. Don't worry I did eat some Khmer cusine from a street vendor for lunch, so I haven't totally reverted back to Western eating. After dinner we went back to their guesthouse and just shat the shit by the lake, and drank too much beer. It was really a good time, becaue at that point we had gone through all the regular traveller getting to know you stuff, and could actually have real conversations about things. I've met a lot of people on my trip so far, but I don't think I've enjoyed the company of people, as much as I have those three. Miles and Catherine did stand Thomas and I up for breakfast at the Lazy Gecko though...turns out they were a little too hungover for get out of bed on time.

Phnom Penh is a fasinating city, but you kind of have to did deep to find the charm. It's kind of an anything goes kind of place, be it guns, drugs or prostitution but that's not really a bad thing. The Cambodian people are incredibly nice, and always have a smile for you. Sure they're always trying to sell you something, but they aren't nearly as pushy as the Vietnamese, and they do try to be genuinely helpful. All I had to do was walk the street of the backpackers ghetto, and you would be greeted by everyone you met, be it the lady that sold you cigarettes, or the moto driver you had two days ago. I really wasn't expceting to like Phnom Penh, and it does have its flaws, but if you're looking for a ncie place to chill out and relax, its definietly a place to do that.