Blogs from Banlung, East, Cambodia, Asia - page 4

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 ... read more

Tiistaina 13. pv lahdettiin jatkamaan Phnom Penhista kohti Rattanakirin maakuntaa. Paiva oli suoraan sanottuna aika huvittava. Aamulla herattiin aikaseen, vedettiin gh:lla aamupilat ja lahdettiin tuktukilla dosarille. Edessa olisi siis reilut 10 tuntia bussissa. Asemalla meidat istutetiin muovituoleille odottamaan linkkua. Kerrottiin, etta bussi tulisi tuota pikaa. Kyllahan siita menikin pari bussia, mutta meita ei ohjattu kumpaankaan niista. About tunnin odottelun jalkeen eras tytto tuli sanomaan, etta kyseessa onkin pieni bussi, joka odottaa meita aseman ulkopuolella. Otettiin rinkat selkaan ja kaveltiin ulos. Hieman nauratti, kun kavi ilmi, etta pieni bussi olikin ihan tuikitavallinen henkiloauto, jossa istutkeli jo kolme matkustajaa. Meidan mukana tuli myos yksi vanhempi tati, joten matkustajia oli kuusi kipaletta plus kuski. Kolme autossa istunutta tyttelia ahtautuivat kaikki pelka... read more

Hello all We wanted remote Cambodia...........and guess what? we got it....!! In total we bussed for about 15 hours all the way across Cambodia from Siem Reap to Ban Lung, good journey but the last 3 hours or so were the bumpiest yet due to the area being so remote and no proper roads have been built in this neck of the woods. So where do I start? ok well our first day here we spend at Yeak Laom lake which is a natural volcanic crater filled with the most clean turquoise water we've ever seen.! We joined in with the local kids jumping off the jetty and railings down into the lake, some of the little bleeders were jumping out of a tree at least 20 meters high! crazy...........As I started to climb the tree ... read more

I had heard that you could get your visa for Laos at the Cambodian/Laos border. Unfortunately this turned out to be an urban legend. I was faced with a longer stay than I first anticipated, while I sent my passport to Phnom Penn to get an express Visa sorted out. I was in a little town called Stung Treng close to the border. When we arrived there was only one room left in the hostel. I was horrible, just a crappy bed with a 2cm thick mattress and no windows. There was no shower and after a long journey like we had to get there, that was something that was sorely needed. Also we were woken at 6am to the sound of the most god awful music! It was just a horrible experience and to be ... read more

Our first stop in Cambodia was in the Ratanakiri Province, which is in the North East of the country. We met some people on the bus who were also travelling there and decided to split a four hour cab ride for $45 - 5 of us plus the driver in a Toyota Camry. Yikes. Because most people skip past this area, there is only one bus a day, which we missed, so we squeezed in for a bumpy ride and got to know each other. Our new friends, Janet and Jakov are from Malta, and Sijs, pronounced like 'lace' with an 'S', is from Belgium. The five of us arrived in Ban Lung and settled into a lovely guesthouse. We ended up spending quite a few days with these guys, so anytime I say "we" in ... read more