Curiosities from the capital of Cambodia (Day 116 of the world trip)

29.12.2019

As you might gather from the title, today we did NOT go to the Killing Fields. We read more information about it yesterday and after a restless night, we decided to do something less sad today.

So in the morning, we headed to the Aeon Mall. Yes, I know. Another mall? But it's a nice place to stay when it's hot outside :p And it's also good for people-watching ;)

The walk there took about half an hour, and once again we saw poor houses right next to fancy villas... What's nice about our area is that there are small artisan workshops everywhere. Carpentry and metalworking are happening with open doors (probably because of the heat), so you can take a peek inside :)

Especially after learning some historical background about the country yesterday, it was quite ironic to see the construction of the decadent headquarters of the Cambodian People's Party... With bricks and arched windows, the building looked like a cathedral from a distance^^

We also passed by various embassies on the way, which might explain why the sidewalk looked pretty neat ;-)

Arriving at the mall, you'd think you're in the USA. There's a large parking lot with SUVs and trucks parked. It's funny that there are several parking attendants even though the lanes and parking spaces were quite large^^

Well, inside the mall, we found a supermarket, a food court, and two bakeries. I really like the Cambodians with their love for different types of toast and pastries <3 :D :D

On the second floor, there was a Karstadt/Kaufland-like department store, where we spent some time in the sports department. Jonas bought a new training device, and I looked for a new bikini. However, the Asian swimwear doesn't really suit our taste :D :D For women, there's only one type of wetsuit (they are a bit "prudish" about that) and for men, especially Speedos, but I couldn't convince Jonas to wear them :p :D

After the "shopping," we strolled around a bit and tried potato sticks that are advertised with a picture of a real potato. But what you get is actually just regular French fries ;-) At least they have different flavors by sprinkling powder on them^^

You can also find an arcade in the mall, and it's really big, flashy, and super loud. As it should be in a mall, you can constantly buy something edible. There was even a Coldstone!!! <333 But the smallest cup cost 10 USD, which was way too expensive for me :p

We decided to check out the food court at the entrance, but even there, as a vegetarian, you're a bit limited. Even in the soups, they always put beef :D So, not surprisingly, we ended up having pizza... It was also very expensive, but at least it was vegetarian and very tasty!! <3

While we were waiting and eating, we could observe the hustle and bustle a bit. Unlike malls in other countries, it was pretty crowded here :O Well, it's Sunday, but still. There were hardly any white people. Instead, it seems like the Cambodian middle class is shopping here, which seems to be growing in recent years :)

The Choo Choo Train (yes, that's its name!!!) was pretty cool. It's a small train that takes children around the mall :O <333

From the Aeon Mall, it's not far to Diamond Island (called "Kho Pich" in Khmer). I had seen on Google Maps that there's a park there called Love Park, which is supposed to be beautiful, so I wanted to go there^^

I thought we'd show the beautiful side of Phnom Penh today. So we crossed a perfect bridge to the island Kho Pich, where you find very wide and almost completely empty streets :O

First, we passed the Koh Pich City Hall, a building that might remind you a little of Greece. There are pagodas with naked women as pillars and statues with horses and dolphins. Wow.

In general, you mainly see tall buildings on the island, and it looks like a real planned city. However, many things also resemble a ghost town because hardly any people seem to visit this luxury district :D

The Love Park was actually pretty cool. There are some statues and displays that look a bit enchanted and could remind you of a fairy tale. Besides us, there were three other couples somewhere in the shade, having lunch, but otherwise, there was no one there.

The paths through the park are already partially overgrown, and overall it seems that the whole place is poorly maintained. The view of the river isn't very fancy either :D :D It just looks like a shipping canal ;-)

After visiting the park, we explored the island a bit more, and I took out the camera I had previously put away. Wow.

There's a colonial-style building that is several hundred meters long, called Elysee, which strongly resembles French architecture (and that's what it's supposed to do). In the middle, there's even a replica of the Arc de Triomphe!

The multi-story building is supposed to have shops and cafes on the ground floor, and apartments above. However, most of the rooms on the ground floor were still empty, and the countless apartments above also looked uninhabited. Hmm.

As we were walking around, we wondered what kind of place this was :D A major construction project? A failed project?

Opposite Elysee, there are a few gated communities where actual people live, who want to protect themselves with multiple layers of barbed wire on the fences. Protecting themselves from the ghosts of the ghost town? :p

By the way, this residential complex is called Elite Town, and the supermarket is called Prince Market. The streets are named after elite American universities: Yale, Harvard, Princeton.

Occasionally, next to the construction sites, we actually saw people on the street, but they were just hurrying from one of the already open cafes to their air-conditioned cars ;-)

Still a bit confused, we finally made our way back, stopped at the mall for some shopping at the supermarket, and then walked back through the scorching heat to our guest house.

After changing out of our sweaty clothes, we chilled out, and I started researching what this island Koh Pich is all about!!

The story turned out to be not as happy and innocent as expected, but that shouldn't tarnish Cambodia's reputation :p

So. After the liberation of Cambodia by the Vietnamese in 1979, farmers and Vietnamese fishermen settled in this section of the river. So it wasn't actually "land," but rather a river and swamp area where a slum gradually developed over the years.

In 2004, the Cambodian government decided that this land should be developed into a new residential area for the rich, including a university, schools, and its own mall. The current residents (300 families) were "compensated" with rice and fish soup for having to relocate.

But this resettlement took place about 30 km outside the city, which was unlivable for these families. There, they couldn't engage in farming or fishing, and without transportation, they couldn't sell their produce either. Over 90% of them returned to the city after the resettlement, where they live in poverty and work at most as taxi drivers.

However, three families refused to leave their homes in 2004. This led to the military police storming the area with AK-47s, resulting in 5 deaths and several injuries :O

I found that pretty shocking and it gives today's sightseeing a completely different perspective...

Supposedly, 90% of the apartments on the island have already been sold or rented out, but I wonder why everything still looks so empty?? The apartments there are too expensive for the growing middle class. They prefer to live on the outskirts of the city. Only the very rich can afford to live there.

Some Cambodians especially regret that the island has nothing Cambodian about it. The architecture is based on other countries, and the target audience is clearly visible – the signs at the already open stores are in English and Japanese/Chinese. The Khmer script, which is different, can't be found at all.

In hindsight, I'm glad we visited the island at all, as I would never have found out why it looks the way it does ;-)

Well. Tonight, we'll probably only leave the room to have dinner, and then it's time to PACK again :O

Tomorrow morning at 7:00, we'll take the bus to Siem Reap in the west of the country, and we're very curious to see what it will look like there. I'm especially interested in what it will look like while I'm looking out the window :D These overland trips often give a good insight into a country ;-)