Airport arrival and pickup were uneventful except for the huge number of people waiting for arriving travellers. As is customary, there is usually a group of family or drivers, with signs. This time; quite a gauntlet to go through. We shortly discovered that a famous politician was arriving on another plane, with many people there to welcome him. No Secret Service, or police, just a lot of well wishers to take his photograph and applaud as he went by.
We are settled into Le President Hotel by midafternoon. Since we are 14 hours ahead of California time, jet lag sets in. We are off through the streets of the city to stay awake and explore. We walk a couple of miles to the domed market famous in many pictures of Phnom Penh. There, you can buy anything imaginable. Inside the dome they specialize in cheap jewelry and clothing, surrounding the dome are the food stands and the little stalls that keep the locals supplied with everything they need to survive. We did ask where the local supermarket was and found it a couple of blocks away. Indeed, it was a 5 story mega-mall!
Not like the Glendale Galleria, but lots of things to look at and buy. Again, for the locals. Our intent was to buy some ice cream (very hot and humid here in Cambodia) and score some bottled water (25 cents for 500ml). Back to the room at 3:30, (1:30AM California time), couldn’t fight it any longer, we slept till 7:30! We were awakened by a phone call. Our leadership had arrived and we were invited to dinner.
Phnom Penh's iconic Central Market or Psar Thmei. This is the center of “old” Phnom Penh.
This is the requisite picture of the meat market. These are all dried meats, other stalls specialize in fresh meat, or live meat!
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