Phnom Penh, Cambodia: A raucous city with wild tuk tuk rides

December 22, 2010

At first glance, Phnom Penh seemed like a smaller, less developed version of Kuala Lumpur, the high-rise capital of Southeast Asia. From our air-conditioned van, we first saw Phnom Penh, noticing that it had no skyscrapers and buildings only as high as 3 stories. But, you don’t really know Phnom Penh until you take your first tuk tuk ride. And, the kids and Ken had their first tuk tuk ride today.

A tuk tuk is a little open-air buggy attached to the back of a motorbike. You might think it is a slow, put-put of a tuk tuk ride. You’re wrong. We learned that you only become a part of the pulse of Phnom Penh once you careen, dodge, and force your way into on-coming tuk tuk traffic. You’re screaming as if you’re riding a roller coaster at Great Adventure. And, miraculously, no one seems to get hurt in these raucous, wild streets.

And, these Phnom Penh streets sure are colorful and filled with smells of food like Chinese Noodle Soup! They are filled with soup hawkers on the side of the road, women selling gas to the tuk tuks from little tanks straight off the sidewalk, and people busily rushing to and from all the informal and formal jobs that crop up all over the city. If there’s a need, they’ll sell it! You need water, they’ll sell you ice cold water. You need a blessing, the monks will sing you a blessing. The bustle of commerce, living, and spiritual activity in Phnom Penh is awesome.

I was leery about taking an early morning run in town, concerned about getting mugged in the quiet streets. I left the hotel at 6:30am, having waited til the sun creeped up. The moment I stepped out of the hotel, there were tuk tuk drivers offering me rides and smiles, saying “Run run run!” And, the streets were already flowing with competing cars, motorbikes, and tuk tuks filled with food, parcels, and humans.

I ran next to the river, hugging the Royal Palace where it’s side streets are closed to traffic. The side streets were filled with Buddhist Monks in training walking to their Buddhist “wat” alongside local and Asian tourists walking to and from the river. I soon heard loud music from the riverside, reminding me of rocking pre-running race music. I thought, they didn’t have a race here this morning, did they? Not here! When I hit the river, I saw that there was not one set of speakers blaring exercise music, but there were many speakers. Some with ethnic Chinese music, some with local Cambodian music, some with U.S. techno dance tunes, and my favorite, one speaker blaring Latin dance rhythms. Each speaker was faced with 10 to 40 ethnic musically-matched groups. So the Chinese speakers faced 40 exercising Chinese tourists, the techno speakers had a few local Cambodian boys practicing their moonwalks, and the Latin speakers had what I can only imagine were local Cambodian women practicing their Latin hip thrusting moves. I laughed out loud, completely thrilled and surprised by this early morning spectacle.

Then I ran by a group of men playing a hard-hitting game that looks like volleyball except no hands are used. They deftly used their feet and heads to hit the rattan ball back and forth over the net. Damn, they were good at headers over the net. Yes, there were homeless families, which is more common that you’d like across Cambodia. And, yes, there were begging children and adult amputees. You’d imagine that seeing these people would be really depressing, and it is sad, but you see them in the context of this lively, bustling jigsaw puzzle that is life in Phnom Penh.

Click the words: video to see our tuk tuk ride!

Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Royal Palace

December 22, 2010

We went to the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, where the King actually lives. You can see where he holds court and his relatively small actual home, compared to the grandeur of the rest of the palace buildings. The king is said to be about 50ish years old, refuses to get married, shaved his head like a monk, and has great compassion for the people. His people are just a bit worried that he won’t have an heir.

It’s said that when the French become colonists of Cambodia that they tried to prop up the Cambodian monarchy. I’m not sure why but they sure did help gild and glorify the Royal Palace, all dolled up like Fountainbleau, as a result. And, it’s a place where you’re reminded of Cambodia’s glory days, when Cambodia actually included most of the land of its neighboring countries, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

The queen used to have to wear a different colored dress every day, depending on the day of the week (see above). Traditional cloth weaving and music playing were demonstrated and Griffin joined in with the traditional music band, showing a predilection for both subtly frustrating his band members with his off-key playing and for losing himself in his instrument, in a state of “flow.” Click to see video here.

