Cambodia 2000, Part 1

THURSDAY MAY 18

Took the 8:30am bus to the Vietnam-Cambodia border. Do you remember the number one rule of border
crossings? Let me remind you: if you are not of the two countries concerned and not white, always
expect problems. Getting out of Vietnam wasn't a problem but getting in to Cambodia proved to be a
mare. 

They found it really strange that a brown guy had a British passport! My passport was checked for
any forgeries but obviously none were found. But then they checked me inside out while the Western
backpackers passed by without encountering any problems at all. I've written about this sort of
thing before and I'm sure you're probably a little bored of reading about it so I'll say no more
except to say that they found nothing, of course, and I got through unscathed.

Got on a minibus bound for Phnom Penh. The distance of only 180km took more than 6 and a half
hours. But that's a very good rate for Cambodia. The road was fantastically fun but the best was
yet to come!

Arrived in Phnom Penh just before 7pm. Took a motorbike to a fantastic place on the Boeng Kak
lake. The guesthouse had a free pool table and I spent most of the evening playing with a Dane who
actually knew the name of the ruling party of Bangladesh! Being a politics student helps though!

FRIDAY MAY 19

Started the day by thrashing a New Zealander at pool - 5-0! Another great thing about the No.9
Guesthouse, (which was really next to No.10 Guesthouse!), was that it was only 200 metres away
from the biggest mosque in Cambodia. It was quite a big, the main hall being that of the size of
the Central London Masjid. The golden dome was much like the one of the Dome of the Rock, except
that it was probably a little smaller (I haven't seen the latter except for in pictures) and the
dome was more 'onionesque'. 

A while back, Mustafa told me that Assamese was very similar to Sylheti. An uncle of mine in
Bangladesh told me that the two languages were exactly the same. At the mosque I met a guy from
Assam. He spoke exactly like Sylheties! It was so weird listening to an Indian speaking a Bengali
dialect that wasn't spoken in any other part of Bangladesh!

I did Jum'a at the mosque. Unfortunately, the mosque wasn't even a quarter full. After Jum'a I
went for a tour of the city. Wanted to do it by bike, of course, but hiring meant leaving my
passport (or 50USD) as deposit and I had neither with me. They wouldn't accept my ISIC card. 

But these days I believe everything happens for the best. And I really had a pleasant day walking
around the town. First went to the huge central market. Didn't find the type of trouser I was
looking for though. Gonna have to get it custom made. Then I walked around the Royal Palace and
the riverside (Tonle Sap). It was very pleasant. I was quite impressed with Phonom Penh. I half
expected it to be like Vientiane but it was both lively and pleasant. (Vientiane was only
pleasant.)

Returned to pray Maghrib at the masjid. Went to have a coconut - I have these at every opportunity
- before returning to do Isha. Went back to the guesthouse and watched the second of the Austin
Powers movie. Very unsophisticated humour but you had to laugh! Played pool with a Brit from
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Won!