Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh

We were greeted by cool Jasmine-scented towels and lemongrass tea

One of the things that made our trip to Phnom Penh enjoyable and easy, despite traveling with a very active two-year-old, was our hotel. I've written before about how choosing the right hotel is much more important when travelling with a small child than as a childless twenty-something.

R is bigger now, but not much has changed in that department. She still needs one nap daily (we had to skip her nap on our last day in Java and hoo boy was that unpleasant: think multiple public tantrums, something that she almost never does otherwise), which because she can't sleep well anywhere but in her crib means a midday return to the hotel, plus 12 hours at night in the room. So the hotel needs to be centrally located and pleasant to spend time in.

Breakfast verandah

Decorative deer in the lobby

The hotel is surrounded by extensive and beautiful gardens, even though it's in the middle of the city

In Phnom Penh we stayed at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal, which fulfilled both of these criteria: the location was great, within a short walk of several parks and attractions. It's a beautiful historic property (built in the 1920s, it's hosted a wide variety of famous people including Jackie Kennedy) and has lovely facilities, including a nice spa, swimming pool, gym, and several restaurants.

R at the outdoor bakery/cafe: we had afternoon coffee and cakes here every day

Breakfast buffet with on-call waffle/pancake guy

Best of all, it was surprisingly child friendly: there was even a kids' playroom filled with toys right off the main restaurant, which meant that B and I could enjoy a leisurely breakfast with the newspaper while R bounced on Rody. Everyone was very welcoming to R, giving her complimentary fruit, hugs and seemingly enjoying her toddler hijinks (rather than being annoyed by them, as would probably be the case in the US).

Kids' playroom: R liked stacking the Rodies

R sliding down the slick pathway: such fun for her! She insisted her father drag her up and down by her ankles whenever possible (ie, at non-crowded times)

 The hotel is expensive for Cambodia, but for First World travellers it's a great bargain, considering what you get. I would highly recommend a stay for those looking for a luxury hotel experience.

R likes carrying Barney on her shoulders

This is what her dad always does with her

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The Royal Palace

So a little while back Singapore was rendered more or less uninhabitable by pollution blowing over from Indonesia (where they are currently illegally burning down the Sumatran rainforest). We decided to flee and impulsively bought tickets to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

We visited Cambodia years before, to see Angkor Wat (which is one of the coolest places I've seen), but I'd never been to Phnom Penh before. Honestly my expectations weren't high (it isn't known as a tourist destination), but I really liked it.

Cambodia is one of those dysfunctional, really poor countries where foreign aid is a major industry. In my opinion this does very little good to the average Cambodian, but it does mean that there is a huge community of expats/foreigners, all with a lot of disposable income (because while NGOs may not pay big salaries by Western standards, by Cambodian standards they are enormous).

KFC: Reminded me of China, where they are ubiquitous

Hip cafe serving delicious gazpacho and croque monsieur

R approves the gelato: ice cream haze

There's a whole street of art stores

So there are all kinds of businesses catering to this market, meaning tons of cool cafes, "socially responsible" restaurants serving organic food, hip clothing boutiques, English language bookstores, and a thriving nightlife scene (though B and I did not participate in this). Sometimes travellers complain about Westernization, but the truth is that places with NO Westernization tend to be uncomfortable for Westerners (like it's impossible to find somewhere nice to sit for a quick drink, because the locals are too poor to afford such a thing).

Central park near our hotel: Phnom Penh is fairly small and thus quite walkable

R found a "big stick": she is obsessed with sticks lately

Naga railing reminds me of Angkor

The birds are for sale: Buddhists believe releasing them gains you merit

Like many poor countries, the streets are shopfronts: here's the local mechanic

Fresh coconut seller

Local barbershop

Street scene: most buildings are low rise, which gives a nice small-town feel

Cambodia also has a long, glorious cultural history: even though it's poor and backward now, at one time it was a major cultural center (thus the existence of Angkor Wat). I very much enjoyed experiencing a bit of their marvelous music, architecture, and art; Cambodia's thriving and vital take on Buddhism is pretty interesting too.

National Museum grounds

Trying to get R to pose: she's over it though

Mostly she wanted to feed the fish

R on the palace grounds: they still have a king in residence

Love the architecture!

Silk weaving demonstration

Musicians playing traditional instruments

R really likes it: later she danced to it, much to the amusement of everyone

 Finally, the food in Cambodia was really, really good. It used to be a French colony, which means that delicious bread, pastries and coffee are widely available; and the indigenous food is absolutely delicious (similar to Thai food but with slightly different flavors).

R contemplates a Buddhist shrine

Giving Buddha a hug

Tiny shrine, so cute

I was a bit concerned about visiting such a poor country with a toddler, but there was nothing to worry about. Cambodians loooovvve children, meaning that almost everyone went out of their way to amuse and accommodate R, and most places were very child-friendly (like many restaurants stocked toys for the child customers). Plus Cambodia has a pretty high birth rate, which meant lots of playmates for R.

