Phnon Penh and other missing bits

Well, here we go again, just filling in some time before checkout from our Hotel in Siem Reap.
Some days back, I forget just how many, we crossed from Vietnam to Cambodia and spent a day in the port of Phnom Penh the capital. This is a much better presented city than Ho Chi Minh with wide boulevard and quite a French influence. We visited the Royal Palace and museum in the city and, later, went to explore Cambodia's largest monastery. The religion here seems to be a combination of Buddhism and Hindu. It seems to work.

The palace is quite something, especially the silver pagoda where part of the floor is made of solid silver tiles (5000kg) and many of the Buddhas are of solid gold encrusted with precious stones. All around though, poverty remains quite obvious.

We received a blessing at the monastery, I can't have been paying attention though as later at Angkor Thom I went through a small Buddhist ceremony and received a red woolen bracelet tied around my wrist. Before showering that evening I pulled it off....wrong thing apparently you are supposed to keep it on until it naturally falls off.

About 8 piglets and a larger one in this load

As we tour we can't help but notice that the motorbike or scooter are the main form of transport with over 3 million in Ho Chi Minh alone. Anyway some of these scooters carry more than one or two and you find yourself looking for the one with the largest count of passengers. We saw one yesterday with a family of 6, three adults and three children. Only adults seem to wear helmets with the children clinging on wherever they can. Motorbikes and cycles seem to carry the most unusual loads.  

                                                                                                              This is a live pig              

                                                                                                       

                                                                                                              

A dozen live chickens hanging by their feet.



Food here is can also challenge one. In the photos below one can find rats, unknown seafood, tarantulas, crickets and many types of spider. Oh..and twelve day old ducklings in eggs.



Children are another delight, they are all so keen to interact and are very friendly. We visited an orphanage yesterday and they were just amazing. They sell their own artwork as a fundraiser and can live at the orphanage for as long as they wish. It is hoped that they will all eventually go to university.



Entertainment on the trip has been entirely of a local nature and not to every ones taste, however one cannot criticise the commitment nor talent of the performers.

There is so much more that I could include,but time precludes it.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog.