 |
||
Archives: June 2010Eating / Restaurants in Phnom Penh
This is an update to the first post relating to eating out in Phnom Penh which can be found here. Brown Coffee and Bakery – 5/5 Fantastic modern coffee shop with excellent coffee and pastries at reasonable prices. Set in a very elegant and stylish setting, you’ll be able to relax with freshly baked pastries, cakes and great coffee. http://thebrowncoffee.com/ Khmer Kitchen – 3.5/5 Popular Khmer restaurant with very reasonable prices. Wide selection of dishes and set in a nice cool garden setting. There is also an upstairs eating area where you dine by sitting on the floor at low tables. The food we have experience has been a bit hit and miss, but on the whole a great restaurant. Magnolia – 5/5 Vietnamese restaurant with a huge variety (Fish, squid, eel, frog, chicken, beef, and pork) of delicious dishes and drinks. Set in an old school building where you can dine in a spacious outdoor garden setting or on the balcony, it’s tastefully (pun intended) decorated and the food is great value for money. Magnolia has top class service and food at Khmer prices. Our favourite are the Vietnamese pancakes for $3. Le Rit’s – 4.5/5 Run by an NGO called Nyemo, this is a great shop/guesthouse/restaurant all in one. Offers Asian and European dishes set in a beautiful old colonial house with a peaceful garden. A great dining experience and supporting the work of the NGO. http://www.business.nyemo.com/ Wrinkles and Krama
This old Camodian woman is wearing a Krama, which is a traditional Cambodian garment with many uses, including as a scarf, bandanna, to carry children, to cover the face, and for decorative purposes. It is worn by men, women and children, and can be fairly ornate, though most typical kramas contain a gingham pattern of some sort, and traditionally come in either red or blue. – source: wikipedia.
Father and son on their fishing boat
Kep is a sleeping seaside town in South West Cambodia. During 1900 to 1960, the town of Kep was a popular resort destination for the French and Cambodian elite. It is well known for it’s seafood, especially crab and arguably has the best seafood in all of Cambodia. The town has many ruined and abandoned French colonial mansions and villas as many were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge during the 1970′s.
The above picture is of a father and son on their fishing boat, sailing in the Gulf of Thailand just off the shore in Kep. More images can be viewed in the Landscape and Travel portfolio Trip to Kampot
Recently I had the opportunity to travel down to Kampot which is in the south of Cambodia, near the sea. Kampot is set on the Kampong Bay River at the base of the Elephant Mountains. It’s a laid back, small & sleepy town with classic French colonial architecture.
I stayed at two places. The hip and happening Bodhi Villa guest house located right on the river which is a great spot for backpackers. It’s very chilled and has a range of watersport activities and floating bungalows. The other place was in town at the Blissful guesthouse. Good food and friendly staff. The image above is the sunrise from Bodhi Villa. Hello 5.00 am ! A had a visit to Epic Arts which is a great organisation “that organise and run visual art, drama, dance and music projects for people with disabilities in the UK, Cambodia and other international locations. Our projects celebrate the creative potential of those with whom we work, by offering new skills and giving each participant an outlet for their creative expression. Epic Arts works with the philosophy that Every Person Counts (EPiC).” (Source: Epic Arts website) Cycling around the countryside I was able to meet the friendly locals. There are a variety of farms – rice (still the hot season so no rice growing), salt and pepper. The area is really flat aside from the Elephant mountains and at the moment quite dry, although that will change in 1 month or so with the wet season. The salt farms produce salt from the irrigated sea water and the workers carry the salt back and forth from the farm to great tin store buildings. Working under the intense sun and heat for 10 or more hours a day, they earn as much as $2 a day. I took a range of other photo’s on a trip to visit some caves and a pepper farm. All in all, a very enjoyable weekend trip. For a collection of more images, please view the Landscape and Travel portfolio.
Above: Old lady siting outside her house, enjoying the cooler evening and watching what’s going on. Below: Old abandoned building in Kampot.
Ablove: Salt farmer gathering salt in Kampot. Below: Phnom Chhnork – Cave #1 Pre-Angkorian ruin set in a limestone cave amongst stalagmites and stalactites that are slowly growing back into the ruin. Small, 4th-5th century AD brick structure associated with the ancient state of Funan.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
