The Final Countdown....

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It seems like a life time ago that I wrote my last blog and am now kicking myself as to how much I have to write about. Sorry if it's has a bit of a lack of detail but I shall do my best.

Last time I was making my way down to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) which seemed slightly industrial from the bus window but that turned out to be just the outskirts. When entering the city center it could have been like any other. It had the cleanness and craziness of Bangkok but just on a smaller scale. The main tourist/backpacker area was easily explored in minutes. We arrived in the evening and commenced our exploration of the local bars. Of course as is the case in most areas of south east Asia we bumped into some friends we had previously met in Hoi An and Hanoi which was nice. We then woke in the morning and decided against a too over filled day and had mosey around the city. We visited a few markets and walked in some of the parks which was nice but found the markets to pushy to the point of ludicrousy. There was some definite nail digging involved whilst constantly being screeched, "Ladeeeeeey you want buy somethiiiiiing". It all got a bit too much so we escaped after a while. The next day we went to a place called to Co Chi tunnels which is a sort of museum and half real life tunnels in a little village where the guerrilla fighting went on during the Vietnam war. I am so glad we did it as although of course I had read up on my facts before coming to Vietnam to see the area and some of the traps and savage death methods used was so interesting. We were allowed to crawl through the tunnels where the Vietcong spent so many days of their lives. They were actually widened and broadened to enable western tourists to fit through which was a wonder because we were crawling on our hands and knees in what seemed to be such a tiny space. At various points during the tour the guide would open up a secret hatched into a tunnel or step on a revolving trap to reveal jagged bamboo spears which none of us saw coming. All in all a really great and insightful day.

We then regrettably but excitedly moved on to the highly anticipated capitol of Cambodia - Pnom Phen. I was expecting a significant change from the two countries in terms of development but again my expectations were contradicted. It's a city with a lot going on in terms of development and it seems that there is large amount of building projects shooting up all over the place. We stayed by the riverside which was a charming little alley filled with guesthouses with hammocks and general hippy chillout stuff going on which was very different from the centre of town. Again we bumped into people we knew. At first arrival we felt quite safe in the area as we had heard a few horror stories on our way round but I quickly became agitated when going out at night and finding a few shifty characters dotted around the place which always elicits a feeling unease.

The following morning we jumped in a tuk tuk (they don't have them in Vietnam and was a welcomed addition to the charm of the city) to a place called S21. We had no idea what to expect of it and thought it was just a museum dedicated to Cambodia's long running and somewhat tragic history. We were completely shocked when we found it was a death camp for prisoners of the Pol Pot regime and showed the rooms and cells and torture areas for everyone who suffered there along with an abundance of documentation and mug shots and numbers of all the captives of the place. It took us a while to walk around the four blocks of the camp and by the end we were utterly emotionally drained as it had a similar feel to Auschwitz in Poland. We were then taking to a place called the killings fields where there is a monument dedicated to the prisoners that died and marsh land where the bodies were taken and disposed of. This was really sad to see but at the same time important to the heritage and history of the country for people to see. I wanted to ask a few locals how they felt about the whole thing when speaking to them but I didn't have the courage and wasn't sure whether it would be the right thing to do.

We visited a few markets and pottered about the next day, nothing significant to report. We then moved on to the next city of Siem Reap which turned out to be my favorite of the two places. I don't know what it is but I was really excited when driving in to it. It is more of a large town than a city with the surrounding roads still un tarmacked and bumpy and muddy. Guest houses are situated down little winding alleys and the main streets not a sky scraper is to be seen but small pagoda type looking buildings and traditional houses and street markets. It has a certain energy which we quickly soaked up. There we met one of Alice's close family friends from home Jack (who was there completely on the random). We spent most of our time with him and a few others we'd met in Pnom Phen. One of the many reasons people visit Siem Reap is for its glorious temples. A ticket into Angkor Wat costs $20 but was 100% worth it. We rose at the unearthly hour of 4:30 a.m. in order to catch the sunrise over the temple. We jumped into a tuk tuk to see the sight that has got travelers talking throughout south east asia. It was much like looking at the Taj Mahal, not in structure or design but in pure collosal size and outstanding beauty. It was so awful not having a camera to capture it all. We then explored the insides of the temple and its surrounding gardens which were equally as pretty. The insides are quite worn down (obviously because it was built in the 11th century) but you could tell it was quite lavish at the time as there are big holes where pools were to have been. Seated Buddhas are dotted around all over the place but with their heads chopped off (the Khmer Rouge by order of Pol Pot were ordered to destroy them). The whole thing looked like something the Incas would have built or something. In the surrounding area there are over 200 separate temples to visit but of course we were not to see them all but we did manage to squeeze in about 7 or 8! The next temple was so impressive with the outsides spiraling to great heights and made up of loads and loads of Buddha faces carved out of stone. We also visited another temple where Tomb Raider was filmed apparently and it was surrounded by trees and jungle growing through the windows and doors. The heat was stifling that day and we struggled to stay in the sun for over five minutes which has been strange as we've had a lot of rainy and overcast days recently. All in all though the day was definitely one of the best so far and I'm so glad we did it.

The next days we spent exploring the town and on one particular occasion we rented out bicycles and rode around the town for a few hours. It was really nice to see a bit of the area in the open air but again it was really really hot and had to stop for regular water and lemon juice breaks. Just as we were riding back to our guesthouse, about 50 metres from it down the road, two men on a moped rode alongside sonia and snatched her bag from the basket. She was devastated of course as we had already been robbed in Nha Trang but this time everything went from phone, ipod, remaining money and camera. The camera which took all the photos of Angkor Wat and our journey so far through Vietnam and Cambodia. This managed to knock our confidence slightly in Cambodia and it was such a shame for it to happen so close to the end of the journey. The police came and made a thorough report with such friendliness and support and all the people including the guesthouse owners and the people who we rented the bikes off were equally as shocked and appalled and helpful which was really nice. We left the next day, not through feeling badly about the robbing but Jack was going to Bangkok to catch a flight the the Philippines and we wanted a few days here before I fly home sweet home. We are now in Bangkok for the next few days doing a mad dash of shopping and other such things before we leave. Alice has decided to go to see Jack in the Philippines for a few weeks before flying home so will making my way back alone which is fine but will be weird being apart for the first time in a lifetime!

Will probably try and write a short but sweet final blog in a few days before I leave but for now i'll just say that Cambodia was great, a lot different to the rest of south east asia but that is in no way a bad thing. I feel like we saw a lot of the really important things in the short space of time we had there due to bad planning on Alice and I's part. The fact that I will be home and sleeping in my own bed a few short days from now has definately not hit me yet but am feeling refreshed and replenished at having finished our south east asia journey and am excited for the immediate and distant future and seeing everyone at home :-)

Speak and see you all very soon!
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