I forgot to mention…. as we walked back to our tuk-tuk driver, shell shocked from visiting The Killing Fields, we got a scolding. We had agreed to meet at 12:30, but time got away from us, and by the time we got back to him it was 1:45. He was piiiiisssssed. I did understand his annoyance to an extent, but we had hired him for half a day – so why did he care where we chose to spend it? We agreed to pay extra if we ran over our time, and that seemed to appease him. Ten minutes later he was all smiles and jokey again. Sarah and I were still feeling awkward. What the…? I thought Cambodians didn’t like showing anger?

After S-21 we felt the need to lighten it up a bit, and went took a tuk-tuk to the riverfront for dinner. We walked up and down the street checking out all the restaurants, and had many meaningful interactions with locals. From one guy “Hey, want sommmmme-thing……”? If we had any doubts about what he meant, another friendly man made it very clear, and just said “Weed?” Finally we settled on a place on the roof of a building. The food was very good, view was great, and price was right.

After dinner we wandered around some more, and came across this snack stand on the side of the road. Look closely – there’s fried tarantula top right, snake on a stick second from bottom left, large meal-worm looking things center row second from the left.

We stopped by the Foreign Correspondents Club to have a drink on the roof. To be honest – I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It’s nice, but not that special.

The next morning I woke up bright and early. Election day!! I deposited myself in front of the big screen TV on the roof at 8 am, and didn’t move until after Obama’s acceptance speech. By that time it was early afternoon in Phnom Penh, and I hadn’t left my hostel. Sorry Sarah!!

We did a some online research, and jumped in a tuk-tuk bound for the old market. We had read about a couple of other markets good for shopping, but we were more interested in people watching. The old market sounded less touristy, and it definitely was. It is basically a large dimly lit maze of stalls covered by tarps and metal sheeting. There were fruit stands at the entrance, and inside almost everything you can imagine, but nothing you would want to buy. There was gold jewelry, synthetic weaves displayed in front of hair salons, fancy fabrics, hardware stores, extremely padded underwear and bras, candy colored plastic shoes, restaurants, clothes, and school supplies.

There is a large open air section outside for food. I was dying to try something but didn’t know where to start!! There were all kinds of fresh veggies, and every kind of meat and seafood (with quite a bit the borders of either classification). I was mesmerized by bucket of live snakes sitting alongside some ducks and jerky.

From there we went to explore the shops on 178th street, and stopped at the cafe above the Daughter’s of Cambodia store for a snack. In Phnom Penh and Siem Reap there are several options to spend your money with a conscience (and at a premium). There are massage parlors staffed by the blind, beauty salons that are vocational training places for at risk women, shops selling products made by land-mine victims etc. Daughter’s of Cambodia’s mission is to offer an alternative to women and men working in the sex industry – offering training, employment, and medical and psychological care. They employ people making products and staffing their shop, cafe, and spa. The food and products tend to be nicer in these types of places, and with all the exploitation that goes on around here, I am happy to spend a little more at these places.

We had some time to kill before a show that evening, so we went for a walk by the Royal Palace around the corner. The palace had been closed to tourists since King Sihanouk’s death in October, but people have been gathering outside daily to pay their respects. The perimeter of the building was draped in lights, and there was a giant portrait of the King over the entrance. Monks mixed with people lighting candles and praying, and street vendors hovered nearby selling flowers, incense, and souvenirs.

We spent a half hour or so wandering, and then went back to see our show. It was presented through Cambodian Living Arts – an organization that is working to revive traditional Cambodian art forms. Most of the masters of these arts were killed by the Khmer Rouge, and their knowledge was lost with them (along with a chunk of Cambodian culture). The CLA was originally started to engage some of the surviving masters to train a new generation of performers, and enable both to earn a living. Now 14 years in, their mission has shifted to spreading awareness of these arts to the local and international community, and “facilitate a cultural renaissance” in Cambodia.

The show we were seeing was called The Passage of Life. It presented scenes of major life events within a family (birth, marriage, illness, death), and the traditional rituals and music that are performed at those events. It was a great introduction to Cambodian culture and Buddhism – the focus on family, custom, respect, and superstition. In addition to music and songs, the scenes involved prayer to dead ancestors, offerings of food, and a traditional “magic” doctor who spit. I couldn’t help but wonder how much of that reflected tradition vs. how much the average Cambodian still practices today?

After 3 days in Phnom Penh I felt ready to leave. There was more to do: the Silver Pagoda, a river cruise, National Museum of Cambodia, more markets etc – but I was saving my sight seeing energy for Angkor Wat.