Chef-a-Go-go Files
Volume 1 Issue 3- Monday July 28th, 2008
Off the Beaten Track – Indochina
Chill Out in Cambodia
This is a continuation from the Chef Shane – The Culinary Globe Trotters’ feature article in the Chef-a-Go-go e-letter.
Where to go:
I would recommend flying to Phnom Penh, spending a few days, taking a trip to the beach for a couple of days, getting back to Phnom Penh, then heading up to Siem Reap.
If you are just a temple freak with limited time to linger, fly straight to Siem Reap with a return ticket and spend 4 or 5 days.
About the destinations
Phnom Penh is the charming old Capital city with fading French architecture and simple streets. It is located on the junction of 3 rivers and has a feeling of gentle ‘organised anarchy’
Straight away after leaving the airport you begin to relax.
The traffic winds along, weaving in and out of each other’s wakes at a slow 40km per hour and the city unfolds around you – old but charming, poor but interesting with lots to gaze at.
The weather is warm but not overly hot, the breezes gentle and the skies blue.
Even in rainy season the climate is thoughtful enough to only rain an hour or two at a time.
I like Phnom Penh.
You can stay 5 star if you like, but the real pleasure is to experience Cambodia.
It isn’t that scary, and there are lots of sights, sounds and smells, so I would recommend staying on the river at Sisowath Quay.
A hotel costs from $20 to $80 along the riverfront, (average $30 to $45) but bear in mind that for most of this year there is a redevelopment of the riverbank with Japanese gardens being built, so MOST places don’t have a good view right now.
The FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) is where the view starts – they have 4 deluxe rooms, and I would recommend the Royal Hotel on the Quay from $45 a night. It overlooks all the action. Get a riverfront room for that price.
Also check out “The Overlook” hotel.
Getting a riverfront room is awesome. There is ALWAYS something happening along Sisowath Quay, so it is never boring.
Behind the river, a few streets back, approach some bars for a $10 room with the basics, and cold Angkor beer.
Angkor is hardly “slumming it” – a great drop at a good price, but Beer Lao gives it a run for its money.
Of course if you are of the ruling classes, and simply can’t be seen without a label in hand, Heineken is also there in most places.
Surprisingly, most of the local joints have a half decent red and white wine on the beverage list for around $10 a bottle too.
Boeng Kak Lake is a renowned place (a few km from Phnom Penh city centre) for backpackers, hippies and travellers with all of the lonely planet merit badges, dreadlocks, loud leftist opinions and a penchant for ganja, tribal rituals and cheap rooms.
It also has more pickpockets and rip off artists preying on people due to the backpacker dynamic, so don’t be too naive if any transactions transpire.
The area has lots of budget guesthouses on stilts over the lake where you can stay from $4 to $12 a night and buy bootleg cd’s and dvd’s, hang out with young people, swap overland adventures, and stake claim to having been everywhere “before it came popular” – a great place to go for a sunset and have a beer at a guesthouse. If you get too wasted, lash out $6 on a room, or sleep on the pontoon!
Phnom Penh is often regarded as being dirty and dangerous. It is certainly no Singapore, but on my 4 trips there I have always felt pretty safe and the right hotel or guesthouse will point you in the right direction and take care of you a bit.
I have experienced this on each visit.
There are some dirty parts, like any city, but there is a certain relaxed charm to be savoured, and the city is a great place to unwind in during a lengthy tuk tuk ride.
The markets are vast and sprawling and the city is very inexpensive.
“Happy” Pizza restaurants offer Pizzas or Shakes enhanced with Dubious Herbs, illegal in most countries, and the choice of tropical drinks is outstanding.
Winter Melon juice and soursop juice are local canned beverages and they ROCK!
Most places along the riverfront offer the same type of fare.
You can’t (or shouldn’t) start the day without a baguette sandwich – the French heritage left behind some awesome French Bread making skills, and for $2.50 you can’t go wrong.
Definitely try “Amok” – the Cambodian national dish of river fish (or chicken) in a lightly Asian-curried coconut sauce, poured boiling hot over a handful of fresh lemon leaves.
Talking of river fish – the catfish and other river fish in Cambodia has re-established my faith in eating fish!
Although the rivers and lakes look brown and muddy, it is the freshest, moistest, most SUCCULENT fish ever, and it is stuck there in my ‘food memory’.
Every time I had river fish it was cooked to perfection, and less than 24 hours out of the water. A spectacular and long lasting memory from Cambodia.
