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Published: April 28th 2008
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Mekong Delta & Phnom Penh Feb 08
We were both a bit disappointed to leave HCM City but needed to as our visas were due to run out. On our last day there we booked a two day trip which took us along the Mekong Delta and into Cambodia and finished in Phnom Penh. The first day of the trip was a bit boring really, we visited a 'floating market' but I couldn't really see a 'market' going on, just some people floating along on their boats. The occasional boat would have bananas or fish aboard but they didn't seem to be selling them just passing by, very strange. After that we visited a place that made rice paper, which was good to watch. I was looking forward to just getting to the hotel but alas we had another exciting sight to see, this time it was a mosque. The mosque was completely empty and it was a new building so there was no interesting history or anything just some local kids trying to sell us stuff. After a enthralling 15 minutes staring at the empty building we got back on the bus and eventually reached our hotel. The second
day was much more interesting we walked from our hotel to the Mekong river which was nearby and we were greeted by lots of small boats waiting for us. We went through a floating village which was really interesting to see. It was a bit strange seeing families with pet dogs and cats living on their floating houses with no access to land other than by boat. We stopped for some lunch why our visas for Cambodia were sorted out and some entertainment was put on for us by the way of some traditional singing. It was fun to watch but I can't say it was exactly my cup of tea ! I always find songs more appealing when they aren't sang by tone deaf people, ha ha just kidding, it was bad but thats a bit harsh. The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the boat and then a bus until we reached Phnom Pehn.
Phnom Penh is the home of the infamous S21 museum which was very disturbing to visit. The building was previously a school which was taken over and used as a prison by the Khmer Rouge. Classrooms were used as torture rooms
and there is still traces of blood on some of the walls. The Khmer Rouge meticulously photograhed and documented every prisoner that they killed there (almost all of the prisoners were killed or died due to the bad conditions) and these photos are displayed, it was very upsetting to see, many of them were just children.
Following that we went to the killing fields, as you can tell from the name this is where the Cambodians and Foreigners were brought to be killed. It took us a while to get there as the tuk tuk broke down at least four times but when we eventually arrived it was an equally sombering experience. As you enter the grounds you are greeted by a huge memorial which contains hundreds of the victim's skulls. As you walk around you can see many of the exhumed mass graves with a sign next to them stating how many people's remains where found. It was just terribly sad. I am pleased that we went to see both as I think people should know what happened, but it was hard to see. We were both quiet on the way home.
The next day we explored
the city and considering its recent history, it is a really vibrant place. There were lots of nice restaurants,cafes and bars with the riverside area being the best . We visited Wat Phom which is a lovely temple on the top of a mound, there is also an elephant who (along with his owner) is at the temple every day offering short rides, we didn't ride the elephant but we thought we would buy some bananas to feed him as he looked a bit bored doing his 9 to 5 !
We planned to visit the royal palace, so to ensure I was respectfully dressed I wore a long skirt and a shawl and it was bloody hot ! After we had bought entrance tickets I was informed by a security guard that 'shawls were prohibited' for some stupid, ridiculous reason that no one could explain to me. I was told that I would have to buy some crap, oversized t-shirt with a picture of the royal palace on the front for a rip off price before I was allowed to enter.......Sod that we demanded a refund then took a photo of the palace through the bars and went
On the way to market ....
Don't know what with though ? to the pub with our entrance fee in our back pockets, cashback!
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