Phnom Penh and North-Eastern Cambodia (Phnom Penh - Kratie - Banlung)

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After enduring 5 hours of Khmer karaoke blasting from the bus television, we arrived in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. As a tourist, experiencing Phnom Penh is (without being too clichéd) an emotional rollercoaster. On one hand, you have the grandeur of the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda and on the other hand, you have the horrors of Toul Sleng and the Killing Fields. Throw a beautiful sunset over Boeng Kak into the mix, followed by food poisoning and you will get an emotionally turbulent few days.

Our first day in Phnom Penh was spent primarily exploring the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda complex (home to the King of Cambodia and a vast array of Buddha images). Whilst not as striking as the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the compound was still impressive, with each building ornately decorated and with extremely well manicured lawns. Following this, we also investigated the National Museum, which fortunately for us was free (South East Asia is surprisingly a fair bit more expensive than India!). We spent most of our time there loitering around fans to try and combat the extreme heat and humidity in between viewing relics from the Angkorian and Pre-Angkorian era, including a large collection of phallus statues. It was only on the way out that we realised we had come in the back entrance, thus bypassing the ticket counter. We know we should have bought a ticket but the urge to save $3US each was too strong and we shuffled guiltily out. That evening, we slowed down the pace and took our first motorbike ride over to Boeng Kak Lake for sunset.

The following day began at 2am in the morning with my head in a bucket for what would be my 3rd bout of food poisoning on this trip. Unfortunately, I spent the rest of the day in bed, unable to move (except to vomit of course), thus extending our stay in Phnom Penh for longer than we would have liked. Thankfully however, I recovered a lot quicker than last time and the following day we set out to explore the horrors of Cambodia’s not so distant past.

First stop was Toul Sleng, otherwise known as Security Prison S-21, used by Pol Pot as a centre for mass detention and horrific torture. Walking through rooms adorned with photo after photo of deceased prisoners or paintings of gruesome torture methods was not a pleasant experience, nor was wandering through the cells and past various instruments of torture but it was something that had to be done. After a thoroughly depressing few hours we made our way to the Killing Fields (not before our tuk tuk driver tried to get more money out of us for ‘being gone for 5 hours’... little mind the fact we were asleep 5 hours ago and we were actually gone 2 and a half). The Killing Fields is definitely an eerie place. What was once a site of mass graves is now little more than a grassy field with a couple of ditches and a monument to those buried there. The only reminder of the horrors this place saw is some disturbing signs around the grounds (‘Killing Tree against which executioners beat children’) and the fact that the monument is filled with thousands of human skulls found in the area. To be honest, it was a very depressing day and probably not something I would do again if I ever found myself back in Phnom Penh. That being said it is something that everyone, if given the chance should do, even if it is just once. That evening, to round out our time in the capital we treated ourselves to a beef burger (it is very exciting eating western food after so long) in an attempt to cheer ourselves up, before getting an early night’s sleep in preparation for our next journey.

Early the following morning we jumped on a bus to Kratie. Seven hours passes very slowly when you have to endure Khmer Karaoke and comedy in another language (mainly involving a fat man and a child with a drawn on moustache), though we eventually arrived and rolled into the nearest decent guesthouse we could find. We spent two nights in Kratie, which was enough time to explore the island of Koh Trong, located in the middle of the Mekong, just opposite Kratie and catch a glimpse of the rare Irrawaddy dolphins in the nearby town of Kampi. In order to do this, we jumped back on the bicycles and had a pleasant peddle around Koh Trong through the rice paddies and small rural villages followed by a very unpleasant and hot peddle to Kampi, 15kms away (to save the $6US each it would have cost to get a return moto).

Next stop on our journey was Ban Lung. It is not so much Ban Lung we wanted to visit, but the surrounding areas full of waterfalls and lush jungle. The Lonely Planet says that the road to Ban Lung is horrible, calling it the boulevard of broken backsides, so after having essentially broken our backsides the previous day on the bikes we were a little concerned about what this journey would bring. Thankfully the road was fine - sure it was bumpy, the bus rattled about almost going off the road several times and it was dusty but it really wasn’t that bad. In fact, I found arriving in Ban Lung where there were only motorbikes and no tuk tuks far more disturbing. This of course meant that we had to sit on the motorbike with our backpacks trying to balance whilst carrying all our other luggage swaying from side to side with the driver going at breakneck speed. Oh and of course we didn’t have helmets or any kind of protective gear (I’m really sorry Mum, there was no other option!!!).

Thankfully for us, we arrived in what turned out to be an excellent guesthouse with an excellent restaurant attached (Tree Top for anyone heading out that way). We spent the next few days essentially doing nothing but relaxing. On our first day we headed out to the crater lake, which is essentially just what it sounds like - a perfectly circular clear lake made by a crater set in the jungle. We spent most of the day there swimming and wandering around before getting another interesting motorbike ride back (I’m not sure if it would hurt more to land on the tarmac road or the rocky dirt road). The following day, we set out to visit some of the waterfalls in the surrounding area. The motorbike rides to and from each of the falls was in a similar vein to the previous with the added bonus of being orange after each one (red dust everywhere!). Thankfully, each waterfall offered us the opportunity to take a dip or a ‘power shower’ underneath the waterfall, thus cleansing ourselves of this fake tan.

With our time in Ban Lung coming to an end, so too was our time in Cambodia. After only 2 weeks it was time to move on and cross the border into Laos (another interesting adventure). Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed myself in Cambodia, it didn’t capture me in the way India did and that Angkor aside, I feel no need to return (despite the fact we really did have an excellent time!).

Well, that's it, I am missing home a little bit now,

xox Kate

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Comments

[James Waller]

Kate, I was surprised to hear the Killing Fields didn't capture you more than was indicated above. From what other friends have told me, they were brought to tears by the dispicable actions that the scene depicts. Perhaps, though, they were especially upset because they felt obligated to be rather than due to a underlying feeling of death. I'm interested to hear your thoughts, nevertheless.

[Kaaate]

I'm not sure what gave you the idea I wasn't moved by the Killing Fields. My visit there certainly did not make me feel any better after the couple of hours I had just spent at Toul Sleng. Whilst for me, it was no where near as horrifying as Toul Sleng it is not a place I am keen to return to.