Shut The Hell Up!!!!

We were rudely awakened at 6:30 or 7:00 am by people talking loudly and laughing in the hallway just outside our door. Phyl got up to see what was going on and discovered that it was 3 of the hotel staff doing laundry at the end of the hallway.



Royal Residence

 P- It's the fucking guesthouse workers!!!



G- OMG! These people are going to kill me. I know that all of Cambodia awakens between 5:00 – 6:00 am, but don't they get that everyone staying in this guesthouse is a TOURIST and we don't wake up with the chickens?!?!

P- It's unbelievable! Here, take your earplugs.

G- They are louder than the SOBs in the house next to Bun Kao. Thank Gawd I was not born in Cambodia.

We managed to fall back asleep, but then the construction on the building across the street began. This was clearly not going to be a peaceful place to stay. I went downstairs hoping to get 2 mugs of hot water for our instant coffee packets. After much explaining, the clerk had me follow him to the kitchen where I selected 2 mugs, drew an imaginary line on the side to indicate how high the water should be, then pointed to the kettle of water sitting on the floor on a burner that looked like an upside down terracotta flower pot with coal in it.

Just in time for brunch, and with our stomachs growling, we walked down the street to The Lazy Gecko. On the menu, as the special of the day, was roast beef sandwiches on toast or baguette with gravy. Apparently they cooked roast on Sunday. The place was clearly owned by foreigners. Our excitement was short lived. When we bit into the the roast beef, it was very tough. We gnawed what we could, but primarily ate bread, dipped in the gravy, which was very good. Everything in Asia is cooked quickly, so slow cooking a roast was clearly lost on the chef.

After lunch we walked along the river and headed to the Royal Palace. On the way we talked to a tuk-tuk driver who told us that the Palace was closed until 2:00 pm. We had quite a comical conversation with him because he was intent on taking us on a tour and we continually told him that we did not want to go anywhere except to the Royal Palace. All was going well until he told Phyl she was fat. Not in an ugly way, of course.  It seems that all Cambodians are so slender that weight is a new concept for them. I restrained her from beating the crap out of him and went to the Palace gate to confirm that he had told us the truth. We are so accustomed to the “temple closed” scams of Thailand, that we don't believe a word anyone says anymore. We sat along the river, and watched the boats go by, until the Palace reopened at 2:00.

After the Grand Palace in Thailand, this Palace was quite a disappointment. We wondered why we could only walk in the temple area and not near the palace, but then we learned that the Cambodian king still lives in the palace! Well that explains it. We did enjoy the courtyard around the Silver Pagoda, and the murals lining the gallery surrounding the yard. It was exceptionally hot and we stepped inside the silver elephant room just to cool off. Finally, we toured the elephant chairs used by one of the Ramas (king) and his queen.

P- You can totally tell that this is the capital and where all the rich Cambodians live.

G- Yes, I haven’t seen this many Lexus & Land Cruisers since I left California.

P- I never expected to see these cars in Cambodia. I even saw a Jag.

G- Me either, and the really weird part is that we can stand here and watch a motorcycle carrying bananas or chickens or baskets stopped at a light next to a Lexus. It's the dichotomy that is astounding.


P- And do they have to have Lexus or Land Cruiser written down the side of the car, in huge letters? Talk about over kill!



Hot and tired, we returned to the river for the breeze and walked along until we discovered the Karma Cafe. There we had several cold beers and dinner, and watched rush hour traffic, and an elephant, go by. After a few hours we took a tuk-tuk back to our guesthouse.