Phnom Penh Pals

Today was a bitterly cold day in Beijing, with temperatures of -17°C and a cruel wind-chill factor of -27°C. In fact, it was so cold today, the condensation on the inside of my windows turned to thick ice. Brrrr!

These plummeting temperatures are the coldest I have ever experienced in Beijing and it has resulted in me swaddling myself in a blanket and thinking back to warmer times.

Last year, towards the end of September, I travelled to Phnom Penh in Cambodia to see Kate and Becky. It was a great holiday because I had missed them so much since they had left Beijing. Plus I was able to spend the holiday with Omar, Lyra and Warner who had also arranged to visit. It felt wonderful to have the gang back together again.

I first visited Cambodia in 2006, so I was lucky enough to have already seen Angkor Wat, Siem Reap and places around the capital city. Cambodia is a friendly and welcoming country with so much history and culture to experience. I would definitely recommend a visit to the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Museum Of Genocidal Crimes. It is a harrowing and disturbing experience, yet extremely educational and worthwhile in understanding the history of the country. Since I had visited both these locations in 2006, I did not feel the need to see them again this time.

I don’t have access to many photographs from my first visit to Cambodia, as most of them are stored at home in Wales. But I do have a photograph taken at Angkor Wat, one of a tuk-tuk driver and another of a child at an orphanage in which my friend Kendell and I visited. 

Angkor Wat 2006

Tuk-Tuk driver near the backpacker area.

I also have a lasting memory of the phrase “powms oi na?” (Excuse my crude anglicised spelling of the Khmer language) which translates to “who farted?” In 2006, I decided that this would be a crucial phrase to add to my arsenal in as many languages as possible; so I asked my Angkor Wat guide to teach it to me in Khmer.

My visit in 2015 was very different to my my trip in 2006. I was no longer a backpacker (now I travel with a suitcase!) and this time focused more on relaxing and catching up with close friends. Not long after we arrived, I decided to give everyone a small gift from China – a plant sprout hair clip. At the time, these were inexplicably popular with both children and adults in Mainland China. The clips came in many varieties and you could frequently see both men and women walking around with flowers and shoots sprouting from their heads. So once I had given everyone their very own sprout, it was only fitting that we took a selfie.

Sporting sprouts - note that Lyra is absent in this photo due to being asleep.

During our stay in Phnom Penh, Becky and Kate booked us places on a cookery course. Cambodian food boasts some delicious dishes, including my favourite – amok. We made this along with some other dishes on the course. It was a fun yet exhausting day (tiring due to the heat and my general laziness).

Cooking up a storm!

While on the course, I was overjoyed that I had correctly remembered the Khmer phrase that I had learned almost ten years ago. Our teacher happily confirmed that it did indeed mean “who farted?” although I think any bad smells were actually coming from my poor attempt at recreating Cambodian food.

Kate and Becky also took us on an evening river cruise. I was super pleased with myself for capturing the moment of a lightning strike by chance on my old phone. During late September/early October there were frequent thunderstorms but this did not hinder our holiday, as they were generally short downpours. The views of the sunset were spectacular and the silhouettes of the temples and buildings were stunning.

Cruisin' and boozin'

Although we were on holiday, Kate and Becky were working during the day, so Warner and I decided to visit Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre. After a rather long tuk-tuk drive we arrived at the centre. There were so many animals there and we were happy to see that they appeared to be well cared for and lived in good conditions.

Getting snap-happy at the sanctuary

Monkeying around at the sanctuary

The whole experience was wonderful and it’s so nice to think back to that time last year. Kate and Becky were the best hostesses and I cannot wait to see them again soon. I still miss their presence in Beijing, but it's great to have such good friends in Cambodia as it gives me the excuse to visit them again in such beautiful surroundings.

Memories of the hot climate and fun times are definitely keeping me warm on this chilly January evening!