What a painful trip this was. To start with, it was over 40 minutes late. Speed limits in Cambodia seem to have a maximum of 60 kph, so getting anywhere is a slow process. Added to this we encountered a heap of road works coming into Phnom Penh. The last 20 minutes took over an hour. It was 8.00 pm when we finally got there.
Friday was our last day in Cambodia. In the morning we went to have Jim's broken tooth looked at. Unfortunately they couldn't do anything in the one day, but flattened it and put a temporary filling in. A shame rather because dental care is very cheap, and unlike the medical care, highly regarded. The clinic we went to is used by the expats and they advertise dental holidays.
It was then on to the market, then after lunch we spent quite a few hours at the Royal Palace. After an ice cream stop, it was time for a quick look over the Night Market. It had just opened so was very quiet to look around. This was our last chance to see ridiculously cheap prices.
The hotel had been nice enough to store all our luggage, and said we could also use the shower in their spa/gym facility. This was an offer too good to refuse with nearly a day of travelling ahead of us. Earlier than expected we were ready for the airport. We got two of the hotel tuk tuks to take us, and we got our last mad experience of travel on the Phnom Penh roads. We saw a recent accident not far from the airport, and with the amount of traffic in this city it is easy to believe that they could be quite frequent.
We were much earlier than we anticipated and actually had to wait for the desk to open. Getting rid of the bags was great so through security and up to the departure area. This is where we appear to have made a major error. We hadn't had anything to eat since a light lunch at the market, so as our plane wasn't leaving until 11.00 pm, we thought it better to have something while we were waiting. Lauren and Lee opted for a hamburger at one of only three eateries at the airport. Jim and I opted for something lighter, and chose a chicken panini. Big mistake. Within an hour or two we had bad indigestion symptoms, by the time we boarded the plane we had stomach cramps and I won't go into detail from there. After two weeks in Cambodia eating various foods in various places including markets and street stalls, we succumbed to food poisoning eating a western meal in our last few hours in the country.
Needless to say, it was not a pleasant flight experience. We left Phnom Penh, and actually went backwards to Ho Chi Minh City. The plane took off, reached altitude, seat belt light went off, two minutes later, it came back on again to say we were beginning our descent into Saigon airport. About 25 minutes in the air. There only appeared to be about 20 people on the whole plane when we left, but by the time we took off again, the plane was full. We had been told at the desk it had been over prescribed.
It was about seven (unpleasant) hours to Doha, then around another four at the airport waiting for our connection. There is a new airport due to be opened soon, and it is badly needed because the existing one is the pits. Just using the toilets involved a huge cue out the door and down the corridors. By this stage we had both picked up a bit, but the long wait and then quite a long bus ride to the plane (they must be using the runways at the new airport), and worst of all sitting on the tarmac with no air conditioning as they were running on auxiliary power (temp of 40 degrees that day) sent us backwards. Another unpleasant 7 hours and we had landed in Paris.
Our bags seemed the last to come off, but finally we were in a taxi and on our way to Paris. Except for the huge traffic jams. Oh well, it felt just like Melbourne.
We have a two bedroom apartment which is perfect for our needs. Getting all our bags up three flights of stairs was a challenge, but we got there. Supermarket is only a few doors away, so a trip for some basics and then the four of us fought to stay up until at least 8.00 pm, but it was nearly 8.00 am before we all surfaced the next morning. What a wonderful, needed sleep.
We were quite excited to look out the window in the morning and see a huge street market being setup opposite us. What a great way to spend our first morning in Paris, looking at all the wonderful fresh produce.
After lunch, we made our way to the train station, only a few doors away, and within fifteen minutes we were at the Louvre. This took up the whole afternoon, and of course, we never saw all of it. But we did see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and other famous works. It was also fascinating to see the Medieval Louvre underground.
It was five o'clock by this stage, but as it is daylight saving here, still plenty of time to do something. There were so many people in the area enjoying their Sunday afternoon, some just sitting on seats around the fountains. We walked through the Tuileries gardens, up the Champs Elysees, and to the Arc de Triomphe.
Strolling the Champs Elysees
There was a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe and I discovered this is a daily occurrence at 6.30 each evening. Before we knew it, it was past seven, so time to catch the metro back to our apartment to partake of our morning purchases.
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