I didn't want to do anything too stenuous today and since two guidebooks I consulted both said that you could see everything in Phnom Penh in two days and I had five before my flight to Korea, I wasn't going to rush myself. The O'Russey market was close to me so I decided I'd get something to eat nearby then go look around there for a while. It was nice, but not particularly fascinating or memorable, just like my lunch.
For a while I went back to my guesthouse and wrote and planned but I got restless and remembered that I wanted to go to Romdeng, a restaurant that specialized in gourmet Cambodian food, where I could try tarantula, a Cambodian delicacy. I'd seen a special on it, as it was part of the Friends NGO, which trains the cooks and helps Cambodians learn skills and get work, and the owner of Chamkra, the vegetarian restaurant in Siem Reap, had recommended it, so I was really looking forward to it. I walked around for over thirty minutes looking for the restaurant and cursing them for not having a better sign until I finally found it and noticed that they did actually have a decent sign- I just couldn't see it because the lights were all off. A sign said it, and all the other Friends franchises- about half of the recommeneded places to eat in Phnom Penh, were closed from April 2nd through April 19th for the Khmer New Year. I was pissed, not least of all because Khmer New Year only lasts from April 13-15 and I hadn't seen anything, ANYTHING, else that was closed because of that. I know it was silly, but I'd just been really looking forward to this and so felt incredibly let down and disappointed.
I was so upset I almost went straight back to the guesthouse, but I was hungry so I decided that I'd just get some food then head back. Instead I ended up wandering over to Metro Cafe, an expensive (for Cambodia,) but very nice bar. Their menu was actually intriguing so I got peking duck roll bites, which were okay, and more excitingly, a raspberry mojito. It wasn't perfect, but it was a very acceptable version- as good as I'd expect to get in any major city. I've been craving raspberries lately so this made me feel much better about life and I pepped up.
The Night Market here was only on Friday through Sunday thus this would be my last chance to see it, so I walked up to it, bought a dragonfruit to have for breakfast and walked around. A stage was set up and four teenagers; two girls, two boys were singing. They were really bad. Their voices just couldn't seem to do anything- I've heard elementary school choirs that sounded better. I walked away pretty quickly, bought a present for my Stepdad and left the Night Market.
I strolled by the Tonle Sap lakefront to the point where it meets the Mekong River (not nearly as far as that makes it sound) on an esplanade that was halfway destroyed by constuction, and halfway a lovely, broad, well-lit boulevard with flags. I walked down that part, past the Royal Palace and bought this from a woman selling them off the street.
Several people on my bus had eaten them so I knew the right way to do so, though the seller opened it for me anyways. It's basically part of a bamboo reed halfway filled with a strange, heavy rice mixture. More than anything else, it tasted woody. I ate a few bites to make sure I didn't want it and then threw the rest away.
Royal Palace
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