Although not as cheap as it probably used to be, it is sometimes laughable when I think about how much I pay for things considering their relative cost in Europe.
I've been fortunate to visit the USA on many occasions, and I always enjoy comparing how much clothes, shoes and technology are in comparisson to back home - but when I began living in Korea it really started to put things into perspective.
I try to resist the temptation, but it's hard not to convert the prices of everything back into pounds - but I guess that's part of my financially concious personality. I've always figured it must be difficult for people who live in Europe where the single currency took over from their own, and I think that even after more than ten years of using it I would still not be able to avoid the urge to relate this to Pesetas, Francs of Deutsch-marks.
Speaking of prices - haggling is something I have discussed at length in a couple of my posts, even though I am pretty rubbish at it! In the parts of the world I have been visiting it is a necessity if you want reasonable prices, or just want to avoid being ripped off. It's something I have been dealing with since getting to the Philippines in February, and I feel like it has been more prevelant since the start of my visit to Thailand and so far in Cambodia.
It is something which I feel becomes a little tiresome after a while, and I'm often reluctant to go into places that don't seem to have prices everywhere, but it's something I'm going to have to deal with potentially until I reach Korea in the middle of April so I will have plenty of chances to practice using my bargaining power between now and then.
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I'm not exactly sure how long the process will take, but I believe it could be anything up to 48 hours so spending the weekend there should ensure that I have enough time to get this sorted.
I was up for breakfast around 8am this morning as I felt it would be a wise idea to grab some food before setting off. I needed to spend some time re-packing my bag too as I had left some clothes at reception on Thursday to be washed. Due to the two powercuts in consecutive days, one of the receptionists said it wasn't possible because of the lack of electricity, and returned the bags to me last night. Nothing could be done I guess, but it does leave me with only one clean t-shirt, one pair of shorts and some underwear.
Having been picked up by a member of the hotel staff on Wednesday as part of my hotel booking, I had to check online to see how much a tuk-tuk to the airport should be, before venturing out onto the street to see if I could find a good deal. I actually think there might be more tuk-tuk drivers here than in Thailand, and their usual tactic is to sit outside hotels and wait for guests to leave before pestering them.
There are usually three who sit outside the hotel I have been staying in who I had to turn down every morning when going out for the day or coming back from dinner (they'd usually try to ask what I was doing the next day with the hope of me saying that I needed a ride somewhere).
Thankfully the first guy I asked said it would be $5 for a ride which is what I had read that the price should be, so I went back to my room, grabbed my bags and loaded them onto the little cart as we set off towards the airport.
As I was departing domestically, I got a lift to terminal two of the airport which might well be the smallest I have been in. When I got there, there was a screen with eight flights on - four of which had been cancelled, and one which was about to leave.
There was a grand total of about six check-in desks but nobody behind them, and it was about twenty-five minutes before anyone sprung into action to start checking people in.
Having dropped off my luggage I went through to the gate where there were two doors, I presume one for each flight that was actually leaving today! They probably could have just had one as I'm sure they're staggered long enough to not have too much commotion when people are boarding.
My flight started boarding pretty soon after I'd sat down, and I stepped on to one of the better planes I have flow in since being here.
I flew with Cambodia Air which I can't imagine does a massive amount of business outside this region. The journey from Siam Reap to Phnom Penh was only going to be about thirty minutes but naturally I slept through it all, and woke up to the sound of the flaps on the wings desperately trying to slow us down.
I collected my bag and went to the information desk to look for a map as I always find them pretty useful when orientating myself, getting my bearings and just generally gauging how far away my hotel is.
There didn't appear to be any ones of use to me, but figuring I was new to town a man popped his head out of a window next door asking if I needed a tuk-tuk. At the same time a man from the taxi company ushered me in his direction - it made me laugh as it was like two pieces of a cuckoo clock coming out on the hour. After discovering that it was cheaper to get a tuk-tuk (or motodop as they are also sometimes called) I agreed to pay the $9 fee, and was taken to the nearest driver who asked to see the address.
It wouldn't be Asia without some spiel so first the driver asked me why I was staying in such a big hotel - I think most of the drivers are paid commission if they take tourists to certain hotels so he wanted to see if my reservation was confirmed or if he could get himself a nice little kickback.
On my way to the hotel in Siem Reap, although I appreciated being given a lift, the driver was making conversation with me, but basically trying to give me his sales pitch the following day to go to Angkor Wat.
The driver I'd been landed with in Phnom Penh was equally inquisitive, and showed me a list of prices for different places he could take me, and then said: "What time shall I pick you up tomorrow?".
A touch presumptuous perhaps - and ballsy considering he'd spent most of the journey asking me if I wanted to go and shoot things at the gun range with him. Clearly he didn't know how to tailor his offers to the audience of one who has no interest whatsoever.
Eventually we arrived at my hotel - one comical thing I'd read is that in order to secure your business drivers will immediately say they know your hotel, and then ask to see the address. Mine did exactly that, but actually had to walkie-talkie to someone back at the airport who could explain to him which street I was staying down.
As I handed over a $20 note he only gave me back a $5, and said that many people give him tips.... My tip was to give me back the other $6 or risk getting paid nothing. You have to admire his confidence if nothing else - perhaps he wasn't expecting someone quite so well versed in how things work in this part of Asia.
Sometimes it does frustrate me a little that as a tourist in parts of the world you can't just be left alone. I understand that this is a totally different and competitive culture but it does get somewhat tedious to say "No thank you" every two minutes when you're offered a lift, a massage or countless other things.
Perhaps, unlike the west where if we need transport we'll go and find it, they feel like we need a helping hand. I think that also they are an extremely efficient method of getting around which most people take the option to use.
