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Published: April 23rd 2008
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After a well earned rest by the Coast, we were ready for some more sightseeing and journey-ing so we firstly made the pleasant enough 4 hour journey to Phnom Penh. Having only seen Cambodias capital at midnight on our whistlestop journey a few days previously we were quite suprised to see how run down it was. I mean, Cambodia is extremely poor but we weren't quite expecting dirty rubbish strewn streets and accommodation that looked as though it couldn't possibly be inhabited. The thing that struck me the most was the motorbike-pile-up; in the sense of motorbikes everywhere weaving in and out, and also in the sense of 'lets see how much stuff and how many people we can get on a motorbike.' For a poor country this makes obvious economical sense but is a sight that shocks the westerners....I tried to get some good shots but take my word for it there were far more extreme ones that I just couldn't get photographed mid-tuk-tuk journey.
Anyway we arrived at lunchtime so we decided to see the sights in the afternoon so that we could leave the next day for Siem Reap. Our first point of call was the killing
fields, just outside Phnom Penh. It's basically the mass graves of around 9,000 victims of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge's mass execution of intellectuals, teachers, writers, educated people and their families. The brutal regime lasted four years between 1975 and 1978 beofre invading Vietnamese forces reached the capital; by this time at least 1 million and up to 3 million had died as a result of the awful genocide. It's strange to think that something like this occurred not so long ago. The killing fields main feature is a tall white hollow stupa that displays thousands of unearthed skulls and acts as a memorial for those that had suffered. We left feeling quite empty and then had 2 children running after our tuk tuk asking for water...all very heartbreaking. Our next stop was the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. On arrival we realised we had been slightly foolish and not dressed appropriately (covered knees and shoulders) so we had to 'hire' a lovely outfit so that we could enter the Palace grounds. It felt like you had been transported to a different country as you entered, there were beautiful buidlings and temples set in serene grounds with beautiful
plants and flowers everywhere and it was so laid back compared to the hectic haggling outside the walls. The Silver Pagoda was much like a visit to the crown jewels in London, although not so grand of course...cabinet after cabinet of silver jewellery and buddha's to view.
The next day we made our way to Siem Reap, a mere 6 hour journey by bus we arrived in the early evening to be bombarded again by tuk tuk drivers we could barely step off the bus, it left you so confused and unable to even hear any of them they were all shouting and trying to get your attention! Eventually one of them realsied that the three of us could barely talk to each other let alone pick our mode of transport and he toddled off and suddenly appeared with his tuk tuk and we quickly jumped on with our stuff and got whisked away. When he dropped us at our guest house it became apparant why they were even more crazy than previously before; they want to secure you as your driver for the following day to take you around the sights of Angkor. So we arranged for him
to come and collect us the following morning.
So Angkor has more than one hundred temples, built between the ninth and fifteenth centuries and spread over some 3000 square kilometres. We had one day to explore the key sites as our tuk-tuk guide would show us. Our first stop was Angkor Thom which is known as 'the walled city' and has five gateways into it which are an impressive site in themselves with 54 God images on the left and 54 demons on the right leading up to the main gate where 4 heads above the gateway face the direction of the compass points. Inside the walled city we visited the Bayon Temple which was very impressive and mirrored the gates with large carved faces that adorn the sides of its 54 towers. The next stop was Ta Phrom...a temple best known for its appearance in the Tombraider film. The temple has been left to the ravages of the jungle and has roots and trunks intermingling with the stones which actually makes it look even more amazing! Our last stop was the impressive and most known Angkor Wat...it didn't disappoint. We approached along the path towards it and once
inside there were little corridoors to explore and beautiful carvings. It was however 42 degrees heat and the long walk down without any shade had exhausted us so we took a while to compose ourselves before exploring - I think the Japanese tourists (with their 7 day passes around their necks and insisted on a picture of themselves infront of every monument and temple) had the right idea with their umbrellas, but hey.... In the central area was a beautiful temple with very steep steps but was inaccessible. We saw many monks wondering around which made the place seem even more spiritual. I tried my best to capture the monks in the beautiful environment. I am really glad I went to visit the temples but I think it would have been nice to have had longer there to explore more of the sights.
So, in conclusion Cambodia has been a beautiful place to visit and has such contrasts but also such heartbreaking poverty and suffering that it makes coming here quite humbling.
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Great pics!
Love the motorbike pics, will be great for your travel book! You manage to make the temple outfit look fasionable, and I like the curls, too - are you going to put the hairstaighteners in the car boot sale when you come back home?!!