We've arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia after a smooth 7-hour bus ride and a surprisingly uneventful border crossing. We were overwhelmed by the intensity of the moto drivers who swarmed us when we arrived, trying to get their next fare. They were pretty relentless, but we made it through the crowd in one piece and managed to find a nice hotel about two blocks away that has air conditioning (it's essential considering that it's about 35 C during the day and doesn't really cool off at night).
We wandered around the central part of the city until dusk. There is a lot of green space near the riverfront. We saw the Liberation Monument, which commemorates the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, and Independence Monument, which celebrates Cambodia's independence from France. But the best part of our walk was seeing the mass groups of locals doing aerobics in the park to music. We admire how exercise is such an integral part of daily life in Southeast Asia. Every day, in either the early morning or late afternoon, many people gather to play badminton or Thai football, do aerobics or simply go for a vigorous walk. It's really inspiring.
The other interesting local activity we observed was some kind of Buddhist celebration on the riverfront where people were gathered to pray in small temples, placing incense sticks and beautiful fresh flowers in small temples while traditional musicians played live music.
For dinner, we found a local restaurant and enjoyed a yummy Khmer dish consisting of rice noodles with coconut curry. It was served with a huge bowl of fresh herbs, pickles and cold tea. Yummy!
Since we had to get up at 6 am to catch the bus, we're pretty wiped and ready for bed. Tomorrow, it's off to the Killing Fields and the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (S21) to learn more about the genocide that took place here only 31 short years ago, wiping out almost 1/3 of the population.
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