Turns out Kurtz was in Phnom Penh all that time...
On my last night in Phnom Penh, a few friends and I decided to see another side of Phnom Penh: the rich colonialist perspective. We started the evening with drinks at the Raffles Hotel's Elephant Bar. The Raffles is a phenomenally nice hotel in the northern part of town that's popular with very wealthy people who are making a stopover on their way to Angkor Wat and would like to see Phnom Penh but don't actually want to interact with it at all. It's the sort of place you can spend three days eating excellent food and swimming in their pool and taking their tours of the city and never leave their care. The Elephant Bar is a long-standing Phnom Penh tradition--beautiful place, but very expensive.
After a couple of drinks and four or five baskets of tortilla chips, we walked over to look at the U.S. embassy. For some unclear reason, the U.S. decided to coat every surface with Christmas lights, including what appears to be Santa driving a tuktuk filled with elves and presents. A friend of mine asked someone who works at the embassy about it, and he said the lights were meant to be a beacon of hope for the poor (Buddhist) people of Cambodia. I hope that's not official U.S. policy.
We then grabbed a tuktuk to the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC), another long-standing Phnom Penh tradition. I had never been because it all seemed a little weird to me, but the FCC is very popular with some expats. They have a great location--two balconies overlooking the river--and serve rather good western food. It felt very colonial.
Finally, another side of Phnom Penh: We had a few drinks at the Heart of Darkness, an infamous club. The Heart has gained a reputation for violence in recent years; apparently it's a hangout for wealthy sons of important Cambodian government officials, who because of their fathers' positions are entirely immune from the law. There have been several fights and a few shootings, though the very strict security at the front door has made it safer--at least inside. The rumor mill says that a woman was raped by several wealthy Khmer teenagers on her way home from the Heart a few weeks ago. Anyway, we had some beers and then made our exit, not really understanding what the big deal was. Good music, though--80s metal.
After a couple of drinks and four or five baskets of tortilla chips, we walked over to look at the U.S. embassy. For some unclear reason, the U.S. decided to coat every surface with Christmas lights, including what appears to be Santa driving a tuktuk filled with elves and presents. A friend of mine asked someone who works at the embassy about it, and he said the lights were meant to be a beacon of hope for the poor (Buddhist) people of Cambodia. I hope that's not official U.S. policy.
We then grabbed a tuktuk to the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC), another long-standing Phnom Penh tradition. I had never been because it all seemed a little weird to me, but the FCC is very popular with some expats. They have a great location--two balconies overlooking the river--and serve rather good western food. It felt very colonial.
Finally, another side of Phnom Penh: We had a few drinks at the Heart of Darkness, an infamous club. The Heart has gained a reputation for violence in recent years; apparently it's a hangout for wealthy sons of important Cambodian government officials, who because of their fathers' positions are entirely immune from the law. There have been several fights and a few shootings, though the very strict security at the front door has made it safer--at least inside. The rumor mill says that a woman was raped by several wealthy Khmer teenagers on her way home from the Heart a few weeks ago. Anyway, we had some beers and then made our exit, not really understanding what the big deal was. Good music, though--80s metal.
posted by arie at 2:12 AM
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