Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009 - Day 8

**NOTE: NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED**

I was wrong - the 22-yr old nephew is actually Buddha's wife's (Mei) younger brother. He came to visit for 3 weeks and went back to the countryside, his home village, about 2.5 hours away. Buddha said it's time to help with the rice paddies. I feel bad - he didn't get to visit the park one last time before he went back. Buddha feels like lounging around at home today so I go sightseeing myself. He's reading a newspaper as I'm about to leave, the headline is in Khmer but I understand one thing "H1N1" and "19." There are now 19 cases in Phnom Penh, all of which came in the past 2 months, mostly from travelers (mostly Americans) and there are 2 cases of local transmission, which is potentially dangerous for this city. The WHO expects to see higher numbers in a few months. The latest case was contracted in a pub/bar/club, which makes me nervous about venturing to those crowded areas at night, so I decide that it's probably not the wisest idea to frequent those places.

I head out walking - it's cloudy and in the 80's, so it's perfect weather for me to walk around. I decide to cover the northern part of the city and hit the southern parts tomorrow. The city is divided into 4 quadrants, much like DC. I walk for 40 minutes and halfway through, I realize I'm going completely the opposite way that I'm supposed to be heading to see Wat Phnom (a large temple in the north side of the city). But it's ok, a potential gym is the way I'm going.
Place selling Obama shirts with Khmer writing of course.

And as I'm walking along Norodom Blvd, there are lots of Ministry buildings (Ministry of Internal Affairs, Agriculture, etc.) and political party buildings.


Ministry of the Interior or something like it


Cambodian People's Party Building

These buildings have gates and vast land. Then I see the Japanese and another country's embassies, both of which look delapidated and under construction. I see Wat Than on my left and decide to peek in. It looks like there are families who live here - how cool to live in a temple.

I walk around and see large mausoleums (below pic) and as I round the corner, there is a friendly monk dressed in orange fabric who waves and says in English, "where are you from?" Here we go again.

America, I reply.
Monk: You are Chinese?
Yes, but I was born in America.
Monk: You are Chinese. Ni hao ma. Ni hen piao liang. (Hi. You are very pretty).
(I am surprised he knows Mandarin.)
Monk: And you live in America so maybe your English is good. Maybe you have Chinese accent.
(I wonder if I should walk around in an Obama or American flag tshirt and hum our national anthem. I consider myself Chinese-American, a person of dual heritage and cultures.)
Yes I go to school there and live there.
Monk: You look Chinese. A few days ago, some Chinese girls came and I practice my Chinese with them. I used to work in a company that works with Khmer and Chinese people so I can translate. I used to be fluent in Chinese. But now I just practice with visitors. I became a monk 7 years ago. I study now at 2 universities - one public and one private. I study English literature and economics. I want to finish studies and then work, just like you. You come alone? You are by yourself? You should be careful. Young men here snatch purses. Want to see my house? My place?"

I am taken aback. Did I just get hit on by a monk??!! I remain friendly and just nod or just ask some neutral questions. We are walking slowly and all the other monks and non-monk men and boys who may live there are staring. The monk keeps asking to show me his room. I politely decline and say I need to head on my way. As I leave, another younger monk wants to take a picture on his phone and I politely shake my head, smile slightly, and head on my way out. Another monk asks if I ate lunch and I said no but I had a late breakfast. I breathe again when I am outside the gates and note to myself to only go to touristy, bustling temples because I realize for the first time that there are part-time monks. I always assumed they entered monasteries for a lifetime, not for a few years and then return to civil life.

I finally find the gym after several ministry buildings that are not numbered. The road from No. 207 to 227 is at least 4 blocks instead of a few buildings down. The gym has 3 tennis courts, a large pool, an outdoor cardio room with fans. So far so good, except the locker/changing/shower rooms are in so close proximity to the men's areas that it would be quite uncomfortable changing. The price is $40 a month, but an additional $12 per tennis lesson. Not too shabby but quite out of the way. I leave and bargain with a tuk-tuk driver to take me to the complete opposite north of town for $1. The driver relents after seeing another driver about to ask me if I need a ride. The seat/contraption is older than other tuk-tuks and the ride is quite bumpy but I got a good deal. I arrive at Wat Phnom.

