1. The journey to Cambodia. Packed for Cambodia (we had drawn out dollars as we were told this was the best currency and that there are no cashmachines in the whole country), we boarded a luxury coach in Bangkok and began the journey to Cambodia, arriving at the border several hours later. Border checks completed, crossing into Cambodia was like stepping from one world to another. We were herded onto a battered bus along with all our luggage which was stored in the central aisle. The easiest way in and out of the coach was through the windows, and as the coach did not stop very often, the windows also became the toilet ! The road into Cambodia from Thailand is recognised as one of the worst in Asia and is dubbed the 'highway to hell'. They say a picture paints a 1000 words, so if you havent yet, watch the video clip, it shows the roads in a way I cannot even begin to describe. We arrived at Sean Reap after 16 hours, tired and irrate - not helped by the bus driver trying to force us to stay at a guesthouse recommended by him. We all rebelled and after a half hour standoff, we were deposited along a dusty highway and soon found a guesthouse to crash at.
2. siem reap & ankor wat. The following day we got our bearings, discovered our guesthouse had a crocodile farm in the backyard and headed out into Siem Reap. We were on a busy road - it was dusty, noisy and hot. We jumped into a half motorbike / half cart contraption and headed to the centre. The culture shock continued, although there were a number of bars and restaurants, they were all on dusty tracks and as you sat in them, people came upto you begging, many were small children or amputees, it was all a bit overpowering. That evening we watched a traditional shadow puppet show (much to Jo's disgust !!). The following 3 days were spent at Ankor Wat (1st day in a car and next 2 days we cycled) - this was why I wanted to come to Cambodia, ever since seeing it on tv I have wanted to visit. We bought a 3 day pass ($40) and were on our way. It is impossible to describe Ankor Wat or everything we saw, the place was spectacular and you could have spent weeks there and still not seen it all. The place is vast, the outside circuit road is 36 miles ! The highlights though - Ankor Thom, this incorporates the Bayon Temple (with all the heads), Elephant king wall (100's of sculptures of elephants); Ta Prohm (the city has been more or less left as it was found, overgrown by the jungle, and is where the Lara Croft movie was partly filmed); and of course Ankor Wat (where we watched the sunset). There were too many memories and experiences to write (just look at the photos and you will get an idea).
3. journey to Phnom Penn. It was time to move on, a coach took us to the ferryboat, which was to be our next form of transport. We travelled by coach along the riverbeds and the shanty towns, smell and poverty was quite overpowering. We pushed through throngs of people trying to sell us anything and everything and got on the boat. The boat journey to Phnom Penn was to take us down the tonle sap lake, it is massive covering 2700 square km, and the journey would take 5 hours. We were advised prior to the trip to sit on the roof of the boat rather than inside (easier to get out if it sank !) and so we watched the world go by, we passed floating villages and at times could not see either shore. The lake then became more of a river, with comminuties on either sides, houses on stilts and fisherman all around. The boat journey was another great experience, although we should have remembered that if you are going to spend 5 hours in the sun, then you should use suntan lotion !!!
4. Phnom Penn. After the tranquility of the journey, arriving was a bit of a change of pace - upon landing, you pass through a narrow walkway,on the outside were what felt like hundreds of people, shouting and waving to get you to use their motortrailer (a motorised rickshaw), and trying to prise your luggage from your hands. Thankfully we knew where we were going - this was to be another highlight of Cambodia - my best mate Kes and his partner Sarah had arrived in PhnomPenn a few days earlier - they too had been travelling and I had not seen either for about 14 months when they visited us when we working in Gozo. We headed for lakeside where they were staying, which is a kind of backpacker shanty town that has build up around the lake, with narrow alleys and numerous cheap and not so cheerful backpacker shacks, bars and restaurants. We checked into the Lakeside guest house - $4 for a small room with a bathroom of sorts - a sign said no prostitutes or drugs - the person who showed us our room offered us both ! The streets around this area were full of people offering the same, and it is the only place during our entire travels where at night I did not feel completely safe. We met Kes & Sarah which was great and planned our next day. I am sure its what all the tourists do, but the day was to comprise of S21, the Killing Fields & the shooting range. S-21 (now known as the Toul Sleng Museum), used to be a high school, but was turned into a prison by Pol Pot's security forces in 1975. It was called Security Prison (S-21) and became the largest detention and torture center in Cambodia. For the next three years over 17,000 individuals were held here and later taken to Choeung Ek (Killing Fields). When it was found by the invading Vietnamese army, only 7 people were found alive. We hired a guide and after looking at the rules of the prison (see photo), we saw the torture rooms, prison cells and then rooms full of photos of those 'processed' within S-21. You can read about these things in books, watch them on TV, but you only get a real appreciation when you visit these places in person. We then headed to the Killing Fields (9 miles outside Phnom Penn), our guide had lost 2 sisters during the Pol Pot era, the place just numbed and silenced you. There is a 35ft memorial stupa built in the middle of the killing fields containing the 8,000 skulls recovered at this particular killing field. There are shallow pits which had contained bodies, trees from which people were hung and as you look down whilst walking around, you can see shreds of clothing, human teeth and shards of bone everywhere. It reminds you of the evil that humankind is capable of. After this, going to the shooting range seems an odd thing to do, but it almost seemed like light relief. There are many of these places, usually in the middle of nowhere, there is literally a 'menu' of weapons to fire, handguns, pump action shotguns, hand grenades, AA guns, rocket launchers and of course the AK47. As Samuel L Jackson said in the movie 'Jackie Brown', "AK-47. The very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherf****r in the room, accept no substitutes". For $50 I got an AK47 and a clip, and let loose in a shooting range. Its just one of those things you have to do in your lifetime ! That evening we watched the film 'Killing Fields', which had far more meaning after the day we had spent.
