I had a wonderful weekend visiting friends in Phnom Penh. Friday night, I went to the Titanic restaurant with Bandol and her son. It is a really nice huge restaurant that is situated right beside the river so you can watch all the boats travel by. It is also where the docks are for the boats coming in from Siem Reap, the river cruise ships and local dinner cruises. Lots of activity. It was a lovely warm evening with nice breezes. We enjoyed a traditional Cambodian meal of fish amok, shrimps with pomelo and vegetables with cashews. Fish amok is a white fish cooked in coconut milk and served in a coconut or banana leaf. Delicious!
Visit with Pagna & her family
On Saturday, I spent most of the day with Pagna, her husband, David, and her two children, Elite & Elena. Some of you may remember Pagna as she did her LLM at Osgoode in about 2009/2010. She is a law professor at RULE and does some consulting with the government of Japan. They took me to their new townhouse which is in a brand new development about 15 minutes from downtown Phnom Penh. It is really amazing to go there as you see the new development that is changing the face of Cambodia as a middle class emerges. It is a massive development with beautiful tree lined streets, huge entry gates, parts of it in various stages of completion. The owner of the development is Cambodian but he left during the Khmer Rouge, made his money in the States (or Australia, I can't remember which) and then came back to help develop his country.
That Saturday night, I met up with Susan Green and we had dinner at "The Lost Room". This was highly recommended by Michelle and Trip Advisor. It was definitely off the beaten track but it did not disappoint!
Sunday visiting
On Sunday, we started the day with an early visit to Bandol's brother, Dararith's girlfriend's house. It is a lovely home with beautiful gardens out front and lots of Khmer art inside. I was invited to see the collection of art which was quite interesting. Bandol showed me around the garden and explained about the different herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables that were growing there. We picked some fruit and then enjoyed it as we sat and talked at the kitchen table.
Sunday afternoon, Bandol & I went shopping at the Central market, a beautiful art deco building that was recently renovated by the French government as a heritage building.
Sunday evening we had a gathering and dinner at Bandol's house with all of the CLEW students. Bennett Gastle paid for the food for the evening while Bandol's cook and the students prepared it and cooked it. It was very exciting because I was able to announce that we had come to an agreement with the landlord of the new dorm and we will be able to move in early December. There was loud applause and cheers all around!
Sunday evening we had a gathering and dinner at Bandol's house with all of the CLEW students. Bennett Gastle paid for the food for the evening while Bandol's cook and the students prepared it and cooked it. It was very exciting because I was able to announce that we had come to an agreement with the landlord of the new dorm and we will be able to move in early December. There was loud applause and cheers all around!