There is a HUGE clock on the ground and lots of people milling around.
Biggest clock in PP or Cambodia, I forget.
I walk up and ask an old Frenchman with a cane to take a pic of me by this statue - I only ask tourists to help me take pictures because I'm afraid of getting my camera stolen.

Then I see a wild monkey munching on some fruit. I stare for awhile at its eating habits, its gray fur, face and red behind. So cute.
Approaching the monkey...
10X zoom feature...

Done eating...
Back for more fruit...
See ya...


I walk up another flight of stairs and see a sign that says foreigners only: $1. I pay it and see a boy off to the side selling little birds for $1. You want one? No thanks.

A skinny young girl carrying a plastic bag of 6 cold water bottles. $1 for 1 bottle. I am thirsty I think. Wow that's a lot I exclaim playfully. She holds up 2 water bottles, 2 for $1. I just need 1 I say. She says 4000 riels (=$1). I give her 2000 riels and she happily hands me a water bottle.
The children here sell many things to tourists. These 2 children were selling fruit and drinks. The boy had slung a tree branch through the handles of his bag so it was easier for him to carry.

I walk up and see this strange neon/70's like altar. It's Lady Penh, supposedly the founder of PP and the city is named after her. Phnom means hill, and Wat Phnom is the only hill in the city and Penh comes from Lady Penh. Supposedly she means something to women, not sure what. These women are offering money and incense and prayers to her.


II enter this building shown below and see a giant Buddha.
I pray for the first time to Buddha in a very very long time. Buddha is surrounded by candles.
This is the famous Wat Phnom, at the north end of the city.

More wild monkeys accepting fruits and food from people. Notice baby, daddy, and mommy monkeys.
Baby monkey.


I leave Wat Phnom in search of food. For lunch, I stopped by Fatboy Subs for a BBQ pork sandwich and green tea drink $5.75 total. An English, Irish, or Aussie guy next me is asked to give another $10 bill for his food b/c the clerk doesn't want to accept it. Here, a smallest tear renders your bill unusable. He throws down another $10 and the Khmer woman he came with tsk'ed at him and said you shouldn't have done that. I looked at him with surprise and think how much the foreigners here act very self-righteous sometimes. The Khmer have the best customer service in the world. I've never been called Madam and Miss so much in my life. They bow a lot and say please when showing you the way to the restroom. And they smile and nod, even if they have no idea what in the world you're saying.
I read more of the Kite Runner as I munch on the 6" sub and listen to American pop music - I've heard everything here from Beyonce to Taylor Swift, Fergie, and the Spice Girls. I wish I could listen to Khmer or other Asian music more often.


Women selling gorgeous fresh flowers outside the market below.
Central Market - under renovation so all the stalls are outside. They sell everything from clothing to silverware to suitcases to lingerie and technology. I only walked through a small part of it but somehow get sucked in for over an hour. This reminds me of some Chinese markets, where you haggle for what you want or pretend you don't want.

Men's shirts

Place selling American donuts and fried chicken. They love fried chicken here.
Thankfully, I haven't seen too many fast food chains here. No McDonald's, no Pizza Huts... just lots of KFC, Louisiana Fried Chicken, and other chicken places. By this time, it's too late to go to the Royal Palace and I head to the supermarket instead.
I get a small gelato for $0.90 and read more of the Kite Runner.

For dinner, I went to Annam, a great Indian food place just one street over from my house. They have A/C, free WIFI, and a huge screen TV playing the Indian channel. There are other Indian families in there eating so I think it's legit. I order chicken tikka masala (not spicy), garlic naan, and basmati rice. It comes out spicy and hot. I take most of the naan home and head to bed reading The Kite Runner, which I finish at 2:30 AM. It is a really great read and a lot of it reminds me of how Cambodia may have been during the genocide and turmoil of a few decades ago.