7/12/10 (phnom penh)
Annie Lin
Phnom Penh
We joined Paul for a traditional Cambodian breakfast consisting of beef noodle soup and iced coffee with condensed milk at a local Khmer food stall. I don’t usually have noodle soup in the morning but I wasn’t complaining. It was one of the best soups I’ve had while in Asia and I loved it. I think it was a little too early in the morning for Jon especially since he watched a few more episodes after I had gone to bed. At some point Paul and I realize that he was eating the noodles with one chopstick.
By 9am it was already unbearably humid and figured it would be a good day to visit museums. We got a bit lazy after breakfast and lounged around till lunch. For lunch we decided to venture out and try another restaurant. We had lunch at the FCC, which is where all the journalists usually go. It was also located along the river and had a Cuban vibe about it. We felt as if we were cheating on the staff at the Metro. After lunch we arranged to meet On Prum’s brother at the Metro for a tour of the museums. Just as we got into his tuk tuk there was a sudden downpour of rain. Perfect day to be indoors at the museum.
Our first stop was the National Museum, which held an extensive collection of Khmer sculptures. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take any photos of the displays. I know it may sound uncultured but Jon and I just aren’t museum people. The museum wasn’t that big but we walked through it in about fifteen minutes. The rain hadn’t let up but luckily all the tuk tuks have protective shades that keep us dry while sitting inside. Our next stop was the Tuol Seng Museum, which was a high school the Khmer Rouge converted into a prison called Security Prison 21 (S-21). We originally were supposed to come here during our first tour of PP but after visiting the killing fields it was too much for us. The S-21 was the largest detention and torture prison. The high school is now a museum with wall-to-wall pictures of prisoners who came through S-21. Some of the classrooms still have relics from the imprisonment. It was a very sobering and chilling experience. And the thing about it is that it only happened 32 years ago.
We were in a pretty somber mood for dinner but Raksmey, the head wait staff at Metro, who joined us for dinner lightened our mood with her charismatic personality and funny jokes. Paul suggested we try another restaurant for dinner but we were all feeling pretty comfortable at Metro so decided to stay. By this time we were very familiar with the menu and had tasted about half of the menu. You know the food is good if we’ve eaten there almost everyday and find new things to try on the menu while ordering a few of our favorite dishes. We have become fans of the Sauvignon Blanc from Sileni and order it almost at every meal. By the end of our meal we all had some great laughs and a few drinks.
Since it was pretty late in the evening we gave Raksmey a lift back to her house. On our way back Paul made a detour. I had no idea where we were going when we got out of the car. Before I knew it we were walking into the Heart of Darkness, a nightclub. I don’t know where Jon had heard about the place and he had mentioned it to Paul. I felt a bit out of place with my sundress and flip-flops but no one seemed to mind. Not before long Jon and I were dancing alongside young Cambodians. Just another Cambodian night with Paul.
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