Note the sign for the song that says “The Khmer race was glorious, try your best again.” The king clearly wants Cambodia to rise again, from the near-dust it’s in now. Ken has used the word "striving" for the Cambodian people and I think that description would satisfy the king.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia: National Museum

December 20, 2010

We hit the National Museum in Phnom Penh, filled with statues depicting Hindu and Buddhist gods. Turns out the entire art history of Cambodia is organized as pre-Angkor Wat, Angkor Wat, or Post-Angkor Wat years. Angkor Wat, that I blogged about previously, is Cambodia's biggest, most phenomenal set of temples in the jungle, and is like the arrival of Jesus Christ for them, with all time demarcated as before, during, and after Christ.

I included some of my favorite Cambodian symbolic statues above, including the "linga." Linga is a phallic symbol that is ALL OVER Cambodian temples. It's all about big penises and fertility for those Hindu and Buddhist lovers here.

After our 3am wakeup for our early flight to Phnom Penh, we fell exhausted into the museum courtyard lounge chairs.

Welcome to Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Sex Travelers Not Allowed

December 20, 2010

We arrived at our hotel in the capital of Cambodia to the welcome of sex travelers not welcome on the door of our hotel, the Blue Lime. Griffin's reaction to the sign was loudly reading it then yelling: "EWWWWW!"

Looks like it's time for that "talk."

We didn't understand why there was so much silent fuss made when we arrived at the small, boutique hotel in the heart of town. It took a while and many phone calls for the staff to let us know that our travel agent had booked us at a hotel that didn't allow anyone under the age of 16. The hotel felt bad, though, since it'd be tough to get a decent hotel so late in the day, so Ken brokered our stay, promising quiet children.

The next morning, Boom put on his superman costume, whipped around his cape, and flew down the stairs, loudly announcing his presence, expecting the typical Asian gushing response to his cuteness. All he got was a loud SHHHHH! from the front desk staff who then returned to our breakfast table to ask for more quiet from Boom. We looked around at the other breakfasting adult-only crowd to see that they were more silent than Buddhist monks sworn to silence at a monastery.

We made a break for the door, hopped in the first tuk-tuk we saw, and shrieked our way with joy to the Royal Palace playground.

Christmas in Malaysia

Christmas in this Muslim country is just plain over the top. Much bigger than in the U.S., ironically. The malls here are the center of life in Kuala Lumpur, and they have Christmas decorations as early as November 1. There’s no waiting for the first day after Thanksgiving, like back in the U.S. And, when they decorate the malls, the decorations reach 6 floors high, with fake snow falling and Santas abound.

I’m not sure why there’s such a love of Christmas here. Partly, I think it’s because Malaysia is getting hip to the Christmas boost in sales, since they’re fresh to consumerism here. Their relationship with Santa isn’t quite the same, though. A friend just found a picture of a black Santa here.

The kids' classes had big Christmas celebrations thrown with gusto by all the parents, regardless of what nation or religion they came from, although there were some Muslim-Christian rumblings in another class where a Muslim room mother hadn't collected money from parents for a Christmas gift for the teachers, leaving the Western parents flummoxed over how to proceed with a gift without raising tensions.

We had our own early Christmas celebration, before leaving for Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. I took Boom to get a tree, and he sobbed when he couldn’t get the huge tree he was used to since it was too expensive, but he perked up when he saw a white, sparkly faux fir and spiced it up with a snowy penguin to snuggle under it. We decorated it in the 90 degree heat. On our early Christmas morning, meaning on December 19, the kids ripped through their gifts, saying it was almost as good a Christmas as at Nanny and Papa's house (their Christmas and holiday love was sorely missed by me too!). We ended it with a fire boat lego building session which landed it in the bath along with a Christmas brunch.

Alice's ClassTrip to the Vege Fish Farm, Thai Restaurant

December 10, 2010

Alice's blog:

When I got off the bus, I was really scared because geese were protecting their goslings. They chased us until a nice kind woman chased them away with her broom. Then we went up to all the good fruits vegetables and fish they had. We saw the farm where they grew good for the Thai restaurant. They grew red chili, carrots, kang kong (like spinach), peanuts, and long beans. And, even if they didn't grow rice, they had wonderful fried rice at their restaurant. They put eggs in the rice. They looked bad but tasted good.

At the fish farm, I saw kids going out on a short dock with a man catching fish in a net. He was putting them in a big bucket. When we looked inside, we couldn't see well because the fish splattered water in our faces. When I got off the dock, everyone was going back out to the buses. We were about to get on the bus when a teacher said, "Turn around! Class photo!" After she took the picture, they fed us fruit on long sticks, including papaya, but I didn't take the papaya.

