Phnom Penh
We don't love long bus rides. Although I was blessed with the ability to put my head on Joey's shoulder and fall asleep in any mode of transportation, Joey is not so lucky. He has finished 2 audiobooks- which are hours and hours of some guy reading to him - I am getting sleepy just thinking about it. Even though I can sleep - We don't love long bus rides. Since our next move was to Siem Reap which is a 12 hour bus ride from Ho Chi Minh City, we decided to break up the trip by making a stop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's Capital city. There is not much to do there, and many travelers we spoke to were planning to skip this stop- but there is a Chabad House there, so we decided to spend the weekend and Shabbat there.
So we took the bus to Phnom Penh which was a short 6 hour bus ride. (I can't believe that we are at a point where a 6 hour bus ride is considered short!) Crossing into a new country by bus was pretty easy. When we reached the border we got off the bus, walked through immigration, and then met the bus on the other side. Joey claims the bus was transported by boat for part of the ride. I was sleeping of course, so I have to take his word for it. Joey was so impressed that I can sleep through the entire ride he even took pictures of me. I promise they are not staged because if they were I would never have allowed such a horrible double chin angle!
When we arrived in the Phnom Penh bus station we were chased by many tuk-tuk drivers shouting prices at us. Only one of them yelled out a price which was half of the other drivers- so of course we went with him. We learned his half price was because he had half of a tuk-tuk - only the bottom half - no top - it was like a convertible! He apologized and looked at us as if he was waiting for us to get mad and change our minds - of course we didn't mind! How cool to drive around with the top down?! Or non-existent in this case! We got lots of laughs, stares and pointing as we drove through Phnom Penh. Apparently this was the only topless tuk-tuk around. Lucky us!
As we drove to our hotel we noticed that we were on the right side of the street again. Literally. It actually made me think if we came by bus into Cambodia, and the bus is from Vietnam where they drive on the left side - how did the bus manage to drive? I don't know the answer to that because I was sleeping. We also couldn't help but notice the popular car trend in Cambodia.... a Toyota Camry. Not just any Toyota Camry- a light brownish- faded gold color from early 2000s- just like the one we have back home! They were everywhere- and all the same color.
We arrived at our hotel, checked in, and had some time before Shabbat to run to a market. This is not the usual souvenir/scarf market. This is the Russian market that was like a Gap, Old Navy, H & M outlet! The street was full of stalls with bins and bags full of overstock/leftovers. They were genuine brands that say “made in Cambodia”. Check your labels - many Gap, Old Navy, H & M stuff is actually made in Cambodia. Of course there were brands like Polo, Burberry and Lacoste, which are probably not real, and not made in Cambodia - but throwing them in the mix of of clothing made it fun to guess.
As the sun was setting we made our way back to the Hotel - and then over to Chabad for candle lighting. We were told that the Phnom Penh Chabad was not geared towards backpackers like the other Chabad Houses we have been to. This Chabad was for people who live in the area, to help provide a Jewish Center and sense of community. The Chabad was small in comparison to the other ones. Their were few people there - and the Rabbi's wife was in NY for a conference.
It was a really nice weekend with just enough people for a minyan, and small enough for intimate meals, where we were able to meet everyone and learn everyone's names. We met another couple who just got married and are traveling for almost a year. They told us that they were finishing up 3 months of volunteer works in Cambodia. They were so impressive and inspiring to us – we were so lucky to have met them and to hear their story. We also met the nicest, friendliest man, from the Upper West Side who was in Cambodia for business. We totally hit it off with him, and Joey bonded with him over Starwood points! Everyone also helped the Rabbi while his wife was away. Helping out with the 3 children was easy, as they were polite, well behaved children, and even the baby - who either had a pacifier, bottle, or smile the entire time.
We booked a bus to Siem Reap for Sunday, through the hotel. Somewhere, somehow there was a miss-communication which caused us to miss the bus. Thankfully a tuk-tuk drive from the bus company told us to hop in and chased the bus until we found it a few blocks away. Phnom Penh may have been our shortest stop on this trip so far- but definitely never a dull a moment!
