From the eddy of motos in Vietnam to the empty streets of Phnom Penh, we're here in our final week abroad, and our last stint in Cambodia.
It's Khmer New Year, one of the biggest celebrations in the country. Unlike November’s Water Festival—the other major holiday—where people flock to the city, Khmer New Year is when people head "home" to the provinces. This leaves Phnom Penh feeling like a ghost town for a few days. A ghost town where you can sleep ‘til 9am without honking horns, barking dogs or howling street vendors waking you. A ghost town where you can cross the street at any time of day without a step-by-step pause to let cars, bikes and motos zip past. A ghost town without constant power outages in the name of “conservation”, because no one is here to use any.
In the week or so before arriving in BC, we will have been in 6 major cities: Hanoi, Saigon, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Soeul, then Vancouver.
The idea of chilling out in this silent city for a couple of days before life resumes and we continue our trek home might be just what the doctor ordered. We have a couple of books on the go. A stocked fridge. Some new DVDs. And some land in Catan that needs settling. I’d say our New Year is going to be rung in with style.
Happy New Year all!
No comments:
Post a Comment