A familiar face in Phnom Penh (2/4/09)

After arriving in Phnom Penh (hereon referred to as PP), we hired a cab to take us to our hotel, the Cambodiana. This is a 40 some odd year old hotel that at one point housed troops that helped to topple the Khmer Rouge regime. A quick pic (from the website, we were really bad about pics here ... we were having too much fun!) A bit dated, but not too expensive ... which was nice since we were off the SPG dole.



So, we checked in and went to take a stroll to grab some lunch. Not 7 minutes into our exploring, we quite literally bumped into our friend Dan S. from Chicago, a friend of Ethan and Dave's who was in PP to video tape an ongoing study on Cambodian music hosted at the Cambodian Living Arts PP location. Along with Lauren, a friend of Dan's, we were whisked off to a fantastic Indian meal right down the street. Not what we were expecting, but it hit the spot! It was so welcoming. Over the next 48 hours we spent a LOT of time with Dan and Lauren, as well as their friends from the guest house Oscar (the travel agent / driver), Mr. V, and another friend whose name escapes us. Here are some pics.

L to R: Jojo, Dan, Oscar, Lauren, Mr. V, and Mr. Name We Forgot ...



Sunset ...



Its worth noting that we found PP to be an incredibly enchanting town with fun, relaxed people and a fantastic variety of eclectic food. We were very, very sad to leave. Definitely a revisit in the future.