It does make things difficult for me particularly though as I like to see the good in everyone, but I know that when people over here try to speak to you it is usually to sell you something so I end up just being an ignorant foreigner who just ignores anyone who tries to talk to him. It's not exactly a good impression to give out, but I think if the locals were a little less aggressive with their sales pitch then people would be less intimidated, less weary and 100% less suspicious about every conversation they have with people.
Unfortunately it's the sad reality of South-East Asia that most business, museums and attractions see you as a walking ATM, and charge you a premium for everything. I had a discussion with my mum earlier about why Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos require you to pay for a visa to visit, and the simple answer is to squeeze more money out of you.
I read earlier that there is apparently quite a lot of embarrassment in some countries about the extortionate fees charged to visitors for visas and entry passes, and I don't doubt for one second that this had an impact on their economy, and the number of people who visit.
I think about when I was in Korea, and the few locals I met were genuinely eager for you to learn about their country. I found that people took much more time to just be kind and helpful without expecting anything in return. Here I think it's a bit different as everyone expects payment for their services which makes it really difficult when you try to strike a balance between being friendly and on your guard all of the time. I think after the experiences I've been through so far, mine is very much on the up.
Having made it to my hotel, and checked in, my initial impressions on the room and the facilities in general at the hotel were positive:
I wanted to make a start on sorting out my visa as it has to be ready by Wednesday, and on Google Maps I had seen that the embassy was about 2.6 km to walk from where I am staying. Just to be safe with my directions, I asked at the hotel, and they said the embassy closed early on a Saturday, but I figured knowing where it was wouldn't be a bad thing, and also I could try to find somewhere to get photos on the way.
As with many of the cities I've visited on this journey so far, I was a bit in awe of the seemingly intimidating streets of Phnom Penh. I'd read an article which describes the Cambodia capital as 'edgy', and I certainly felt that way walking between the path and the road as I moseyed down towards the embassy.
Traffic was everywhere, most of it on two wheels which dodged and weaved in and out of way, speed through changing lights, and generally thought little about other road users.
I had a few interesting moments where I had to cross the road although I followed the advise I'd read of walking slowly, and confidently to allow any on coming traffic to figure it's way around you. As I walked down the main road it reminded me a little of Jakarta with a hint of Bangkok too, but it definitely had its own atmosphere which was different to those two cities.
I kept following the road along, and eventually came to the Vietnamese Embassy on my left hand side. All the way along I'd been looking out for somewhere to get pictures taken, but I found nowhere obvious along the whole street to get them sorted.
On my way back I stopped and asked at a place which looked as though it arranged travel bookings, and the lady I spoke to said that there was a place back down the road about 50m - what she didn't mention was what it was called, or that it was closed today!
I continued back up the road, and knowing that the embassy was closed I'd made plans to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring my surroundings.
I got to the main road I had turned onto from the hotel, and then going in the opposite direction to walk further along that street I headed in the direction of Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium....
"Hold on...", I hear say, but I know what you're thinking. Cambodia hasn't ever held the Olympics, and aren't planning to stage a bid in the future as far as I know, but I will explain.
This empty complex was built as part of a plan to host the Asian Games Peninsular Games of 1963 which which never took places because all of the other countries pulled out due to political problems in Cambodia.
I eventually came upon the stadium which was buried at the bottom of a hill.
A largely concrete structure it is believed to be able to hold around 50,000 people, but is currently used as a hub for people to exercise as there were a few people down on the track jogging around. Next to the stadium there is a swimming pool which is also available for use by the public.
Walking around the entirety of the stadium it is crazy to think that they probably pumped quite a lot of money into the stadium which currently sits unused.
Sounds a bit like the Olympic facilities in Greece!
I was heading back on myself again to the opposite end of the road I was on to see the National Monument. Walking along it dawned on me that basically the whole of the long stretch of road I'd walked towards the stadium on was filled with motorbike shops - no wonder there are so many of them around the places. It was hard to continuously walk safely as they spilled out onto the pavement, and in some case onto the road.
The national monument wasn't quite as far in the opposite direction as I'd just walked to reach the stadium, but again it required me to run the gauntlet of crossing several huge and intimidating roads.
Like the monument in Bangkok, the one here in Phnom Penh is in the middle of a roundabout. It is in the shape of one of Angkor Wat's three main stuppas, and is a pretty impressive sight:
It didn't look like there was anything more to it than a place to view so I headed back to my hotel.
Looking to cool off for a bit I spent thirty minutes or so splashing around in my hotel's pool before my skin began to shrivel up like a prune. I figured that it was probably time to get out, and then go and get some dinner.
I'd gone past what looked to be a good selection of restaurants on my way to the hotel this afternoon, and somehow managed to navigate my back back to them successfully.
Tonight I ate a local dish called Tom Yam which is a spicy soup with chicken and vegetables which us also served with rice. It was nice apart from the inclusion of whole tomatoes and mushrooms which I found put me off slightly.
I have to say that just sitting there and watching the world (and its people) go by, Cambodia has as many, shall we call them dangers, as anywhere like Thailand. I felt slightly worried walking alone back to my hotel having been pestered by every tuk-tuk driver or motorbike driver on the street as I was attempting to navigate the correct way in the dark for the first time. I was pretty grateful when I made it back.
There was a huge rainstorm tonight at about 7.30pm and then again at 8:15pm with the second one lasting a significant amount of time. There were also a couple of power cuts which only lasted briefly, but are still probably a sign of frustrations that may come later in my stay!
Crawling in the Dark
Hoobastank (2001)
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