WEEKEND IN PHNOM PENH

After unpacking at Room 709 of the Frangipani Royal Palace Hotel, I meandered through the numbered streets of Phnom Penh into the riverside path along Tonle Sap where a welcome commitee of bikes lined up to remind me of what I'm and will be missing for 9 days.

Still no update on Oskar's Dahon bike purchase so I walked away, unsure of how to kill the rest of a Saturday afternoon and what to eat at the Phnom Penh Night Market where I searched for bai sach chrouk in the plastic coated menus before settling for fried seafood noodles that should have been called fried shrimp noodles, and finding my place to squat at the plastic mats of what can be the food court.

 

There was another dinner to top that but fast forward to Sunday where despite doing some work have a whole afternoon to spend, part of it with another long afternoon walk to a lunch of 126 Restaurant's house noodles, offal and pork mainly, before renewing my acquaintance with the artifacts on display at the National Museum of Cambodia, Buddhist mainly, for a fee of $10. 

There, I shelled $3.50 for a bottle of Heineken while spying on two monks sipping their water. 

But that was not enough to invite the night so for $5 more and a free canned beer, I boarded a river cruise that was so uneventful I resorted to watching a group of young people munch on green mangoes, someone's petite young wife doing multiple selfie poses, a bored grandfather hoping for the cruise to be done, and the silhouette of people watching us from both sides of the river. 

Then another long walk in search of Ta Phai Barbecue T3 that I found in a narrow alley filled with happy locals.      

In Phnom Penh, beer is the liquid rice accompaniment for my weekend specials of grilled beef --- Angkor, Cambodia, Anchor and three Kruds over two dinners in that order.

A jug of Cambodian draft bottle and a bottle of Arte in Bottiglia also went well with Monday's Italian pizza while Tuesday was my introduction to Dragon Premium Dark Beer and Vattanac Premium Pilsner from a 7-11 store, night caps for two drafts at the Skybar and accompaniments for a dinner of bacon-wrapped pork sausage and ice cream, also from 7-11, before enduring a red eye flight to Manila.