Welcome to Cambodia

Our flight into Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, arrived after dark and no one had gotten any proper sleep in a full 24 hours, so we didn’t see much on the way to our home for the next two nights, Hotel Kabiki.  It’s amazing what a few hours in a nice bed can do for your spirit.  We woke up with renewed energy and enthusiasm.  Although, that spirit was pretty quickly dashed walking out into 90 degree heat with potentially equal humidity. 

 Neil at breakfast, in happier temperatures

Neil, Barb, Holly and I had expectations to visit the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, which are within walking distance of the hotel.  Unfortunately, the first taxi driver we saw told us that both those sights are closed from 10:30am to 2:00pm in the heat of the day.  Since it was nearly 10 already, we had no chance of seeing either.  In true Bauer vacation fashion, we walked past the outside of each building and took a few pictures (very un-Bauer-like though, we’ve decided to go back later and actually go inside).  Instead we sweated our way along the riverside for several hundred feet before deciding that a beer and a new plan were in order. 

                                         A few of the sights on our short walking tour

We had passed a liquor store on our way to disappointment, so we made our way back there.  In the store we made friends with a man who lives in the city but is originally from Little Rock, where Barb and Holly live.  He made a great suggestion for lunch at a French restaurant called Open Wine.  Our group, revived by store air conditioning, headed back to the hotel since we decided 10:30 was a bit too early for lunch. 

 Making big plans

An hour in and around the hotel pool really cemented our plans that lunch was going to be our greatest accomplishment for the day, so it’s a good thing it was delicious!  Our tour of Cambodia starts the next day, where we’ll spend seven hours in a minibus.  We figure relaxing and regaining our strength was the better mission than taking in actual sights.  At the end of the tour, we have a couple of free days in Phnom Penh, so we’ll accomplish things then.  We’ll visit the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda, the Russian Market and all of the other things the capital has to offer.  For now, sleep is in order.  

Well-deserved French lunch