Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Because my brother Peter said it all the time when I was planning my travels, I have to say this now: "Holidays in Cambodiiiaaa!" Dead Kennedys song, I think? My first impressions of my "holiday" were not so great. After crossing the Cambodian border from Laos (in a beat up Toyota Camry with 4 Cambodians and 2 Americans named Lavender and Grasshopper - yes, I kid you not about the names) I stayed in the provinicial towns of Kratie and Kompong Cham. Both towns have very kind, friendly inhabitants but are just not very much fun. Kratie in particular was very dirty, as in dead animals on the street, trash strewn everywhere, mysterious puce colored, nasty smelling smoke coming from windows. Kompong Cham was cleaner but terminally boring. So I was not expecting much from the capital but I have been pleasantly suprised! The parts I've seen of Phnom Penh are beautiful - a little dirty but that's southeast asia for you and certainly cleaner than parts of NYC or Philly. It's a very French town, but it's on the Tonle Sap River and has tons of coconut trees, so there's a tropical feel as well. I walked through a park at dusk today and everyone was outside playing in the cool of the evening. I even managed a few brief conversations in Khmer! The downside here is the food: there are tons of Western restaurants but I have some principles against eating fries and burgers while in freakin' Asia. Then there are the Khmer restaurants. but one can only eat rice and stirfries so many days in a row. And then there are the noodle stalls but my stomach says "If you EVER eat noodle soup again, I will make you very very sorry." I can barely even look at noodle soup anymore, which is a shame because it's cheap and good here, and it used to be one of my favorite foods. So mostly I just eat fresh fruit and French baguettes - no complaints so far! I'm really looking forward to heading to Angkor Wat later this week!