February 28, 2017

 We had a nice lie-in this morning and had breakfast in the little café next door to the Guesthouse.

We went to the bank and got some more dollars to pay for the boat trip to Siem Reap. The ATM dispensed $100.00 bills, we went inside the bank to get smaller denominations. Our number to be served was 3002, the number displayed was 1004! Yikes this could be a long wait, but there were only six other people in the bank! Ralf’s comment “Banks, we are in control and we are going to make you wait to prove it”. Fortunately the numbering system was a little berserk, we were number three in line!

After the bank we headed to the ferry quay and bought our ticket for Siem Reap. It was already heating up, a high of 38 degrees today, we took a Tuk Tuk to the Royal Palace, which closes from 11:00 until 2:00, it was 11:05.

We walked to the Independence Monument along the river and through the parks. 

There are a lot of poor people in this city.  Some sleep on the streets and today we spotted a young boy showering in the garden sprinklers.

There is no more space for building in Phnom Penh, so they are making an island in the river and building skyscrapers and hotels. They are trying to recreate Montreal Island!

It was almost time for the Palace to reopen. I was a little disappointed in the Palace, half of the buildings were not accessible to the public and some of the buildings we could not take photographs. Ralf got a few sneaky shots, but was caught and told not to take photos. This was in the Blue Buddha Pagoda.

On the floor there are 300 silver tiles, there is one Buddha that weighs 4 kgs and is made out of sold gold and has diamonds encrusted in the statue.

I spoke to another tourist about the treasures, and he said that some of the silver ingots should be sold and used to help the poor children on the streets of Phnom Penh. We both agreed on the opulence and wealth contained in this building and how it could be better used. He then shrugged and said ”I guess these are National Treasures” I responded so are the children, he smiled and agreed with me.

Although the grounds were very nice and the buildings that we could see inside were lovely, it was rather an expensive visit ($20.00). Maybe they will use some of the money for the renovations and take down the scaffolding and do a bit of painting.

We headed back to our hotel and the friendly tuk tuk driver we spoke to yesterday started to shout at us for not being at his tuk tuk at 9:00. I was trying to explain that we had slept in and he started to get really aggressive. Calling us lying Canadians and we could fuck off. I was shocked, actually what shocked me even more was Ralf calling him out. He was ready to schmuck the tuk tuk driver. I have not seen Ralf so angry for a long time.

We relaxed for a while in the hotel and then headed out to Bethy’s flat for dinner. What a great evening. It was so nice to catch up with Bethy. She is finalizing her Phd Studies which involves working with pre-school children and dental health. Her final results came in during the evening she has 75% response rate for her data. Way to go Bethy, so proud that you have completed the work that you started.

We had quite the dinner party, two other Canadians, an Australian and two Kiwi’s and Ralf and I. Great conversation and lots of laughs. Thanks Bethy for another great evening. If you are ever in Canada and you need a place to stay, you know you will always be welcome.