It is populated somewhat denser than Laos and seems a bit wealthier too. Not like Thailand or Vietnam but still one notch up from Laos. With the big port in Sihanoukville Cambodia certainly has one up on its landlocked neighbor to the North.
People are nice everywhere I have been in this country, but I think of the countryside people as especially friendly. Cambodians everywhere seems convinced that all western tourists are rich. Obviously we can afford to come visit here while most of them could not at all go to our countries on holiday.
Phnom Penh is really cool.
There is a huge difference between Bangkok/Saigon and P P. It is rougher here, more genuine and feels a little bit dangerous. Not as bad as a few years ago when there were still a lot of guns around and quite many armed robberies. But still it is only a few blocks near the riverfront that has street ligths. At night the city is rather dark.
Traffic is intensive. Thousands of motorcycles and needlessly many large SUVs. Crossing a street here feels a hundred times more dangerous than flying to Asia in the first place.
But I do like P P. I have this feeling of being here ten years before the tourist invasion. It is inevitable that tourism will grow here too, it is simply too nice a place to have so relatively few tourists. As of yet there are no Seven-Elevens at all.
Along the central riverfront there are many nice restaurants and bars. They are decidedly for the tourists, and more expensive. Some I have been to are very beautiful in a style that I assume is good modern Khmer style. Artsy and very tasteful!
Cambodia was a French colony for about a hundred years. The architecture on most fine houses have a distinctive French flavor to it. A French Indo-Chinese style I have seen in Laos and Vietnam as well, and to my mind goes well with the climate, landscape and people here. Other French leftovers are good crispy baguettes, and great coffee, Café Cambodienne, hot or chilled, and always good, with an almost chocolaty side flavor. Yummy!
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