Where To Now?

I was woken up this morning by the familiar sound of my hotel room phone ringing. I answered, and the male Cambodian accent on the other end of the call politely informed me it was my wake-up call. After my own alarm went off and I pressed snooze two or three times, I was ready to get up and start a new day.

Once I was ready, I went downstairs where Thy and Tim were waiting for me at the entrance. I had arranged with Tim to go to a café and sit down for a discussion where I could pick his brain about things I was interested in for my book. I told him I wanted to take notes using my laptop. Prepared with my laptop, Thy drove us to a nice café that sold cookies. I got a cappuccino, and Tim had a local mango drink. We sat there for an hour and talked about religion, the history of the dynasties, the Khmer Rouge, and even the language.

I got some good notes, but then I wanted to go and see a mountain he had been talking about. We got up and asked Thy to take us there. The mountain was near the Angkor Wat temple and had a walking track that apparently leads to the top. However, I wasn’t wearing the right shoes, so we agreed to do that another day.

Thy and Tim looked at me and asked, "Where to now?" I asked Thy to drive us to a local flower shop. Initially, he didn’t know where any were, but I think he had done his research because he nodded and drove confidently in the direction of what I believe is Siem Reap’s only florist.

As we parked out front, I looked up at the sign and immediately felt at home. This florist was part of Interflora, a global network of florists that allows people to send flowers to just about anywhere in the world. Below, you can see a photo of the exterior of Floral Express Fresh Flower Shop.

Tim escorted me inside, and standing there to greet us was the florist. We looked in her fridge, where she had some beautiful bouquets of colourful flowers. Tim translated for me as I asked her where she sourced her stock, and she said mostly from China. You can see her flowers below.

She didn’t have her fresh flowers on display, but she did have a room dedicated to fake flowers. You can see this room below.

Before we left, I decided to buy a bouquet of flowers for my friends at the hotel reception desk. I first picked out a bunch of roses, but she told me through Tim that they had been made up for another client. So, my second choice was a big bunch of orange flowers. When I asked her the name of the flowers, she did tell me, but I didn’t quite catch it. Whatever they are called, they are beautiful and make a striking and bold statement.

Something I would love to do one day is travel to big cities like London, Paris, and Rome and dedicate time to walking around and taking photos of florists. I think they would have the most beautiful flower shops, and I would love to see them. In saying that, there is something very special about a small florist in a country like Cambodia too—a place that services the community’s floral needs in a charming and modest setting. To be honest, I’d love to see florists anywhere; I think they all have something to say.

After we finished with the flowers, I asked Thy if he knew of any other places. He told me there was a stand outside a monastery that sells lotus flowers to people making offerings at the temple. I instantly knew this was our next stop.

As soon as we pulled up out front, the ladies all stood up, holding lotus flowers in their hands, and pointed at me. We got out of the car and walked around, looking at them, and I asked one lady if I could take a photo. She said yes and even smiled for the photo. You can see this below.

Below, you can see all the other stands with lotus flowers waiting to bloom.

I looked at all the flowers, but I went back to the lady who let me take a photo of her and bought three bunches from her. They only cost $6. I thought about how much something like that would cost in Australia, and it would be significantly higher.

Just before we left the area to have a walk around, Tim called me over to a tree. He pointed up to the branches and said, "Look at the flying foxes." After the talk I had recently attended at the SA Museum, I half-expected to look up and see the flying foxes giving each other blow jobs, but to my disappointment, they were simply just hanging about. You can see them below.

We walked about the area for a while, then we were all ready for lunch. I asked Thy to take us to a local Cambodian restaurant, but I also asked if he could stop by the hotel on the way so I could give the flowers to the girls at reception.

I jumped out of the car and walked into the hotel. I saw my mate at reception and gave her the flowers. I told her, "These are for all of you," and I pointed at everyone. They absolutely loved them, and I asked if I could take a photo.

Below are two photos of three of the girls at reception who do a great job keeping us needy guests happy. Spot the difference.

I kept the lotus flowers for myself and decided to put them in drinking glasses in my room until they bloomed.

We were back on the road, and Thy took us to a local restaurant called Nerk Restaurant. The few restaurants I've been to seem to have pretty much the same menu, and surprisingly, there aren't many options for vegetarians. Today, I had another club sandwich minus the meat, but I would like to try some more local food.

Below, you can see the sign for the Nerk Restaurant and the beautiful lone lotus in the middle of our table.

After lunch, I told Thy that I wanted to go for a drive into the country for the afternoon. So, the three of us set off and drove towards some villages.

Cambodia reminds me so much of Tanzania—the signage along the road, the umbrellas, small cafes, vendors, local markets, and dirt roads. One thing I haven't seen in Tanzania, however, is the Cambodian local petrol station. Shop owners fill up wine bottles, spirit bottles, and water bottles with petrol and place them in racks along the road. People pull up and buy one or two litres of petrol.

Below, you can see one of these racks.

Another interesting thing we saw on our drive to the country was a funeral procession. I took a photo from the car, which you can see below.

There were a lot of people participating, and I mentioned to Tim that it was a large crowd. He told me it was actually a small number of people for a Cambodian funeral, as they are usually enormous. He also said that it is a tradition to wear white to funerals. I noted that this was in contrast to the Western tradition of wearing black.

We headed back to town and stopped at the supermarket along the way. I stocked up on bread and a few other goods, and I also bought a packet of three Ferrero Rochers for Maky, my manager friend here at the hotel. I wanted to get him a little something because he didn’t accept my tip the other night.

Thy and Tim dropped me off, and I left the Ferrero Rochers at the front reception, where they said they would pass them on. I came up to my room, and here I am, reflecting on the day. I have become very fond of Thy and Tim. They are both older, married men with children, and I have grown to trust them. 

It’s interesting, when people talk about the law of familiarity—how you grow to like and trust people you see often. It’s happening to me with these two.