as busy as bangkok
by Rob-n-Rach
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Even as we drove into Phnom Penh on the bus and then across this capital city in a tuktuk convoy, J14 observed, “It’s as busy as Bangkok.” There seemed to be just as many motorbikes, just as many tuktuks, just as many busses, just as many cars (although none of the distinctive bright pink taxis), just as many shops-on-a-cart, just as many people and a few extra things to boot – old men peddling cyclos, beggars unashamedly demanding and dogs on every street.
By the time we had been here twenty-four hours we had decided it was BUSIER than Bangkok. Yes, busier than Bangkok.
Knowing markets are usually the cheapest place to buy food, and being fortunate to discover one right on our street, we zipped up there this morning to find breakfast fruit (fresh pineapple, bananas straight off the stalk, delightfully different dragon fruit and juicy oranges – careful you don’t drool on your keyboard!) Maybe it was just that it was Sunday and Sundays are busier than any other day, but there were So Many People. Shoulder to shoulder, we hustled along en masse. ER(2) was actually frightened by the crowd, the densest one we have been in to date. And it wasn’t just a crowd of people – in the middle of it all were the omnipresent motorbikes and a few hopeful tuktuk drivers. But escaping the throng was almost as thrilling as staying in it! Because it involved Crossing The Street. Pedestrians do not have right of way…..ever.
At least in Bangkok cars would stop if you waved your hand at them really fast. Not here. Trying to stop the flow would be like trying to dam a river. And expecting a break in the traffic would be akin to expecting the waters of the Red Sea to part again….in the evening we would be escorted by a bald man and his five-year-old grandson on motorbike as they pushed across four lanes of traffic honking furiously on the horn and insisting we take shelter alongside them, but this morning we were on our own. We soon discover the technique is as simple as it is dangerous – just slowly, but confidently step into the stream of traffic and keep moving towards the opposite side. Bikes, cars, cyclos and tuktuks will all weave their way around you. It takes some nerve, but it is the ONLY way across.
From morning to night the traffic surges. No further away than the street where we are staying, motorbikes are lined up like rows of dominoes, constantly coming and going as people live their lives. According to the map, this street is not a main road, not a less important road, it’s just a little lane. But vehicles are constantly moving along it, people are constantly walking by. On the tops of heads of people passing by we have seen a three-tiered birdcage full of darting birds, a bamboo tray holding a bucket of water, some coconuts, a coconut grater, a pot and something wrapped in a towel, another bamboo tray forming the base of a doughnut pyramid. Even in the middle of the night we were woken by shouts from the street.
It’s busy busy busy. Another Asian city that never sleeps.
PS The four biggest boys (that includes Dadda) crossed lots of roads today, taking an 8km hike around town on foot, racing past Royal Palace, Independence Monument, Friendship with Vietnam Monument, National Museum and the riverside quay while the four girls all lay in bed trying to shake fevers and the smallest boy tried not to annoy them. When you’re burning at 40 degrees, you don’t notice much!
PPS For the H’s family: The H’s headed out on their own and didn’t return for hours. They negotiated three tuktuks, were sobered by a genocide museum, saw all the same attractions our boys flashed past and returned as Real Independent Travellers.
Tags: food, postcard: Cambodia, tradition, transport
rayres
Yow!! Get out of there! I thought Bangkok was the ultimate
Wow….go the H’s.Will make road trips with me seem rather tame!