Zimbodia, my favourite bodia

The title of this blog comes from the show "Will and Grace". Grace is going to Cambodia with her Doctors without Borders boyfriend, and Jack decides that Zimbodia is his favourite bodia. I must say that Cambodia is my favourite bodia.

We crossed into Cambodia with very few problems or delays at the border. We took a local bus that could go all the way into the capital, Phnom Penh. As soon as we crossed the border we noticed that we were once again into a true third-world country. Vietnam has become quite modern and efficient lately, so there was a contrast. I actually like being somewhere a bit more exotic again.

We tend to associate Cambodia with Pol Pot, the Killing Fields and mass extermination of the population, and true, that is the subject of my next blog. But that is definitely not the impression you get of Cambodia or Phnom Penh. This city has an amazing history, there is a somewhat exotic French Colonial feel to it, with touches of its opium fueled past. The city is organized into a grid system, and sits on the banks of three rivers, including the Mekong, of course















We settled into our hotel, then went out on a cyclo tour of the sites to orient ourselves to the city. The cyclo drivers were great, and it was fun weaving in and out of the traffic of the city. Our cyclo company was a special one that supports a campaign to stop cyclo drivers from smoking. We stopped at various sites and mades our way up the riverfront area to stop at the FCC.
















The FCC stands for Foriegn Correspondents Club, a place steeped in history, where all the journalists hung out covering various happenings in the area, including the Vietnam War. It has a great bar with an infamous Happy Hour, and you sit there thinking about history, watching the river flow by.

After drinks, it was out to "Friends" for dinner. All the wait staff there are former street kids. They help them develop skills to work in the tourist trade, and I must say they did an excellent job of serving our large party. And the food.... delicious!















That evening I even found myself a very nice and fun little gay bar, yes in Cambodia. The staff and patrons were really friendly, and it was as nice as any bar in North America, except it was open to the hot outside temperature.

I asked the locals why there seemed to be such an open acceptance of people being gay. They said the change was quite profound about 4 years ago, and the general population is fine with it. Their explanation..... seems the King here is gay and has a boyfriend.

Yes, indeedy, the King is a Queen! Interesting....