Berk’s Blog

So yesterday I remarked that Siem Reap was a different world from Phnom Penh. Well, that was just our block. Siem Reap, in our district (the French Quarter, though we did not see any women flashing their (.)(.) for beads) and on the way in from the airport *does* look of a modern resort town, as there is much new construction and lush green gardens.

However, upon tripping into the central market area, the scene was more reminiscent of a small-town version of Phnom Penh, albeit without as much dirt and visible poverty. The upstart of tourism in the past 10 years in this town seems to have brought much prosperity to the locals.

We stopped in the Old Market, in general a smaller version of the aforementioned Russian Market in Phnom Penh. However this market lacked the name-brand clothing (Gap, Polo, Hilfiger) that we saw a few days earlier – it was mostly the same dozen flavors of local T-shirts in all sizes and colors, along with jewelry and nicknacks. No motorcycle parts, but plenty of opium pipes. We bought one… **AS A SOUVENIER!!!***

We then retired to Molly Malone’s. As my Irish friend Damien in London says, there’s probably a Paddy bar on the moon, let alone every corner of the earth. They had a Christmas tree set up in front next to our sidewal table, and Christmas music was trickling out of the depths of the establishment. It is truly surreal to hear “Let it Snow” in a country that has little concept of it, and “Come to My House, Jesus” in a mostly Buddhist society. But, cheap Tom Yum soup and $1 drafts of the local lager, so who’s to complain.

In a few minutes, we are heading to the hotel restaurant to enjoy Christmas Eve dinner. Thanksgiving in London, and now Christmas in Cambodia. We’ll really have to out-do ourselves for Easter. Any suggestions??