5. Kampot. The following day we boarded another coach and headed to the town of Kampot. Although on the tourist route, this is less travelled it did not have the feel of a tourist destination. The following day we hired mopeds for about $4 each and headed into the country in search of caves systems we had read about. We failed to find them (!), but found others which local children were happy to take us around, along the path to the caves there was an unexpected suprise, an unexploded hand grenade ! The following day we took a tour in a 4x4 up the Bokor mountain. It was an arduous couple of hours to get the the top, travelling over very poor roads, however, the views were well worth it with views of Southern Cambodia and Vietnam. Also at the top are a complex of buildings built around 80 years ago, and now weathered by years of abandonment and artillary shells from when the Vietnamese were fighting in Khmer Rouge. There are the remains of a casino, church, and buildings made for the King's holidays. That evening we hired a taxi for the journey to Sihanoukville, which took a couple of hours and cost $20. The taxis tend too travel in convoy as there is still lawlessness here (we chated to a couple who were held up on the edge of Kampot by a policeman with an AK47 and 'charged' $20 to enter !).
6. Sihanoukville. We arrived in the dark, however, having pre-booked rooms from Kampot, we were dropped off at the door and had a good nights sleep. Sihanoukville is the seaside resort town in Cambodia, and is home to all 3 of the countries dive centres. The beach was opposite, so we took advantage, crossed the road, found a local bar/restaurant and attempted to relax. This is fine, except that every few minutes you are approached by hawkers, selling everything from bootleg guidebooks, to beads, to massage. This you can contend with, but the beggars make being on the beach uncomfortable, and makes you feel guilty. Try sitting on a beach and have a person dragging themselves along a beach on their elbows, pulling withered legs behind them; or a blind man, being guided by a child, telling a story of how his eyes had been 'put out' by the Khmer Rouge ! We ended up limiting time on the beach and actually sitting further back in the bars. This said I had the best ever tuna steak that I have eaten whilst here. We booked a tour around Ream National Park. We travelled on a small boat through the mangroves, watching people waist deep in water collecting cockles, before being deposited on a beautiful deserted beach. After a BBQ of barracuda, we walked for a while, passing through a village, before being collected by the boat for the return journey. Kes & Sarah left the next day for Siem Reap whilst we headed to 'Scuba Nation' for a 2 day 'liveaboard'. This was not an Egyot liveaboard for those familiar with such things. The boat was basic, the seats turned into beds and we slept under the stars, but it was a real experience. The visibility was pretty poor, but despite some evidence of dynamite fishing, the reefs were generally in a pristine condition and there was plenty of marine life. It was also strange to think that as there are only 3 dive centres in the whole country, those of us on the boat were the only 7 people diving in the whole of Cambodia ! Another coach journey booked, we were ready to head back to Phnom Penn, to spend our last 2 days in Cambodia, and meet Kes & Sarah again.
7. Phnom Penn (again). Once back and booked into the same guesthouse (glutton for punishment), we set out to see some of the other sites of Cambodias capital - The Royal Palace, The National Museum, The Silver Pagoda & Wat Phnom. Each was an insite into the culture and history of Cambodia, however, I found that just wandering around the streets and through the markets was just as enjoyable and eye-opening (especially buying bugs by the baked bean can full !). We met up with Kes and Sarah in the evening, bought tickets and prepared to leave Cambodia and head for Vietnam.
Cambodia has left a mark on me for all sorts of reasons, it definately got into my blood, the people where the friendliest I have ever met, and its past only makes you appreciate this all the more. Cambodia is a country that I would love to return too.