R in the tuk tuk: she loved them ("my best" she says)

R playing with a Cambodian tourist

Some of her admirers: R is always a big hit

R being followed by some of her fan club: she is grumpy from all the adulation

Meeting another friend: later on they played tag

While Phnom Penh isn't a must-see destination on the lines of Hong Kong or Angkor Wat, it is a very pleasant place to spend a few days or even a week. I would love to go back, actually (since we didn't get a chance to see everything!).

I Am in Cambodia

The Singapore haze was too much for us: and in particular for R, who started to develop a sad little cough. So late on Friday night we decided to leave for cleaner air and a few hours later had chosen Cambodia (mostly because the flights to Phnom Penh from Singapore were cheap: flights in the region have in general gone up recently since everyone else also wants to leave Singapore).

We arrived in Phnom Penh around 12 noon on Saturday. There is something very alluring about last-minute travel decisions (we bought the tickets around 2 am so gratification was very brief indeed), although it does mean I had almost no knowledge of the city we were going to.

So far I really like Phnom Penh. The food is great, and there is a seemingly endless supply of charming restaurants and cafes to wile away one's time in. The broad boulevards lined with trees are nice too: being a former French colony definitely has its advantages, at least for tourists (it reminds me a little of Vietnam and the French concession in Shanghai). Of course the British win the colonist competition (since their former colonies usually have functioning legal systems, economies, and governments: plus railroads) but there is no denying the British cannot cook and have little style.

It is very poor here (numerous begging children, etc: sad because I have to attempt to explain their existence to R, who is naturally curious: "Where is the boy's mommy?") but in many ways the poverty only works to your advantage as a tourist since it means everything is extremely cheap. We are staying at the country's most luxurious hotel (the Raffles Le Royal), which definitely buffers any problems that would otherwise arise from visiting the third world.

So far we are enjoying the great food, low prices (especially for alcohol! makes me want to drink like a fish) and generally relaxing (at least for me and R, this is more of a working vacation for B). Thumbs up for Phnom Penh!

Angkor Wat and Taipei

B and I just recently got back from Southeast Asia. After being in Bangkok for four days, we proceeded to Cambodia and the ancient site of Angkor Wat. It was really impressive and enormous, and I loved it very much. If you've seen Lara Croft: Tomb Raider then you have an idea of what Angkor Wat looks like, as the movie was shot there. The temples were abandoned to the jungle for 500 years or so, and so massive trees grew up on top of the stones are now so intertwined it's hard to tell which is temple and which is tree. We stupidly forgot our camera, but B's dad had a new digital one and took about 500 pictures, which he will send to us.

Cambodia is really poor and undeveloped: there are many NGOs (non-governmental organizations) there, as the government is corrupt, impoverished and incompetent, so everything that gets done is done by foreigners. It is even poorer than Vietnam; the "middle class" consists of those with enough rice to eat (but nothing else). However, since we were with B's dad, we were insulated from the hardships of daily life and stayed at nothing but really nice five-star hotels, with beautiful pools, landscaped and extensive grounds, and delicious food. It was fun (if rather strange and at times uncomfortable, since I'm not used to flunkies) to live like the rich for a while.

Because Cambodia is so poor, all sorts of handmade stuff is really cheap there. I bought two blankets, a silk shirt, various animal knickknacks, handmade chopsticks, and placemats: for me that's a lot of stuff!

Then we all returned to Taipei, and B's dad stayed with us for a little while. I had to work, but B took him to the most notable sites, like the National Palace Museum (best collection of Chinese art in the world: thanks Nationalists for shipping all the emperors' stuff out of China and thus saving it from the Cultural Revolution!). He just left, and tonight B and I went to a Chinese puppet show. It was very interesting to see, but unfortunately was only in Chinese, so I'm a little fuzzy on the plot. I think it had to do with a poor traveler pretending to be the emperor and in this guise seducing a nobleman's daughter.

Yangmingshan and Plans for Cambodia

Today was the first day back at school, so I saw all my little students again. They were all happy to be back at school and play with each other, which is gratifying to see (especially since they used to cry every day).

This weekend B and I went hiking at Yangmingshan National Park, which is a very mountainous and beautiful area close to Taipei. We climbed Mt. Tatun and admired the view of greater Taipei, which was unfortunately somewhat obscured by smog. The air looked so dirty! For that reason alone I was glad to get some time in the relatively clean air of Yangmingshan.

We will be traveling to Thailand and Cambodia soon with B's Dad. Afterwards he will stay in Taipei for a few days before traveling on to Hong Kong solo. We will be going to Angkor Wat, which I am very excited about. I have been trying to learn something about it and its history is quite interesting. The temples are mostly Hindu, because when they were built (800-1440), Cambodia was officially a Hindu country, with a cult of the divine god-king (who was an incarnation of Shiva, one of the three most important Hindu gods). Cambodia now is Buddhist. Angkor Wat was "forgotten" (at least by the outside world) until 1860, when a young French botanist stumbled across rumors of its existence from local peasants and decided to explore. He died less than a year later in the jungle of fever, but his journals were published and sparked public interest. Since then Angkor Wat has been famous and a tourist attraction.