Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Day 60 26th
We don't get collected for our outbound journey till midday so after a relaxed start I take myself for another walk along the sandy beach whilst Shiree sunbathes at the poolside.... The beach is pretty long and we've not been as much as halfway along it so that's what I'm here to do.... It's still relatively early when a get to the beach path that the pubs boarder and the staff are mainly sweeping up from the previous nights fun as I wonder passed...
Poverty is widespread in Asia.... It seems a continent of financial opposites.... The Rich have plenty of money with Range Rovers and expensive houses and the poor have a shed on a dusty busy roadside and the clothes on there back....
The poor make ends meet by growing what they can and earning money however and wherever possible... The collection of used plastic bottles brings in a tiny wage as is often performed by the old or very young.... They just search all day for discarded drinks bottles, a huge number is required to amass $1.
As I walk along the path local children are on the hunt... No parents anywhere, there filthy cloths just hang from them as they walk barefoot for hours in a continuos search... They have not been washed for a long time and are very much in need of it, I'd guess there home is a cardboard box in a bush.... They can barely be 4 years old, but with black bin bag over there shoulder which drags along the floor behind them as there so small there off for the day searching... You can't help but pity them.... What sort of future have they possibly got...
I hand them my bottle and continue walking..... As the restaurants end and the beach clears I come across the microlight boat thingy we have seen fling around... There run by a French company and look great.... It's $50 for a flight.... That's around£27.50 which I think is pretty reasonable.... After walking a short distance further a find the road and wonder back to the hotel.... The hotel restaurant is closed today as it's hired out for a private function... Balloons now hang from everywhere and it looks really good... There's been a large Harley Davidson motorbike parked out the front all the time we've been here... There's only one guy in the bar so I assume its his and have a chat with him... He is the owner of the bike, and the hotel... The private function his is engagement party, but far from being busy getting things ready he's busy watching sport on the telly and talking to me about food...
Shirees still horizontal by the pool but we have to get ready to leave... Times gotten on... Our minivan arrives and we're off.... Back to Phnom Penh. I find the journey easier this time and before long we've successfully scared most of the rural village children half to death and almost warn the horn out and arrive, somehow in one price outside the coach station and grab a Tuk Tuk to our next hotel.
We've not returned to the hotel we stayed at when we were last here, we have opted for a cheaper one in a different part of town... Our stay is only for one night so we'll see something new and if we don't like the cheaper hotel then it was only for one night any.....
On our arrival at Teahouse Hotel we are very pleased.... It is in a quieter part of town, close to where we walked when we saw the gecko that had caught the mouse, but the hotel itself is brilliant ! You walk across a little bridge over a shallow pool that surrounded by bamboo trees to gain entry to the reception area.... Your bags are then taken from you and placed in a trolley where they'll be taken to your room.... We set at reception and get presented with fresh orange whilst we check in... Shortly after sitting down we get informed that the room we had booked us no longer available, but it's no problem... We get a free upgrade to a family room.... It's bloody massive !! Three bathrooms, two double bedrooms, a kitchen area and a lounge..... It's brilliant.... And as we keep are original rate of £20 its exceptional value for money too....
Although we have walked this area we're not familiar with the local restaurants and on arrival it looked quieter than our original hotel so we break out trip advisor again and search out an Indian.... It's not to far and has great reviews.... We walk and walk and walk and do a lot of head scratching, which is a luxury I can seldom afford before we eventually find the place.... It's no Michelin star restaurant that's for sure but having spent so long locating it we are not moving on now...
We both order the same thing which was a set taster menu.. It was actually really nice and came served on a metal tray... Reminded Shiree of being in school... From here we head back to the hotel to decide which bedroom to sleep in...
- comments