Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh has a bit of a sordid history… We spent a few depressing days looking at the killing fields (and seeing the movie from 1984, which is good!) and also visited the school turned torture prison, S-21. Before coming here we read a very interesting Swedish book called ‘Pol Pot’s smile’, which is about why a Swedish delegation, which visited Democratic Kampuchea in 1978, came back and stated that the revolution had been successful. The author can’t understand how they could have missed all that suffering. One of the Swedish men who took part in that very delegation had a photo exhibit in S-21 (N.B. set-up after the book was published...), showing pictures he himself took while on tour in the country. He presented his thoughts back in 1978 for each picture, and his thoughts now. In the pictures people were happy and smiling, and it all looked fine and dandy indeed. Of course we know now that this was all fake (most of it anyway) but as the illusion the Khmer Rouge had put up for the Swedes was absolutely MASSIVE (they were taken practically everywhere in the country and were allowed to stop and film (almost) anywhere during their stay), and the Swedes themselves had very positive pre-conceptions (they were members of the Swedish Kampuchea friendship association), you can understand why the delegation couldn’t believe it was all a show just for them. They wanted to believe that the revolution had been a success!
Disregarding the grim sights on offer in Phnom Penh – and the abundance of over-eager (euphemism for very pushy) tuk-tuk drivers – it’s a lovely city which we liked a lot, filled with lakes, riverside walks, parks and wonderful palaces. At night the parks turn into huge outdoor discos, where the Cambodians practice their choreographed dance moves, all at the same time – it’s a feast for the eyes and the soul!
Sihanoukville and Koh Rung Island
A four hour ride from Phnom Pen takes you to beach town of Sihanoukville. It’s very tacky, the way you expect beach-party places to be. In our search for a hotel we accidentally went into what we now believe to be a brothel. There were plenty of ‘friendly hostesses’ who flocked around Lars as we entered, but the receptionist quickly told us they didn’t have any rooms available. One wonders if a room magically would have appeared if Lars had gone back on his own… We stayed next door (where they claimed that first establishment was a karaoke bar… Named Cobra Guesthouse??).
The next day on the beach we found Al and Sarah again (from Mongolia and our Mekong River cruise)! Which lead to a fun night out, to say the least… We enjoyed a very nice dinner, and then ventured to the bar by the beach where THE party was going to be at. We had been told this earlier by long-haired westerners who promoted the bar in exchange for lodging and booze. And the party seemed to be there alright, including cheap drinks and a fire show on the beach. It was very, very tacky and a lot of fun!
The next morning we overslept. We were supposed to be at the pick up point for going out to a little secluded island, Koh Rung, at 7.40. Lars woke up at 8.15. It was just sheer luck that the pick up guy went back to check a forth time... We did make it, and hoped we hadn’t forgotten anything too essential back in the hotel after having packed our stuff in quite a hurry... (Found out later that we had lost Lars' swim wear, but luckily he had two). And just as we boarded the boat we realized that maybe a two and a half hour boat ride wasn’t optimal for this morning… We were both pretty green-faced when we finally arrived… in paradise. This island was very much worth that bumpy, sickening boat ride and a hundred sand fly bites! We were taken to this lovely bay with about 12 half-filled bungalows, porcelain white sand that stretched on forever and oh so turquoise-blue waters. You could touch the tranquility! The bungalows were great as well. They were wooden and very rustic, with ‘natural air-conditioning’, i.e. walls that didn’t quite reach all the way up to the roof and there were also plenty of ventilation cracks all over the place. The beds were very comfy and clean, and romantically draped in mosquito nets. Everything you need, really! Too top it all off, the island was also inhabited by four of the cutest puppies ever, whose favorite playing spot seemed to be right outside our veranda.
Ahhh, bliss!
Lars and Louise
