Cambodia

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As we entered Cambodia it was much the same craziness, if not more. It struck us how poor this country was compared to Vietnam. From the moment we set foot off the bus beggars approached us and it was hard to be tough with them.

Whilst in Phnom Penh we needed to arrange our Laos Visa so we hired a tuk tuk driver for the day to do this and we visited The Killing Fields, Tuol Sleng Museum and the russian market. Visiting the Killing Fields and the museum was a real eye opener. It was heartbreaking to see the horrors Pol Pot brought against this country and its people and we found the place and the photos so upsetting we decided not to put them on here.

We left Phnom Penh for Siem Reap and booked on a tour of the many surrounding temples. Our tuk tuk driver was called Leader and he was a charac
ter. He would wave eratically every time he saw us. We see the temples of Angkor Thom including Bayon and the terrace of elephants. Followed by Ta Keo, Ta Nei and Ta Prohm - the temple where tomb raider was filmed. We attempted to pull our best Lara Croft poses but we just seemed to attract some funny looks from the other tourists. Ta Prohm was a cool temple set in the jungle and was great to explore. The following day we see the famous Angkor Wat the largest religous building in the world and recently named a seventh wonder of the world. It was absolutely huge and it was a very long day especially because of the heat. We see a few more temples that day and then had a break returning for sun set over the mountains. We only just made the sunset in time and had to run up the mountain slope and up a short cut along with all the locals. In Siem Reap we also visited the markets that sold just about anything and everything. As usual we did a bit of shopping.

We left Siem Reap for Phnom Penh again as we had to catch a bus for the border from here. We got a bus to Stung Treng the next day. It was a long journey with many of the locals sitting in the aisles. When the bus stopped for a break we were always attacked by women with pineapples and bannanas which they would screach at us in really annoying voices. Beggars would place a stone as a step by the bus for us to use in order to earn some money. When we finally arrived in Stung Treng we were attacked by hotel owners all wanting our business as they tried to talk to us all at once. It was too much so we jumped in one offering a tuk tuk just to get away from it. We needed a room for three people and despite telling him he tried to offer us one single bed for us all to sleep in! We spent a good hour or so searching for a room in Stung Treng and realised there was no triple rooms in the whole town. We only stayed in Stung Treng to cross the border into Laos which we did the next day. It was a crazy journey firstly crossing the river on a small boat and then fitting 7 people into a car - 2 in the drivers seat! We seemed to travel through the middle of fields on a dusty bumpy dirt track. The border crossing was a simple shed and they charged us a dollar despite us already having the correct visa - 2 guesses whos pocket that went in! Cambodia is a country to love and loathe after just a short time here it can get too much with the constant begging and the children approaching you but it still has so much character and so much to offer. The people here have really had to go through a lot and only now is it getting on its feet.

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Photos

Phonm Penh
Kaos on the roads

Comments

[mum jean]

another great set of photos, what adventures, can't wait for the next instalment. take care all of you xx

[Mum v]

Tuk Tuk
What away to travel.. on a tuk tuk. They look such fun. Its a shame you had to see the heart breaking horrors that happened to the country, but it is great the way they have coped and are now getting on with their lives. Must have been quite exciting seeing the temples especially the one where Tomb Raider had been filmed. I can see why the locals were laughing at your Laura Croft pose... only joking they probably didn't know who she was. Ha! Ha! Shame you were getting hassled by the beggars but they have to survive somehow. At least you were able to go shopping and its sounds like you did enjoy visiting Cambodia... Can't believe they managed to fit 5 on a bike and then seeing 2 people driving a car wow! they can get away with anything over there ... A Country without rules, sounds good to me. hope to speak to you soon luv Mum V xxx