Greetings from Cambodia all you good, good people. This place rocks like a big rocky rock, rocking up at a rock concert whilst eating a stick of rock. It has surprised us and charmed us in equal measure, and it's a place we'd love to return to as there are undoubtedly more remote parts of the country which sound well worth visiting too. Essentially we've done a big triangle round the Tonle Sap lake/river, starting from Phnom Pehn, travelling to Battambang and then across the lake to Siem Reap - the home of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and all the other incredible temples. Also the home of Angkor butter - well at least we think that's what the cows were doing wandering around a few of the temples! (See pic - you'd never get that at Edinburgh castle! Although you do get Highland coos at the Burrel Collection I suppose).
Anyway, to cut to the chase, we thought a list of 5 things we didn't expect to hear/ see/ say, best highlights the wonderful unpredictability of this place:
1. "Do you want to stop and watch this cockfight?" - Jeannot's moto driver, Mr. Bat, touring us round rural Battambang.
2. "Do you want an open shave as well?" - Anthony's street barber, Mr. Ling, trying the upsell after he persuaded him into the Phnom Penh market barber chair.
3. "How's your diaorrhea my friend?" - Another of the friendly moto drivers checking on Anthony's wee bowel problem. Who didn't you tell Jeannot?
4. "Tony Hutcheson. Tony Hutcheson. Over here, over here. I'm Mr. Bean!" Mr Bean, our personal guide and tuk tuk driver, racing to meet us off the boat as we arrived in Siem Reap. (Our pal Mr. Bat had handliy passed on our details - you've got to admire their initiative, although not sure if it's entirely inkeeping with the Data Protection Act).
5. "Waaaaaahhhhh trrrraaaaiiiiinnnn!" Both of us upon seeing the oncoming train on Battambang's famous single track bamboo train. Basically you ask a wee man if you can have a go on his train - then his two sons carry over two sets of wheels, a bamboo plank and plonk an outboard motor on the back. Everyone piles on the train and you set off along the dis-used railway. When you meet a train coming towards you, both trains slow and suss out who bears the heavier load. The lighter train has to get off the track and the heavier one proceeds. Fortunately we had five adults and two motorbikes so nobody was getting in our way! Railly funny so it was!
Aside from these unexpected moments were the parts that we had read up on and were prepared for, but which still brought us up short. Looking into the monument filled with skulls at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek was truly chilling. We travelled out there early in the morning and apart from the sound of children's singing drifting across the field from a nearby school, we were completely alone. We'd both read a lot about those who suffered under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, but this moment really brought home to us how much this country has had to endure. In spite of this, the people here are fantastic and there is no sense that they feel sorry for themselves or wish to dwell in the past. We were lucky enough to be taken out to dinner by some lovely Cambodian people in Phnom Penh They are the most positive, intelligent and generous people you could meet, and we encountered more like them in every place we stopped.
As for the temples of Angkor - well far better scribes than us have tried and failed to sum them up in words, so we'll stick with our sun headline of Ang-kor blimey! We loved them. It's no wonder the Cambodian people are so proud of what they have achieved. We used up all three days of our three day pass and took in twenty different temples, shuttled round by Mr.Bean, who had a knack of getting us to the right place at the right time - i.e. avoiding the Japanese and Korean coach tours!
So, that's about it from here. The loop is over and we're off south to Singapore. Hope you're all doing well. Keep the comments coming peeps. Lots of love, The Hutchies xx
