An evening at the Foreign Correspondents Club

TJ picked me up at 7pm and gave me a tour of the city before dropping me off at the quay. He had been a real brick and really introduced me to Phnom Penh.

The riverside part of the city is really developed. It seems strange given the harrowing events of the 70's. The Cambodians seen to have just 'got on with it.'

As I write this, I am sat on the rooftop terrace of the Foreign Correspondents Club having a cheeky beer and nachos, overlooking the Tonal Sap river. There is a jazz band playing in the background, very pleasant. The club seems to be the focal point in Phnom Penh for the ex-pats and, guess what? Foreign Correspondents.

I leave Phnom Penh tomorrow at 7am for the bus ride to the Temples of Angkor Wat and the last stop on this part of the trip.

I did the first 'western' thing in 6 weeks this afternoon. Had a KFC! It's a great deal cheaper than in the UK but it's still a 'box of fat'
Of course, I didn't have a whole box, just a couple of pieces and a small fries. I actually quite enjoyed it. It was better cooked than the meal I had at the hotel last night to be sure and it did make a change from noodles and rice.

Moving down the esplanade from the FCC I tried out a few other hostelries. Most have free WiFi, most are secure, and you given the password when you have a drink, that said they are not that secure, most passwords are 12345.... Or abcde.
My last stop before turning in was the Paddy Rice, very original for an Irish bar!
There were loads of TukTuk drivers outside the bar when I left
Despite that I, of course picked the village idiot. I agreed $3, he wanted $7. Clearly, there is no 'knowledge' test I'm Phnom Penh. This guy would have problems finding his way home.
I even showed him the address, he nodded inanely them set off in completely the wrong direction.
After about 20 mins I tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to pull over
' do you know where you are going!'
' no!'
Once again I showed him the address and showed him where we had just come from.
Off he sets again.
45 minutes later we stopped outside the hotel.
'$7 dollars sir'
' you can bugger right off. Here's the three we agreed.'

As I got into the lift I was joined by a Chinese man, about 60 and a young Cambodian, about 15.
'have you been out for dinner?' he asked.
' yes, you?' I responded
' yes, I'm here on business, the Cambodians are very difficult, cowboys'
Hmm I thought, looking at the young girl.
Double standards.....


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Preah Ang Makhak Vann,,Cambodia