Phnom Penh, Cambodia - First sights of Kampuchea

Travelling dates
 
19 - 24 December 2013 (2 nights in Phnom Penh and 3 in Seam Reap)
Snufkin's age: 4 years and 6 months

Mode of transportation

For the past 5 years, the number of tourists visiting Cambodia has increased exponentially. Right there on every tourist's agenda is Seam Reap, gateway to Angkor Wat. Phnom Penh is, more often than not, sidestepped. That could have been us had it not been for last minute planning that rendered Malaysia Airlines tickets to be only marginally more expensive than Air Asia at the time of booking in October, but only when we booked KUL-Phnom Penh and Seam Reap-KUL instead of KUL-Seam Reap return.

I did not see that as an inconvenience, even if it meant that we had to look and budget for suitable transportation between the two cities. It was an opportunity to explore the capital city, the mere mention of which name conjured a mixture of romance and adventure of a bygone era. I got an instant urge to travel each time the two syllables rolled off my tongue.

Since coming back to Malaysia, we had only been using Air Asia for our travels so I guessed Snufkin must have forgotten how flying on a non-no frills airlines feels like. As soon as we stepped onto the plane, he saw the the individual TV screens and immediately his face lighted up."Wow, there's television!", was his (loud) remark. I pretended that we were not together. As if that was not enough, the stewardess then brought us the headphones and a blanket and pillow for him and he could barely contain his excitement.

Somewhere between KL and Phnom Penh

From Phnom Penh International Airport, the taxi for the 10 km-or-so distance to the our hotel in the capital cost USD12. Getting a taxi was a fairly easy process - no queue, fixed fare and no touts scrambling around you.

Within Phnom Penh, we relied on tuk-tuks to take us places.  It cost between USD2 - USD3 to get from our hotel to the sights that we wanted to see, money I gladly parted with as it meant that we did not have to navigate the chaotic streets of Pnom Penh.

Accommodation

There were many small boutique hotels that caught my attention (most notably The Kabiki) but these were out of our price range. We ended up staying at Kolab Sor Hotel for USD35 per night. The hotel advertised itself as a "modern hotel" with a business centre but with 60 rooms it was small enough for us and the splashes of vibrant colours on cushions and drapings made it look less like a bog-standard hotel. The relatively cheap rates and the close proximity (but not too close thankfully) to Tuol Sleng Prison Museum sealed the deal. The hotel is supposed to be a 5-minutes walk to the museum and on the map it looked near enough. I had even printed the google map to guide us there. But once we got there and saw the very busy streets and chaotic traffic it was tuk-tuk most of the time thank you very much.

Address: #436, Street 310, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang III, Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh

First impressions

Our first stop was the National Museum of Cambodia for a bit of perspectives on the country's history before we delved into the more grisly details (read: Killing Field and Tuol Sleng) . The rust-red museum buildings were pretty impressive - its tiered-roofs and spires somewhat gave an impression of graceful Khmer dancers. The collections were housed in 4 pavillions, all facing a serene and leafy garden courtyard complete with fish ponds (a godsend as far as those with little kids are concerned). Of course, Snufkin did not care too much about the sculptures, bronzes, 19th century dance costumes, royal barges and palanquins and Khmer arts pieces and probably was even a bit scared of the statues. So we took turns sitting on one of the benches surrounding the courtyard and watch him play and fish-watch. This meant that I had a peaceful time going through the collections and reading up on the history of the Khmer Empire.

Cameras were only allowed in the courtyard so there were no pictures of the exhibits.

Address: Street 13, Sangkat Chey Chumneas, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh (opposite the Royal Palace),
Opening hours: 8AM-5PM daily, last admission 4:30PM.
Admission: USD5

Friends The Restaurant

We left the museum feeling famished but with no idea where to go to for lunch. Just to avoid the group of beggars that were making their way towards us, we crossed the road and took an immediate left turn, hoping that we would come across a decent looking restaurant or cafe. And barely 10 steps away, we saw these:

Now, I had read about Friends and its excellent reputation many times whilst researching for this trip but thought that it would not be easy to get to. And there we were, practically stumbling upon it. So in we trooped, heading towards the cosy outdoor seating area. This was seperated by bamboos from a gravel-and-sand courtyard, in which throngs of kids of all ages could be seen doing what kids should do - playing catch, hopscotch and even pretend-cooking using leaves, twigs and stones. The restaurant is part of the Mith Samlanh NGO, which trains and employs former street youth in the hospitality industry, so these could be the young apprentices.

