In between we had a very quick look around Haiphong - north Vietnam's largest port. In stark contrast to the industrial development of the harbour area, the city centre has maintained its late 1900's feel and pace of life. Hence, very quiet and almost sleepy on a Sunday afternoon, nothing to write about really.....
We literally spent the night in Ho Chi Minh City, so the next day we were en route to Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia. From the hustle and bustle that characterises Vietnamese cities to a capital 'Vientiane style' - no high-rise buildings and many side-roads not yet paved.
Remarkably, Cambodia was a country at war only ten years ago, ending when its former extreme regime 'Khmer Rouge' was evicted. This means that the country is still very poor and has a lot of disabled people, many of them victims of the minefields that still cover large parts of the country.
The result is that the main sights and tourist areas in Phnom Penh have a fair share of beggars, limbless or otherwise disabled people. Quite gruelling, especially when you take into account that 10% of these are children and that because of the poverty, there are no facilities or prospects for these people.
The more fortune ones are trying to make a living by selling to tourists. The 'Hello Misteerrrrr, you buy (cold water, postcard, fresh fruit, souvenir - pick your choice)' is something we will remember. Although, it has to be said, it is all done in good spirits. As they know they are not the only ones selling, this leads to conversations such as:
'Hello Misteeerrrrr, you buy cold water ?'
'Thank you'
'Please Misteeeerrrrrr......'
'Thank you, we already have water'
'Yeah Misteeeerrrrr, but not from me, you can buy one more!'
'Thank you, really, but we are fine'
'Misterrrrr, you buy postcards ?'
'Thank you'
'Look Misterrrrr, ten postcards, one dollaaarrrrr, see: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten; eins, zwei, drei, vier, funf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn; uno, due, trei, quattro, cinquo, sei, sept, otto, novo, dice; un, deux, trois, quattre, cinque, six, spet, huit, neuf, dix; een, twee, drie, vier, vijf, zes, zeven, acht, negen, tien' (note - all mistakes are due to the literal transcription of their counting!)
'Very impressed with your counting, but thank you'
'Okay Misteeerrrr, you by flute'
'Thank you, I don't need a flute'
'You need a flute, for your friends and family, as souvenir, you can ship them home!'
'Thank you!'
'Misteeerrrrr, only one dollaaaarrrrr. Okay, two for one dollaaaarrrr' (note - imagine shipping these home at 20 dollars per item)
'Misteeerrrr, nice flute - listen - 'tiedelie' - your mother would like it, Misteeerrrr'
'Really, thank you, we are fine, we have all we need'
'I have something you don't have, Misteerrrrrr!'
Note: instict is to say - 'so we don't need it either', which we didn't say. However, this would have been precisely the appropriate comment, as some sort of bird-shaped mobile was on now offer - 'for one dollaaaarrrr'.
'Thank you, we are fine, we are going to look at the temple'
'Okay Misterrrr, thank you, good luck to you!!'
'Thank you. And to you'
This conversation and every possible variation of this we have had many a time at every sight, both in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (see next entry). For those interested - in the end we did buy some postcards and lots, lots of water.
Which brings us to the second distinctive feature of Phnom Penh and Cambodia - it is hot. Not just hot, but really hot. Coming from Hanoi, the temperature difference is remarkable - during the day about 35 degrees Celsius. And a very dry heat, unlike other tropical countries. So water was desperately needed!
Finally, like Laos, Cambodia is a country that has to rely upon a lot of aid to keep going. Many infrastructural projects are sponsored by more developed countries, while also the NGO's like WHO and UNDP (and many more) have a significant representation. Once more very visible by the fleet of comparatively expensive cars that cruise the streets.
For the rest - Phnom Penh is a nice town, but in one-and-a-half day we had seen it. We saw the main temple (including the resident monkeys), the riverfront (including our favourite hangout, the Foreigner's Correspondence Club, where one could say life goes by from a balcony overlooking the river. We also saw the Silver Pagoda (including busloads of Japanese trying to get into a photo), the Royal Palace (albeit from the outside, as the complex was closed due to an official visit from the Swiss President) and the Russian market (where many fabrics, handicrafts and western designer stuff were on offer - leading to Nicola's first spending spree).
From Phnom Penh it was on our way to, going by other travellers' and friends' comments, one of the potential highlights of our trip - Angkor Wat. Of which more in the next entry....
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