I've been to Phnom Penh many times, so it's not entirely new, but it's still always a bit exciting upon arrival. This time, I intend to call it home for a while so I guess you could say I'm living here, but as I just arrived this morning, that all seems a bit premature. It's really not a home until you have a home and since I'm staying at a hotel, I guess you could call me homeless. I am fortunate to not be on the streets and lucky to be at the Longlin II Guest House on Street 172 even if the wifi in my room doesn't work and the water leaks out of my sink and onto my bare feet. I don't mind minor inconveniences.
The first thing I notice about Phnom Penh is that it is hot. That's probably because I'm not holed up in a cafe today as I usually was every single day when I was in Siem Reap. That was to precisely avoid the heat as I failed to do today. Instead, I drove around for what was, I think, the first time I've ever been on a motorbike in the capital city. There is a lot of pavement here. And by pavement, my dear British readers (if I have any) I mean asphalt. In Siem Reap, I'd have undoubtedly hit a rocky dirt road, but today it was all blacktop and I don't even recall hitting any potholes. Fancy that.
As I drove down Monivong, a street I had only ever ventured across on foot, I kept looking for a way to turn left, towards the river. I hesitated at one intersection, but decided to continue straight, which meant through a red light. A cop saw me and waved me over with his baton. I relented and played dumb. He told me to turn off the bike. I did and came over. He asked for a license, which I didn't have. I told him I was driving to Vietnam, which was plausible since my bike is of Vietnam origin. He then told me to wait as his partner finished extracting a bribe from a local woman in the shade of a tree growing out of the sidewalk. I told the first cop that I had no money. He said something to his partner and then to me, you don't have any money? I said no and he waved me on. Go. I did not hesitate and proceeded onward only to pull a u-turn at the next intersection, where a sign explicitly stated no u-turns. There was no other way across the street! Fortunately, no cops were waiting.
I found my way to Central Market and had a gander at all the crap for sale there. Sweated through my shirt a little before going to the local mall to check what was playing at the local cinema. Nothing. I'd rather watch a good flick on a small screen than some unmemorable nonsense on the big screen. I continued onwards on the motorbike past Olympic Stadium, past the other cinema in town before circling back to find restaurants I'd heard of, but never seen and driving by Orussey Market. Getting my bearings you could say. Finally got back to Riverside, where I stopped for a coconut and sugarcane juice, the same place I've been going to for years on previous visits to this fair city.
It's almost mid-afternoon now, I'm trying to hide out in the hotel to avoid the sun and rush hour. But I still need a bus ticket and a place to store my motorbike for a week when I go visit Vietnam. Later, I keep telling myself. I could be sorting through my things and seeing what I really need or doing something more productive than exercising my fingers, but I guess I need this mind numbing for a minute. I will make the long hike to the second floor shortly to put away this business and go exert myself on things that actually need to be done. Then, I can relax. As. If. I. Haven't. Been. Doing. That. For. The. Last. Fifteen. Months.
Ok, I've convinced myself that is enough. No more relaxing. Getting on the ball from here on out. Going upstairs, then downstairs, then outside, then on the motorbike, then wherever. As long as it's not in this chair. Anywhere, but this chair. Up, up and away!
The first thing I notice about Phnom Penh is that it is hot. That's probably because I'm not holed up in a cafe today as I usually was every single day when I was in Siem Reap. That was to precisely avoid the heat as I failed to do today. Instead, I drove around for what was, I think, the first time I've ever been on a motorbike in the capital city. There is a lot of pavement here. And by pavement, my dear British readers (if I have any) I mean asphalt. In Siem Reap, I'd have undoubtedly hit a rocky dirt road, but today it was all blacktop and I don't even recall hitting any potholes. Fancy that.
As I drove down Monivong, a street I had only ever ventured across on foot, I kept looking for a way to turn left, towards the river. I hesitated at one intersection, but decided to continue straight, which meant through a red light. A cop saw me and waved me over with his baton. I relented and played dumb. He told me to turn off the bike. I did and came over. He asked for a license, which I didn't have. I told him I was driving to Vietnam, which was plausible since my bike is of Vietnam origin. He then told me to wait as his partner finished extracting a bribe from a local woman in the shade of a tree growing out of the sidewalk. I told the first cop that I had no money. He said something to his partner and then to me, you don't have any money? I said no and he waved me on. Go. I did not hesitate and proceeded onward only to pull a u-turn at the next intersection, where a sign explicitly stated no u-turns. There was no other way across the street! Fortunately, no cops were waiting.
I found my way to Central Market and had a gander at all the crap for sale there. Sweated through my shirt a little before going to the local mall to check what was playing at the local cinema. Nothing. I'd rather watch a good flick on a small screen than some unmemorable nonsense on the big screen. I continued onwards on the motorbike past Olympic Stadium, past the other cinema in town before circling back to find restaurants I'd heard of, but never seen and driving by Orussey Market. Getting my bearings you could say. Finally got back to Riverside, where I stopped for a coconut and sugarcane juice, the same place I've been going to for years on previous visits to this fair city.
It's almost mid-afternoon now, I'm trying to hide out in the hotel to avoid the sun and rush hour. But I still need a bus ticket and a place to store my motorbike for a week when I go visit Vietnam. Later, I keep telling myself. I could be sorting through my things and seeing what I really need or doing something more productive than exercising my fingers, but I guess I need this mind numbing for a minute. I will make the long hike to the second floor shortly to put away this business and go exert myself on things that actually need to be done. Then, I can relax. As. If. I. Haven't. Been. Doing. That. For. The. Last. Fifteen. Months.
Ok, I've convinced myself that is enough. No more relaxing. Getting on the ball from here on out. Going upstairs, then downstairs, then outside, then on the motorbike, then wherever. As long as it's not in this chair. Anywhere, but this chair. Up, up and away!
