Outro to Vietnam, Intro to Cambodia

After the whole stressful business of Saigon, we set off on a bus, Phnom Penh bound. Passing through the stuffy and slow border control at Bavet was no fun, neither was the processing and obligatory giving of finger and thumb prints on the Cambodian side. The journey is less than 300km, but took us about 8 hours. At times like these, the iPad and iPhone are great saviours to keep the kids occupied.

Landscapes on the eastern side of Cambodia are not dissimilar to that of the Mekong area of Vietnam, although I think in Vietnam the land and riverine systems are better maintained. There was less dumping and evidence of pollution in Vietnam. We arrived into the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh, but it is a low-rise city, which makes a huge psychological difference to me. The population is a paltry 1.5 million. The demographics of Cambodia is stacked in the under 16s – the approximate 15million Cambodians are set to have an additional 5million compatriots within the next 10 years. Huge demographic change, which will no doubt have a huge impact on the urban settlements amongst everything else.

We arrived into Phnom Penh, and I felt instantly at more ease here than in other big Asian cities. A short tuk-tuk ride took us to our hotel, after negotiating in US Dollars (unofficial acceptable currency – indeed we couldn’t get Cambodian Riel out of the ATM, as we chose the English option!). Our Teahouse hotel is an urban oasis. Very comfortable, clean and Zen. Lots of vertical green walls, hanging flowers and low lights. Tranquility in a not-so-hectic city. The kids immediately found the pool, and spent every spare moment in it. That has made me realise the importance of keeping them happy and occupied. When they are doing things they enjoy (no different from us), they are placated, obliging and content, less likely to bicker and complain. When we are at home, they have that space to do their own thing, potter around, play and just ‘be’. They have had little opportunity to do so on these travels………so I think we shall wind down a little and let us all take a deep breather.