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A quick tour of Cambodia on a Tuktuk
By Danee Samonte (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 15, 2013 - 12:00am
rolex MANILA, Philippines - It’s true! There are thousands and thousands ofÂLexusÂSUV’s that ply the streets of Phnom Penh. Range Rovers and Cadillac Escalades are plentiful, too. You see them parked parallel to dilapidated Nissans and Corollas in front of apartment buildings, malls, offices and even wet markets. How often do we see these SUVs in the streets of Manila? Rarely and yet economy-wise, the Philippines is way ahead of Cambodia.Â
replica rolex Cambodia or Kampuchea is officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia. The country is a member of the ASEAN and has a population of around 15 million. Religion is dominantly Buddhist and it is the location of the UN world heritage site Angkor Wat. Its capital Phnom Penh is less than three flying hours from Manila. I took the longer route on Cathay Pacific and flew via Hong Kong connecting with its sister airline Dragon Air to Phnom Penh.
That’s me being taken around by a Tuktuk
replica rolex As soon as I stepped out of Cambodian Immigration in Phnom Penh, I headed for the currency exchange stall and changed $300 into the Cambodian Riel, the local currency. At the exchange rate of 4,000 Riel to one US dollar, I was an instant millionaire. Feeling like a million bucks, I hopped on the hotel bus for the 30-minute ride to my hotel of choice Naga World. The 30-minute ride turned into a two-hour agonizing trip on Phnom Penh’s traffic-infested avenues. It was organized chaos.
replica watches Motorcycles and vans are darting from nowhere and yet road rage, which is commonplace in the streets of Manila, is surprisingly absent. People are very gentle and forgiving. Naga World Hotel has a very impressive lobby with a gigantic golden buddha in the middle, peppered with high-end shops that include Rolex, Cartier, Mont Blanc, etc., at the entrance and hundreds of slot machines surrounding the lobby. Yes Virginia, gambling is legal in Cambodia and unlike Manila, anyone could enter without going through the rudimentary frisking by security guards. Gambling must be huge because beside the hotel, they are rushing Naga World Hotel & Casino 2, which is bigger and more modern. Instead of visiting my favorite slot machines Fortune King and Five Dragons (The most popular slot machines in the Philippines and Macau manufactured by Australian gaming machine manufacturer Aristocrat), I opted for a 90-minute in-room massage to soothe my nerves and relax after a delayed flight. I relaxed too much and fell into deep slumber that I didn’t notice the masseuse leave my room.
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rolex datejust replica Early morning the next day, I took a stroll along the Mekong riverbank, which was close to the hotel and munched on local durian. Cambodian Durian, I swear, tasted better than our local-grown or Malaysia’s D24 or Thailand’s Cha Nee variety. I found it strange that the vendor preferred to be paid US dollars instead of the local currency. Same story when I went to a drugstore to buy a razor — they preferred payment in US dollars. At Sorya, the prominent eight-story shopping mall, all the merchandise on sale was tagged in US currency. Has Cambodia turned into the US 51st state? One floor had stores overflowing with pirated CDs and DVDs sold side by side with the originals. There were no pesky vendors whispering “DVD, DVD, DVD†because you could openly buy the latest pirated CDs and DVDs. On another floor were cheaply pirated Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes Birkins and Gucci’s being sold openly. They were dirt-cheap but the quality can’t compare to the ones sold secretly in Greenhills that are deadringers for the originals.
rolex datejust replica At the top floor of the mall was the food court. What immediately caught my eye was a restaurant with a sign “Nayong Filipino.†I got excited because since I arrived, I couldn’t eat much as their food was all spice-infused. I thought this was my chance to gobble on Adobo, Crispy Pata or Kare-Kare but got utterly disappointed to find out that it was not serving Pinoy but spicy Cambodian food. My last resort was just to eat dessert but even their desserts like kamote, ube and banana were laden with chilis, turmeric and ginger. Thank god, there was KFC.
I flagged a local tuktuk to take me around. I first rode a tuktuk in Thailand but the Cambodian version was more spacious and comfy. It was a cross between our local tricycles and kalesas. Together with motorcycles, tuktuks rule the streets of Cambodia.
My co-DJ Gerry Cornejo, who is a Cambodian habitué, recommended I visit Russian Market and so I did. The place is a haven for bargain-hunters. There were endless shops as far as the eye can see that sold fruits, fish, clothes, jewelry, fake designer bags, silver jewelry, fake watches, etc. You name it, they sell it. There was even a vendor who sold curried giant tarantulas with their hairy legs sticking out. I got tired just going around and decided to return to the banks of the Mekong River where coffee shops, massage parlors and cheap hotels are located. Hordes of tourists (mostly Caucasian) sipped their brew while watching the world pass by reminiscent of the scene at Paris’ Champs D’ Elysee.
At the end of my stay, I marveled at the patience and gentleness of the Cambodians. It kind of made a person feel safe and secure. I promised to myself to emulate this character and return soon with friends and family. That patience I tried to imbibe was short-lived. On my flight back to Manila, our departure gate in Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, was changed three times and the flight delayed for 2 hours. We landed in Manila at the unholy hour of half pastÂ1 a.m. Feeling really spent, I patiently waited for my luggage to appear at the carousel for half hour but it never arrived. I complained loudly to the Cathay Pacific representative who was also clueless where my luggage was. It turned out that it wasn’t loaded on the flight.
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