Day 25 - We're on the road to Phnom Penh

16:30
I ended up awake until nearly 02:00 - watching news coverage, a bit of football. I was quite moved by Starmer’s speech in Downing Street. I think it’s just been SO long since I felt like a leader of this country had my and others’ best interests at heart, that could be trusted to do the right thing, just that could be trusted, if I’m being honest.

Anyways, I wake up feeling a little jaded, and get my shit together. Our bus leaves a little after its allotted 11:30 departure time, but it’s fairly empty, so we can both stretch out. I’m always amazed on these trips how inconsequential a 3 hour road journey becomes. It feels like a short hop, a puddle jump - blink and I’ll miss it. I watch some TV, spend some time gazing out the window. Around 14:00 local New Zealand are playing England at rugby. The wonders of technology (4G cell coverage, a VPN service, a Sky app) mean I can watch it on my iPad while on the bus. This is what the internet was really invented for. Traffic is very heavy arriving into Phnom Penh. The last 10 miles takes us around 40 minutes. I’m fine with that though. The timing works out beautifully - it’s half time as our bus pulls up, and the second half starts just as I’m settling into my room at Penh House.

We’re greeted like returning explorers when we arrive at Penh House. It’s only a week since we were last here, but we’re given the very warmest of welcomes. I settle down with a beer to watch the second half. England ultimately lose by a single point. The performance wasn’t the very best, so I’m disappointed for the team. It’s incredibly rare to beat New Zealand IN New Zealand, and even rarer to do so at Dunedin, that cathedral of rugby. I suspect England will rue this as a missed opportunity.

22:50
Felix and I meet in reception at 19:00. He’s had a highly effective and energising afternoon, combining a workout with a 90 minute massage. I’ve watched rugby, drunk beer and had a nap - so I guess I win. We walk to Malis - a very well known and well reviewed restaurant about 20 minutes from our hotel. We’re both wearing collared shirts, such are the whispered tones in which folks discuss this restaurant. The chef is a semi-famous celebrity chef in Cambodia. The menu is like a coffee table book - hard bound, beautiful photography, food that looks amazing. We order a variety of dishes - some to share, some to protect fiercely. Our starts are Takeo sausages (no? Us neither…) and a cured beef salad. The sausages are incredible. really meaty, with subtle aromatic flavourings - some red peppercorn for sure, and some cardamom, but I’m not sure what else. The salad is also great - it’s dressed and mixed tableside, which adds a little theatre. It tastes incredibly healthy whilst also packing a great flavour punch.

Mains consist of a duck dish for Felix, and a crab plate for me. The duck is wonderfully cooked, and served with a really tasty red rice side, and a Prahok sauce - stunning. My crab is delightful - huge, flaky chunks of crab served with a crab-fried rice, and a lighter than light butter sauce.

Felix agrees to take a look at the dessert menu, and we both decide it’s what Jesus would have wanted. My tasting plate includes a very good creme brulée laced with Kampot pepper, a magnificent jasmine mousse, and some coffee ice-cream. Felix’s has some glutinous rice balls with palm sugar, some sort of banana contraption, and a black pepper ice-cream. All seriously good. The bill is, let’s not fuck around, substantial for Cambodia. Worth it, but substantial. The cooking here is imaginative, well executed, and uses top notch ingredients. We leave two very satisfied boys.

We’re both planning / hoping to stay up for the football at 23:00. Whether we’ll make it to the end is another question - particularly if there’s extra time (+/- penalties) to take into account.

I pass the time watching some Formula 1 qualifying, and some of the South Africa vs Ireland rugby…Meer informatie