The salads, after Thailand, are a bit disappointing, although fresh and good tasting. The Thai salads are so full of flavour, while Cambodian foods named similarly to Thai ones just tend to be bland and a bit sweet.
Vietnamese Pho is great in Phnom Penh, and the fruits sold everywhere HAVE to be tried.
The fresh fruit shakes sold everywhere are excellent.
People say that Phnom Penh is ‘not much to see’
- Make sure you have a “massage by the blind” $6
- Make sure you stay at the Royal hotel in a riverfront room and leave the curtains open. Wake up at sunrise with a view of the sun rising over the river as the “morning exercises” kick off a few hundred metres down the quay. Flex out a bit, then get up, walk up to the roof and have breakfast on the covered roof with a view over the whole river $45 hotel including b/fast
- Eat “amok” in Kings Court Happy Pizza on the Quay 44
- Have a “Happy Shake” $1.50
- Take a tuk tuk around Phnom Penh during the day for 2-3 hours $15 for 3 hours
- Take a tuk tuk around at night
- See the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng museum to get an insight into inhumanity and evil by the Khmer Rouge $20 taxi and entry
- Watch a sunset at a guesthouse pontoon over a few beers at Boeng Kak lake after a Pizza at the Pink Elephant at the entry to Boeng Kak $15 including tuk tuk
- Go to a couple of popular bars and clubs in Phnom Penh $40
- Walk around and get some photos and explore the city up close
- Visit the central market (Russian market) – some awesome foods to look at and try
- Get to the park near the palace end of the river at sunset for the market with all of the fried insects and deep fried tarantulas.
Sihanoukville
This is the beach area a couple of hours away from Phnom Penh. Normally you’d take a taxi, and the best way to do this is to give your hotel or guesthouse an itinerary so you can get one price for all your activities and negotiate a good discount.
The area is pretty sparse, with most of the action spread around the hills. Some interesting places include a snake restaurant with live snakes in tables and displays. Also the amazing fresh seafood that is available from vendors on the beaches at bargain basement prices.
The bars are a little more laid back than Phnom Penh, and harder to find. Get a guide or look online and spend a few hours in each.
Motorcycle taxis bump along everything from highways to muddy side streets and are a convenient and inexpensive way to get around.
Eat, drink, relax, swim, photograph and indulge your vices in Sihanoukville. 2-4 days in Sihanoukville and the surrounding beaches is nice.
Siem Reap
This is the “tourist town” for Cambodia, and the jewel in the crown is Angkor Wat – a massive temple. However there are a LOT of temples in the area, and one of my favourites is the “tomb raider” temple with the overgrown ‘melting’ trees slithering over the ancient moss-covered stones that comprise this brooding ruin.
Siem Reap has developed rapidly due to the massive number of visitors, so the city is more modern and better equipped for the international traveller.
DO NOT MISS:
- A sunset cruise up the river along the floating village to the lake $15. Eat some fried catfish pieces and some clear lemon soup with catfish
- A sunrise cruise up the river along the floating village. Go to the Buddhist temple on stilts in the lake. Eat a whole fried catfish with a sweet spicy sauce for breakfast. YUM! You can even catch it yourself!
- The temples. Get a pass for 1, 3 or 7 days. It pays to have a driver for the time you are there. All temples are covered by the pass. Take your time and really explore in and out. Start with Angkor Wat and move your way down
- Eat and drink – there are some great bars hotels and restaurants in Siem Reap
- Getting a good hotel. There are great rates on good quality places in Siem Reap. $40 a night should get you somewhere very nice!
Generally
Cambodia is a friendly, affordable place to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of one of Asia’s less known cities.
It offers an Old world charm and a turbulent history which the locals will be only too happy to spend time talking about.
It is a surprising destination, and one that will linger in your memory.
For chefs, a top place to see some interesting foods, and the catfish is a “must try” – just outstanding.
The fried tarantulas offer a great photo op, and there are many things to try – the local river snails offered by Street vendors scented with lemongrass, chilli and kaffir lime. They come with a skewer to hook them out with, and a side serve of nam jim sauce.
You can get a good cup of coffee, a genuine smile, great bread and beautiful women.
Hotels are affordable and friendly – but don’t expect great efficiency in telephone communications for things like room service J
Cambodians are awesome, and will make you very welcome.
Enjoy the photos online – here
All comments and questions will be responded to.
Feel free to offer your own perspectives and experiences in Cambodia.
Please Note- At the time of publication the above links were operational. I offer my sincere apologies in advance if you have trouble accessing the full story via the links provided.
Safe travelling,
Chef Shane – The Culinary Globe Trotter
