Travelling in Cambodia
Scritto da: HRH Prince Ravivaddhana Sisowath

This report of a travel, that appears to be an unforgottable one, was gently supplied to us by His Royal Highness Prince Ravivaddhana Sisowath, who in Italy represents Cambodia Ministry of Tourism.
His Highness is however kindly willing to supply practical info to anyone intending to travel in his Country, even in a less ...."princely" way.
You may contact him at his .

Dearest,
First allow me to send you a collective message to tell you about my vacation in Cambodia and at the same time to reassure you all; that no, Cambodia was not damaged by the Tsunami in Southern Asia and the sky remained serene above us for the duration of our stay.
Departing from Rome on 25th December and after a short stopover of a couple of hours in Kuala Lumpur, I arrived in Phnom Penh late in the morning on 26th December.
The Hotel Le Royal embraced me with open arms for a salutary pause, after first touring the City with my Italian and French friends. The gracious princess Chansita planned a very nice surprise in honour of the 50th birthday of our companion, the earl of Morigerati, and we enjoyed a delightful and exquisite coconut dessert that was served with a Femme Fatale, a legendary cocktail created for Jacqueline Kennedy in 1967, during her visit to Phnom Penh.
We then spent a lovely evening in a typical khmer restaurant, before leaving the following day for Siem Reap.
It was just before arriving at Siem Reap, when, to our surprise, our car suddenly turned left, towards the Temple of Preah Ko, on the site of the Roluos Temples, as the sunset began unfurling it's scarves of scarlet colours. There, O wonder, was set up an incredible buffet a la Francaise with petits fours and three bottles of champagne Moet et Chandon, whose refreshing bubbles let us celebrate with joy Marine's birthday. We, of course, took advantage of this particular moment of bliss to explore this fascinating site, thank you so much, Jacques!
Our arrival at the hotel was just as amazing as our visit to Preah Ko. Welcome drinks delicately served by handsome valets and gorgeous ladies, dressed in those glimmering traditional silks, who gently announced that half an hour was granted to us, in order to change clothes and get ready for the Show-Dinner at the Cambodian Theatre of the Angkor Village.
Apsaras, masked monkeys and coloured devils enchanted our evening for a short hour and the veil of night finally swept us in her quiet folds of the sweetest sleep ever.

The day after, an elephant walk was scheduled around the Bayon temple and we proceeded by visiting the Phineanakas and the romantic Preah Palilay, where the roots of the tropical trees embrace tightly the ruined stones and caused several of us to whisper in surprise and amazement. Needless to say that the whole team did appreciate the afternoon break at the hotel, enjoying the fresh waters of the ribbon-shaped swimming-pool. Afterwards, the following days followed the rhythm of the various visits: Kbal Spean and the river of Thousand Lingas, the lace-like carved temple of Banteay Srey and Banteay Samre, the Ta Prohm and its atmosphere unlike any other, with a special mention for our nightly gastronomic exploration trips. Giving us opportunities to tirelessly evoke our impressions and feelings on classical and modern Cambodia, gathered around either a bottle of Angkor Beer or even a bottle of French red wine that had mysteriously arrived from far away to please our taste for terrestrial lust.

For New Year's Eve, after a day relaxing by the swimming-pool or visiting the Artisans d'Angkor, the Ladies of our group decided to vanish into their rooms and returned a few hours later, dressed in the marvellous creations of Romyda Keth. Splendours of silk muslin and organza, the blue topaz and sapphires of Pailin and the amethysts glittered under the lights of the hotel dining room. These magnificent jewels were made "sur mesure" by Master Kim Seng, the most famous jeweller in Phnom Penh, Boulevard Monivong.
Midnight tolled and champagne (Taittinger, this time) helped blissfully welcome the first minutes of 2005, when regretfully we leave Siem Reap and Angkor...
We should like to extend our warmest thanks and regards to our guide, Manyl, whose kindness and professionalism allowed him to satisfy all of our requests.

