Racing down the streets of Phnom Penh in our trusty tuk tuk

Songkran is the biggest holiday of the year in Thailand and most well-known for people throwing water on each other, partly as a way to cool off from the blistering heat in what is the hottest time of the year.  But as we’ve done the last few years, we use the five day weekend to explore other parts of Asia and this year we zeroed in on Cambodia.  Specifically we were headed for the southern town of Sihanoukville to check out the long beaches on their short coastline in Gulf of Thailand.  And during our stay we were to be re-acquainted with the challenges of this troubled land, fell in love with their beautiful beaches and had a few adventures of our own.

Families buy their food and sit on the communal mats for dinner

When comparing Thailand to Cambodia, as we couldn’t help but doing, it reminded me of the popular T shirt in the markets of Bangkok ‘Same same but different’.  Thailand and Cambodia do have some similarities besides being geographical neighbours.  In particular, they are both Buddhist countries and both share the same calendar such that we left Songkran but flew directly into the Khmer New Year long weekend.  Their weather is similar and many features of their culture and society are the same.  Both countries have friendly people who are quick with a smile and a helping hand.  And people on both sides of the border are keen to make money off the tourists if they can find a way.  So all good.

A family of five cram onto a motorbike in Phnom Penh

But it is the differences between Thailand and Cambodia that become very obvious after a short time.  Thailand is clearly the more prosperous of the two – according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2012 Thailand ranked 87^th in the world with a per capita GDP of $10,100 while Cambodia was a distant 146 (out of 187) with a per capital GDP of $2,400.  This gap can be seen in the capital of Phnom Penh which is a sleepy low rise town compared to dynamic in-you-face Bangkok but it is most obvious in the countryside as you pass untilled fields, shabby villages and very basic homes where the people in these rural settings eek out a basic life.

The capital's night markets offer plenty of local choices for dinner

The other difference is in its recent history.  Thailand has proudly never been colonised and has been a constitutional monarchy for over 80 years.  Thailand has had its problems remaining a democracy, that’s for sure, but they are growing and maturing along the way.  Cambodia’s history, on the other hand, is a mess.  They’ve been colonised by the Spanish, Portuguese and the French, they were invaded and bombed to eternity in the Vietnam War, then they had the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot in the 1970’s that tried to pound them back to the stone age, they became a monarchy again in the 90’s and are now doing this monarchy/democracy sort of thing.  It’s a miracle they are where they are today which is a country trying to pull themselves together as best they can, partly with the help of billions of dollars of aid and about 3,000 NGOs.  And for all of these reasons it’s a great place to spend our tourist dollars.

Julie and her $1.00 chauffeur

And dollars it is.  The ATMs in downtown Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, spit out US dollars, even though the national currency is the Riel.  Everything is quoted in dollars and the only time you see the colourful Riel notes (there are 4,000 Riels to the dollar) is when your bill comes in something less than even dollars.  It’s absolutely normal to pay in one currency and get your change back in another – or to keep you on your calculator toes, combine both currencies in your change.  Their smallest note (that we saw) is the 100 Riel which comes to about 2.5 cents. 

The fishing village directly across the Mekong River from Phnom Penh

We flew into Phnom Penh for a day of sightseeing before journeying south to the beaches.  We hadn’t been in Phnom Penh for eight years (time flies!) but the town immediately felt friendly and comfortable again.  The city has just over 2 million people and is perfectly set where the Tonle Sap River from northern Cambodia flows into the Mekong.  Phnom Penh doesn’t have much buzz to it (or maybe we’re a bit jaded from Bangkok) but it is an easy place to visit and travel around in.  A tuk tuk will take you anywhere for only a dollar or two which is the same cost for a large beer and a small meal.  The many bars and restaurants that line the main road along the river bank provide a great place to relax from the killer heat and watch the world go by. 

The beautiful - if somewhat modest - Royal Palace

But we weren’t there to relax, at least not all the time.  We immediately headed off for the Royal Palace where the King still lives.  The buildings, temples and gardens were well kept but none of the structures had the sparkle of those in Bangkok, most of them were painted with modest colours rather than shining from gold.  The Silver Pagoda, which is Cambodia’s main religious and historical temple, had many beautiful Buddha statues inside, including the stunning Emerald Buddha, but the famous silver-tiled floor was mainly covered with old rugs and the tiles we were allowed to see were tarnished and taped into place.  Some of the stupas in the gardens were painted entirely grey.

But the highlight to any visit of Phnom Penh has to be their National Museum.  The museum houses one of the world’s largest collections of Khmer art, including sculptures, ceramics, bronzes, and all sorts of other stuff.  Many of the items date back to the 9^th century or earlier, most are in fantastic condition and showcase the time in history when the Khmer empire stretched across most of South East Asia.  Worth the trip in itself.

A fisherman throwing his net at dusk

We enjoyed a river cruise on the Mekong at sunset, the night market and numerous riverside bars and restaurants which topped off a fabulous day in Phnom Penh.  But the next morning we were met by our driver for the five hour drive down to Sihanoukville.  And why not fly instead?  Well, even though Sihanoukville is Cambodia’s only deep water port, only coast line, only beaches, only resemblance of a tourist attraction in southern Cambodia there are no commercial flights from the capital.  So we drove.

Transporting wood on the family vehicle

If you could ignore the suicidal drivers, overloaded trucks and sputtering motorbikes then the drive was fantastic.  We saw many large mini-vans which Cambodians were squeezed into like sardines with all their personal belongings to visit their villages during the new year celebration.  Motorbikes would have a family of four or even five hanging on for dear life as Dad (the only one with a helmet) put-putted down the shoulder-less two lane highway. 

Public transport Cambodian style

We travelled in relative luxury, stopping to explore and take photos in a large market, soaking in the scenery as we headed south.  We were surprised how much of the countryside was not farmed or planted in any way, a scene you would never see in Thailand.  The villages were certainly modest and the homes were mostly built on stilts to avoid the floods and take advantage of any breeze.

The busy market in a town on the road to Sihanoukville

Many of the women in the markets and villages, and a few of the men, wore colourfully matching tops and bottoms, much like pajamas.  These loose fitting clothes had a lot of practical uses such as covering all your skin while remaining light and airy.  To us it just looked like women in pajamas but there you go.

Wearing her finest with plenty to sell

As we moved further south there was more farming and it appeared they recently had some rain as many fields were flooded.  It’s a great sight to see buffalos grazing in a flooded rice field at dusk.  But we eventually arrived in Sihanoukville, such as it is, and our hotel near the beach.  Phase two of our Cambodia holiday was about to begin.