I don't really understand WHY I like the people here so much.. Maybe because everybody is smiling, giving you the impression that he or she is especially happy to see you. Or is it because people don't take theirselves to important. Everything is done with a calmness and pleasure.
Now, here I'm getting pathetic.. Just wanted to say I really enjoy the cambodian people!
My khmer (language) is improving slowly, but still- fun to try.
When I started writing the blogg it seemed likea great idea to me. Now, after several month, it doesn't seem that fun anymore.. Pretty normal, I guess.. Maybe it's getting more boring, more like pure information.. But there is going to be more pictures!! :)
In Phnom Penh we stayed at a rather fancy hotel- big room, TV bathtub. Nice to have some luxery inbetween :)
We visited the palast, the golden pagoda, the killing fields. I spent some time just wandering around in town, chit-chatting with people.
We got good friend with a bar-owner just across the street from the hotel. She tought me more khmer, complained about having 2 boys, who would not help her in the bar and joked with everybody coming through.
There we sat with our favorite tuc-tuc-driver every night too. What a sweet guy. A former street-kid, sent to Phnom Penh by his family to stay with the monks for not starving to death. Now with 26 he rents a tuc-tuc every day, makes enough money to support his family a bit, speaks japanese and english. Nice guy and ALWAYS the biggest smile on his face.
We then went to Kampot, a town close to the ocean. I was really eager to get there, mostly because of the hill-station close to Kampot. I've been there before and it made a great impression on me.
So, that's what I did, I trecked thruegh the jungle for 3 hours to end up at an abondend hill-station. Originally it was build and used by the french, later part of the war for independence and during the war against the Khmer Roughe the vitnamese were shooting at the khmer there.
All buildings are destroyed ans emptied for interior, it minds of a ghost-town, even more gloomy.
Most impressive the old casino, red walls with green moss everywhere. I put some pictures in the Cambodia-folder. It was a real nice hike and the hill-station as impressive as I remembered.
Next day we rented a motorbike and went to Kep, visited some caves on the way, had all the discussion with the kids about having or not having a guide. We hadn't :)
Kep was pretty boring, the beach not very nice and not much to do. We went to the crab-market, had crab with the famous Kampot-pepper and wandered around.
Maybe I go back there in a week or so to visit the rabbit-beach, a beach with powdery white sand on an island just an hour from Kep.
From Kampot we went to Sihanoukville, another place I've been to before.
Changes happen lightening fast here in Cambodia. There is no way to recognize anything in Sihanoukville. Every beach has many many guesthouses and hotels, ladys walking around offering massage and manicure, zillions of kids trying to sell braceletts.
It's pretty ok on the last beach, no electricity, no loud music, peace :)
Unfortunatly it was raining all night and it didn't stop yet. No sunbathing today.. At least I have time to update the blogg :0
Tomorrow Camilla leaves for Thailand and back home. I go the cardamon-mountains.
New pictures in the Cambodia-folder!!