The morrow 45 minutes of flight and three hours of highways, and there were we at the seaside, on the beach of Sihanoukville, at Hotel Sokha. The fake marbles of the grand hall, the lions whose smiling faces were slowly turning into threatening glances and the exhausted bodies and faces of the hotel hosts made us smile. But soon, the sun was sliding silently into the depths of the dark waters of the sea and one could observe the vanishing silhouettes of tightly embracing lovers under the quivering leaves of the mango trees admiring the sunset on this magic tropical bay.
The next morning departure for another paradise, Kep la Belle. Thanks to Jacques and Serge, who opened wide the doors of their marvellous villa, we were granted the opportunity to discover the ruins of this former fashionable seaside resort. At the same time, taking advantage of our hosts' hospitality enjoying the pleasure of their refreshing swimming-pool emerald green and decorated with neo-angkorian figures, like Indra on the elephant Airavata.
Another spectacular sunset concluded another day, which swept by too fast. While driving back to Sihanoukville I remembered with amusement the surprised expression on the farmers' faces, when they saw, earlier that morning, the team of white-skinned foreigners stepping down from the car, just to take photos of the drying little shrimps arranged on pink nylon napkins in the fields...
Vox populi, vox dei. The last day in Sihanoukville was unanimously requested by the squad to be a day of relaxation and set aside as a "dolce vita" day and evening. I arranged for us all to have dinner in a very famous local restaurant, Kos Po. We dined on exquisite crabs fried with green pepper, all manner of seafood shrimps, lobsters, cigals and little sharks steamed with ginger, and caramelised quails. We all enjoyed the meal immensely, and even Gerard, very quickly forgot the languid charms of the beer hostesses, trying to convince us to drink as much beer as they would be able to sell.
The stay in Kompong Som, the other name of Sihanoukville, provided another occasion for entertaining ourselves: the Karaoke! Within the night-club of the hotel lies a lovely Karaoke bar and we decided to settle down there for pleasant "afters" in company of a nice group of Chinese from Hong-Kong. Among whom, was an adorable four-year old little doll, who spoke so many languages, including English and French, and definitely stole our hearts with her gracious movements of Ramvong.
Returning to Phnom Penh, we went to Sambath Neary Khmer, the famous silk shop for elegant ladies about town. With a view to buy we compared meters of embroidered silks and "phamuongs", the traditional silk worn by the princesses and the ladies of the Haute Bourgeoisie. The vivid colours varied from the subtle tints of the lotus flowers to the dark greenish red of the sea vegetation. Then, a compulsory stop at the Russian Market (Psar Tuol Tumpoung) for the gifts and all the little souvenirs before returning to the Hotel Le Royal for a "Happy Hour" drink in company of Prince Tesso. He waited for us to bring us to dine on an old-fashioned boat with Neak Moneang Sieng Dy, star of the Cambodian song of the '60s and presentator of the very popular Sieng Dy Show on television.
During the dinner, we were offered the pleasure of a sightseeing tour passing by the illuminated Royal Palace, with the sublime Moon-beam Pavilion or Preah Tineang Chanchhaya. We ended up in a bar, The Lounge, where the DJ managed to find old records of the '60s and that had us dancing twists, hula-hoops and madisons until late in the night. When entering the lobby of The Royal, the deferent smiles of the valets made us wonder about the actual thoughts of the latter, seeing a bunch of foreigners coming back from an actual Phnompenhoise evening..
The day after, as Brigitte insisted so strongly, I decided to be courageous and to visit and face yet again the horrible S-21 Centre of torture, the prison-museum of Tuol Sleng. Leaving Marine and Mathilde to the joy of a nice swim, we went to see the ex-high school, where so many Cambodians and a large number of my family members were tortured and put to death in the most horrible manner.
Finishing this sinister visit, I regained my breath when entering the Royal Palace, the Hall of the Throne, the Silver Pagoda, the Stupa of her Late Majesty Queen Sisowath Kossomak. Then followed the National Museum, in company of a Lady-guide, who made us laugh out so loud when she compared the muscles of Shiva's belly to chocolate squares or when declaring that the Vishnu was absolutely too "fatty" .

At 4:00 PM precisely, we regretfully made our farewells to our dear Angelique, as Vietnam Airlines was flying her off to France some hours before our own departure to Europe.
Our last dinner on Cambodian soil was in a typical restaurant of Phnom Penh, Khmer Surin. Here we were lucky enough to have our tongues and palates bewildered by the Demoiselles du Mekong, the delicious and fleshy giant shrimps of Cambodia. I wish to warmly congratulate Mathilde, Angelique and Brigitte who were brave enough to taste the King of Fruits, the Durian!! For those who know it, this fruit is either detested or adored, you'll tell me later what you think, ok?
Any description of our last evening would not be complete if I did not remind all my friends about the funny time we had in a genuinely Cambodian discotheque. We were invited there by Neak Moneang Sieng Dy to join her and the always gorgeous Dy Saveth, the Cambodian Brigitte Bardot.
Regretfully and all too soon Malaysian airlines were bringing us back home. I wish to finish here by extending our warmest thanks to both Jean-Louis Duvigneau from Griserie (Paris) and Jacques Guichandut from Asian Trails Cambodia for their continuous support and availability for the duration of the trip, constantly assuring our comfort and safety.
Yours truly
Ravi

Scritto da:
HRH Prince Ravivaddhana Sisowath

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