MOTO GIRL PHNOM PENH BIKE TOUR!
As if we didn’t experience enough road terror yesterday, today we hopped on a couple of motorbikes driven by these two itty bitty Cambodian cuties, Mey and Meng!
We rode down busy city streets (OMG), and then some less traveled rural streets (we could breathe again), and across some rivers via ferries, and back again! John and I LOVED being back seat drivers to Mey and Meng!
Our first stop was on one of four islands, where we had a horse drawn wagon ride through a local village. (It was NOT a comfortable ride!) But it was memorable!
Next we toured a typical “rich people” summer home. It was the home of an architect who worked at the Royal Palace. He has been sick, so he stays in the city to have hospitals close by. He allows people to visit to see how local “rich people” homes look inside.
The guy’s Mom is still alive and lives there. She was actually there when we toured the house. This is a Stupa that was built in the backyard for her “ashes and bones” to be buried in. Mey told us that this makes her very happy and that that is good thing!
The number of statues correlates to how religious a person is. Apparently the architect’s Mom is very religious.
Our next stop was to a silkworm textile shop. An entire family works there (fourth generation) and it was fascinating to learn how silk is made!
After more driving (our very favorite part), and another ferry, we walked down this steep path to a large dock area where the locals come to relax by the water. It was wonderful! The girls served us fruit and sticky rice with fruit, wrapped in banana leaves. It was so peaceful!
Hammocks are HUGE over here. There are hammock stations on the roadsides where people can stop and jump into a hammock to rest after a lot of stressful driving! While we relaxed, we asked Mey and Meng about their families. Mey (who spoke really good English) explained that her Mom was one of fifteen children. Her Mom, Dad and twelve of her siblings were killed during Pol Pot’s reign of terror. Unbelievable.
We rode another ferry back to the mainland and were told that these huts are restaurants where a lot of locals go. Hmmm, we might have to add them to our list.
We FINALLY got an answer to our question regarding the Pepsi and Coke bottles that are seen while driving out in the country. They are being sold at all the roadside stands and are filled with a greenish liquid. We couldn’t figure out what the heck the green stuff was. Well, luckily, I remembered to ask Mey about them, and she replied, “They are filled with one liter of gasoline.” Ohhhhh, now THAT made sense! (DUH!!)
We rode down busy city streets (OMG), and then some less traveled rural streets (we could breathe again), and across some rivers via ferries, and back again! John and I LOVED being back seat drivers to Mey and Meng!
Our first stop was on one of four islands, where we had a horse drawn wagon ride through a local village. (It was NOT a comfortable ride!) But it was memorable!
Next we toured a typical “rich people” summer home. It was the home of an architect who worked at the Royal Palace. He has been sick, so he stays in the city to have hospitals close by. He allows people to visit to see how local “rich people” homes look inside.
The guy’s Mom is still alive and lives there. She was actually there when we toured the house. This is a Stupa that was built in the backyard for her “ashes and bones” to be buried in. Mey told us that this makes her very happy and that that is good thing!
The number of statues correlates to how religious a person is. Apparently the architect’s Mom is very religious.
Our next stop was to a silkworm textile shop. An entire family works there (fourth generation) and it was fascinating to learn how silk is made!
After more driving (our very favorite part), and another ferry, we walked down this steep path to a large dock area where the locals come to relax by the water. It was wonderful! The girls served us fruit and sticky rice with fruit, wrapped in banana leaves. It was so peaceful!
Hammocks are HUGE over here. There are hammock stations on the roadsides where people can stop and jump into a hammock to rest after a lot of stressful driving! While we relaxed, we asked Mey and Meng about their families. Mey (who spoke really good English) explained that her Mom was one of fifteen children. Her Mom, Dad and twelve of her siblings were killed during Pol Pot’s reign of terror. Unbelievable.
We rode another ferry back to the mainland and were told that these huts are restaurants where a lot of locals go. Hmmm, we might have to add them to our list.
We FINALLY got an answer to our question regarding the Pepsi and Coke bottles that are seen while driving out in the country. They are being sold at all the roadside stands and are filled with a greenish liquid. We couldn’t figure out what the heck the green stuff was. Well, luckily, I remembered to ask Mey about them, and she replied, “They are filled with one liter of gasoline.” Ohhhhh, now THAT made sense! (DUH!!)
It was a wonderful day of touring and driving through the streets of Phnom Penh on the back of a motor bike! The streets here remain a puzzle. There are literally NO RULES but somehow it just plain works!
Our friends, Matt and Val, will be arriving here on Monday evening. They are staying with their good friends, Steve and Nansie, who are currently living here. We met them tonight for drinks and dinner at Farm To Table, a delicious little restaurant. See you SOON, Matt and Val! We forgot to take a picture and were too tired for a massage! Did I just REALLY say that? 😳😳😳
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