We had a wonderful lunch of vegetarian and fish-based tapas and also a heavenly passionfruit and mango smoothie which started in me a fixation of anything passion fruit. The lunch cost around USD22 - a fair price I would say considering the food, ambience and the chance to notch up your responsible travel credence.

After lunch, it was back to the hotel for rest and in case Snufkin needed to nap.

Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary

During one of those long weekends with Friday being a public holiday, we joined a couple of friends and their kids for a short getaway to nearby Janda Baik. I have always wanted to take Snufkin to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary so since we were already in that neck of the woods, a short detour was all that was needed to have a fun-filled day with the elephants. Or so we thought. We had been back in Malaysia for just 7 months so had completely forgotten to factor in the fact that on any extended weekend 3/4 of the population would leave KL, and 3/4 of those would be going to the East Cost. Karak Highway was heaving with cars - it made the Easter getaway on UK's M1 looked like Iceland's Ring Road. In the end, it took us more than 3 hours to get there, a journey that should have taken the most 2 hours.




Source: Wonderful Malaysia

The Elephant Sanctuary was initailly set up as a relocation programme for wild and displaced elephants whose natural habitat has been encroached by men in their pursuit of agricultural advancement. Since then, not only has the centre succesfully relocated hundreds of elephants, but it has also gained the cult status as the place to go in Peninsular Malaysia for anything to do with elephants. And therein lie the problem. The centre attracts increasing crowds, and thus becomes more like a zoo than a sanctuary. Previously, you could go on elephant rides and bathe the elephants to your heart's content. All this was put to a stop sometime in 2012 due to the enforcement of the Wildlife Protection Act 2010.

I called the centre a few days before the trip to enquire about activities for kids.  Apparently they still have the elephant bathing sessions although the number of people allowed in each session is very limited. The nice lady on the line suggested that we take a package that included the elephant bathing session and jungle trekking on an easy trail to an Orang Asli settlement. The price that she quoted for the 5 kids that we had between us were very reasonable and I immediately booked our place. Alas, a day before the trip I got a call from her saying that the elephant bathing session had to be cancelled as it had been raining for a couple of days making the water level dangerous for the elephants.

We still went to the Elephant Sanctuary and saw that they had put up a red flag in one of the huts by the banks of the river, indicating that all water-related activities were cancelled. The river looked like someone had just emptied truckloads of teh tarik into it. I was secretly relieved by the cancellation.

The elephants at the Sanctuary were caged with fences that were made of logs. Their legs were shackled and most of them looked like they had some kind of skin disease (or is that how elephants should look like? After all, Dumbo is only a cartoon character). I read that some visitors were appalled at the condition of the elephants and accused the handlers of mistreating the elephants. I did not see any mistreatment and I will not judge based on a visit that lasted only for an hour or two.  

Obviously, the kids were only concerned with feeding as many sugar cane sticks and bananas as they could. You put out a banana and that long curling trunk with dripping bodily fluids would move towards you and somewhat gracefully take the banana from your hand. Snufkin made many trips to the stall selling bananas and sugar cane sticks (RM5 and RM3 per bunch respectively), seemingly bent on giving the elephants the feast of their lives.

We also saw the handlers washing the cutest baby elephants. Then there was a show of some sort with the handlers trying to get the elephants to do tricks. Of course it was nothing like what you would see in a zoo or circus but hey, this was a sanctuary after all and the elephants looked like they'd rather be elsewhere chomping on more sugar canes.

By the end of the show, it was approaching noon and becoming unbearably hot. It was our cue to leave, and after a simple lunch and the obligatory ice-cream session at the refreshment stalls, we set off for the verdant hills and cooling streams of Janda Baik.

A word of advice that I have for those wishing to come here: Manage your epectation. Although the exhibits near the entrance were informative and rather cleverly done, this is a small sanctuary and without the elephant rides and elephant bathing sessions that seemed to be expected by most, there is little else to do besides feeding the elephants, watching the short show and perhaps having a picnic i the grounds. But I was okay with that and Snufkin seemed to enjoy himself. If there was going to be a second time, I would definitely have it combined with the jungle trekking to the Orang Asli settlement.