My only day in Phnom Penh began with a major letdown. My first priority was to visit Kingdom Breweries, Cambodia's premier craft brewery, founded by Leopard Capital and headed up by a German brewmaster. The legend printed on every bottle will happily inform drinkers that every Kingdom brew "blends Europe's finest ingredients with purified water from Cambodia's largest lake to create a traditional yet unmatched flavor."
Yeah, whatever. I just wanted to be able to say that I'd toured the brewery, chatted with the brewmaster, and had a couple of Cambodia's premier craft beers direct from the source.
I was foiled in that ambition. The date was Sunday, July 20. The brewery was closed on Sundays.
Rats.
So I went to the National Palace instead.
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| The Silver Pagoda, so called because its floor is one solid sheet of the stuff. You can't see it, though. The curators covered it up with a carpet, the bastards. Apparently it's so tarnished these days that you can't tell what kind of metal it is anyway. |
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| Selfies with Siddhartha is going to be the title of my autobiography. |
3 comments:
Thanks for taking us along on your trip.
There's something about that architecture that's just so familiar to me, down in my bones. I've had dreams that are so real of being places like that.
Selfies with Siddhartha is the best autobiography title ever.
So, the big question this post leaves with: Is there anywhere in the world where they don't have beer??
Liza: Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read!
Polly: Beautiful profile pic, let me say.
Speaking of Cambodian and Thai architecture, I couldn't figure out what those weird, squiggly spires at the apex of every roof and the corner of every eave were supposed to be. Later I overheard a tour guide in Bangkok telling a group of German tourists that they represent the claws of Garuda, a mythical humanoid bird-creature from Hindu and Buddhist tradition. He's the national symbol of Thailand and images of him can be found from India to Indonesia.
There is nowhere in the world where they don't have beer, apparently. Even the diviest backwaters I've been to had some sort of local swill. Even in the remotest place I can imagine -- Central Asia -- they have Russian beers like Baltika. The stuff was invented in ancient Sumer, after all. The cradle of civilization, you know.
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