Braniff

Jaimito Cartero

Goldorak

Braniff

Thanks Goldorak. That was it ! Sorry to hear it doesn't exist anymore.

SanDiego1K

We'll be in Phnom Penh for a night later this year. Any suggestions for an enjoyable restaurant? It doesn't need to be fancy.

Is the Foreign Correspondence Club still a good place for a cold beverage?

Goldorak

SQTraveller

I was recommend Malis restaurant. It was expensive but good.

Not sure I would recommend it as it was so expensive, but the story is that during the Khmer Rouge days, they killed off so many people that traditional recipes and cooking techniques were lost.

Malis is trying to resurrect that - at a price!

Goldorak

SQTraveller

I travelled to Siem Reap as a poor recent graduate ... maybe it's time to go back.

worldiswide

or consider yourself lucky that you saw interesting places before too much tourism happened.

RustyC

Dunno when you went but my trips were 1997 and 2000 and I think it'd be too depressing to go back. That's a very fragile site and I doubt the admission costs are going to help preserve it or keep the hands and feet off the most sensitive surfaces.

If there had been more Internet back in 1997 I probably would have talked myself out of that one...the Khmer Rouge came back and briefly occupied months after I went. You couldn't stray far from trails because of mines, but crowds were low. I went with friends on the 2000 trip and insisted on going to Banteay Srei, since back in 1997 you needed an armed guard to go there and I didn't want to mess with that. The guesthouse had a fan and mosquito net at $4 and the moto driver cost $6/day and just wanted to sleep in a hammock at the sites (I was prepared for that).

These days I'm sure you've got oodles more hotels and places to eat. I remember the Bayon Restaurant as one of the better choices, and there were the "dog places" that operated only a few days per month. I remember having the viewing peak overlooking the main temple to myself. Thankfully the Lonely Planet had a pretty extensive background section about all the temples, including the minor ones.

The FCCC in Phnom Penh was a wonderful, wonderful place...great atmosphere and all. Because of the direct flights to Siem Reap, maybe PP hasn't been overrun quite as much.

dlffla

worldiswide

I know we are taking all of this off topic but Cambodia is not one of the places that has opted for responsible tourism.. fragile is the right word for the sites and u need to figure out how tourism is right balance and manage if u want it to last abbd not ju st take short term cash out of it. We were there in 2003 or 04 and the sofitel was opening next to the royal angkor. I think it was the second ir third new hotel..i can't even imagine what the strip looks like now. Everything was brought in including flowers and fruits and vegetables where the idea wsss to build local cottage industries to provide. We were told to stay on the cleared paths since there were still clearing mines. We actually went to an outdoor display of landmines that was one of the most interesting and creepiest places I've been. Also went to bantay srai
And heard the stories of what happened on the roads as you suggest.

we visited Macchu picchu in the 70s and I don't think I could return and see the changes. Progress comes in all sizes and shapes.

glennaa11

I was in SR in something like 2007 and then again in 2015. The amount of change in that time was astounding. The road from the ariport into town went from not too crowded to wall-to-wall businesses. I guess it is a bit of a conundrum. If you want to see it, it's not going to get any less touristed. But I would imagine some times of the year are better than others. And it also makes sense to branch out beyond the main temples. You can still have a relatively quiet visit and some of the farther afield sights. The town being more lively now than it was felt more positive to me. It's a poor country without a huge amount of natural resources to exploit, so they have to make money somehow. The corruption doesn't help.

PP seemed like it had become unmanageable to me. I did a trip through the eastern part of the country a couple of years ago so I was in and out through PNH. Traffic was nearly unbearable. PP isn't the sleepy little capital it used to be.

rjh

I just saw this. I passed by this restaurant a week or so ago. It's now Palais La Poste Restaurant.
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Rich