On the bus ride home, I sat alone. But, on the way there I sat with Jamie. I learned a new hand motion from Ms. Thompson. It was "Say a sailor went to sea, sea, sea, to see what he could see see see, but all that he could see see see was the bottom of the deep blue sea sea sea!"

Colleen addendum:

Whenever I join Alice for class trips, I'm a celebrity to Alice. She usually clings to me. When in line for the bus trip to the Fish Farm, a boy named Jamie in her class eagerly said, "Alice, can I sit with you?" I patronizingly smiled, thinking, "Oh, you're in for your first of many rejections by girls, young man," then heard Alice say to me, "Mommy, you need to sit by yourself, I'm sitting with Jamie." See first photo above. Bewildered, I sat in front of them thinking, "I guess my work is done. Jamie, I wish you and Alice a long, healthy, happy life together." They sat together playing a series of intense, giddy games with each other. I felt like I chaperoned her first date at age 6.

Griffin's Race

December 10, 2010

Griffin ran an 800 meter race at his school. If you click on the previous sentence, you can see it on you tube! Or click the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkqCT3Bpw28

Griffin's post:

We had a track and field day at School. We were allowed to do 4 activities, 2 jump and throw activities and two run activities. I did shot put and long jump. Then I did 100 and 800 meter races. In the 800 meter, I paced myself and finished second. In the end of the video, you might have thought I finished 3rd but I actually finished second.

Camobodia Half Marathon

December 5, 2010

I made it across the finish line, and I was able to keep up with my running partner! Well, barely, and she'd never admit it but I suspect she took more breaks to accomodate my knee.

But, let me start at the beginning. My running group's picture is the first one above. Let me first explain that I've never been a running group kind of runner. I don't even join a friend to run back in Brooklyn. Running has always been a way to clear my head from the socially overstimulating, at times, world of NYC. Me and my dog, that's how I've always run.

However, in Kuala Lumpur, I would never have been able to train for a half marathon without my running group. They not only showed me safe places to run longer distances, but they also made me truly train for the first time. They taught me how to do tempo training (slow then really fast running, then slower) and hills. They slowly built up my distance running. And, by the end of training only 6 of us remained to train long distance, out of an original 20 or so. They gave me the resources, physical (remember, they got me two of our babysitters!) and mental, to adjust to my life abroad. The first picture above is of me with Alida, a New Orleanian who got my Abraham's sitter, my running gu, and my Angkor Wat tour guide and my tuk tuk driver.

The organizers of my running group are two women who are stay-at-home moms who could be CEO's back in the US. And, they are leaders, unpaid, in two organizations here, and they run them very well. One of them Kari (rest of photos above), has become my running partner in the running group, and while none of the other runners like to chat during long distance runs, we are very chatty runners, in fact, we need it to make it through to the end.

So, when I hurt my IT band on my knee and had to slow down the last few group runs, I was sad that I not only couldn't improve my time that I'd trained hard to do, but I also was sad that I'd have to run without Kari chatting all the 13.1 miles of the half marathon.

Before I describe the race, I need to mention that this half marathon was to raise money for prosthetic limbs for victims of landmines here in Cambodia. The picture above of the racers on sit-down bikes is of landmine victims who did the half marathon via bike. Sure puts my aches in perspective.

Our running group huddled before the race and Kari and I started the race together. I ended up running the entire race with her. She decided to stop often, to take pictures of the Angkor Wat temples and the huge number of adorable Cambodian village children lining the race course with their hands out to high five us. I could stretch my IT band easily during those breaks. Such stretching and slow running worked for the first 6 miles, with pain only coming by the 4th mile.

By the 6th mile, my knee was in pain and I was nearly limping again. I'd forgotten the ibuprophen I'd diligently packed for the race, and I asked some of the running group if they had any ibuprophen. Then an angel seemed to appear out of nowhere in the form of an old man from Canada running the race as a marathon. He said he'd had someone during the Boston marathon give him some desperately needed ibuprophen for his injury, so he brought some extra, just in case someone needed it at this race. He saved me.

I ended up running the last 4 kilometers at a sprint, right next to Kari to the finish. We were exhilirated. I ran my slowest time of the few half marathons I've run, but it didn't matter. I ran it like a real runner, knowing I sprinted with wings from my running community.