We celebrated our 25th birthday in Phnom Penh. For a birthday treat we kicked off the day by visiting a local diner that is popular with the students who attend the university next door. We devoured a couple of "Special Burgers" which contain a meat paddie, salad and a fried egg to top it off. The burgers really are special and we frequented the diner often.
Early on in our trip we made friends with an Australian - Troy. Troy was in Phnom Penh so we met up with him - it was cool to have someone else wish us happy birthday instead of just ourselves! We hired some bikes to take in the sights before finding the slowest internet cafe in all of Cambodia to Skype with family.
Dan and Clint improving New Zealand/Australian relations, one Australian at a time.
Dan and Clint improving New Zealand/Australian relations, one Australian at a time.
The shorts we are wearing in the photo below were purchased as gifts to ourselves and we have been calling them the "birthday shorts".
After the sweet stuff we felt like some pampering so it was back on the bikes and off for a massage. We opted for a one hour traditional Khmer massage with oil. We felt really good afterwards, we weren't sure if it was the hour massage or the hour of listening to American R&B (which is all the rage over here) during the massage. Relaxation is a little diffcult when you're being beaten and bent and the girls are giggling and laughing amongst themselves - this only adds insult to injury.
In the evening we decided that we should have a birthday drink so with Troy in tow we set off to find a dairy to pick up some cold ones.
The first dairy we came across was a Blue Mart (much like a Seven Eleven from back home). In the store we noticed three young local lads at a table with beer cans sprawled around amongst empty plates - just like at a restaurant/bar but in a dairy. We quickly came to the decision that these guys were onto a winning idea so we pulled up chairs.
It wasn't long before the local lads started to ask us where we were from etc. They were all 26 and friends from their university days. One worked for the Ministry of Labour, another was a Policeman (complete with walkie talkie) and the other worked in the private sector. All smart, affluent and eager to show us a good time.
These guys had the show on lockdown and had obviously drunk in the dairy before. They had cold beers an arms reach away but preferred to click for the staff to get them fresh ones.
We inquired about good local nightclubs or "disco's" and they offered to accompany us to a place called Love Orange Club. The policeman took charge and wasn't afraid to pull rank. This was great to behold as he got whatever he wanted and we were "this is my friends".
Love Orange Club was amazing. We were the only foreigners which meant we could watch the spectacle unfold around us without feeling like we were really a part of it. The music was mostly, wait, you guessed it - American R&B, which just added to the hilarity of it all.
It was fascinating watching the dynamic between young Cambodian guys and girls, both of which are many years behind the maturity level of westerners of the same age group. For half an hour slow music was played and couples paired up and slow danced. We can only guess at the amount of strategy that was applied by the boys leading up to the partner allocation. We think it was coincidence but happy birthday featured on the playlist which was awesome.
A great night was had by all and it is anybody's guess how our local guides fared at work the following day. We suspect that crime called in hungover and that the thin blue line was one man short.
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