Cambodia

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Shannon and I left Vietnam on October 30th and took a six hour bus ride to Phnom Penh, the capital of Vietnam. The drive was great, when we arrived in Cambodia, we had to take a ferry across the Mekong River. When we arrived at the dock, it was one of the craziest experiences. Suddenly as the bus pulled up, it was absolutely bombarded with people selling anything and everything begging you to buy something. It was desperate poverty that we really hadn't experienced so far. Children were there begging for nothing (we were used to children selling you things). It really broke your heart. Arriving in Cambodia, you realize right away the level of poverty. Alot of people seem to have hollow eyes, and are walking around hopeless. We realized how comfortable we had really become in Vietnam. So far we also have noticed that people in general are a lot more friendly, and smile at you more often as you walk by.

We arrived at a bus station in Phnom Penh and got a Tuk Tuk driver to drive us to the "Good Hotel". (They don't overexagerate the condition of the hotel). It is only $5 a night for a room...very basic, but it did the trick. Tuk Tuk drivers sure beat taking a motorbike taxi. We are only staying here for one night before we head South to Sihanoukville where we will spend a few nights where we will be meeting up with 2 of my Uni friends- Amanda and Shannon, and I cannot wait! On our return we will spend a few nights in the capital and explore the city. While we were eating dinner, an elephant casually walked down the street as its owner led the way! Incredible!! The city seems really amazing at night. On the main street in front of our hostel, there is a gorgeous water fountain that was lit up and alternating colors in sync with music. Everyone (mostly locals) were gathered around it watching the water change colors..it was beautiful, kind of reminded us of the light show that we saw in Singapore.

SIHANOUKVILLE
We had an epic reunion with Amanda Crosby and Shannon Dier (my Uni friends). We met them at the GST Hotel in Sihanoukville on Halloween. It was incredible. We all went out to the Monkey Republic bar to party for Halloween...everyone was dressed up, it was great! Amanda was with a bunch of friends that taught with her last year in Korea, so we met a ton of great people.

I adored the week that we spent in Sihanoukville, our hotel was a 3 minute walk to the beach. It is an amazing atmosphere in this town. We stayed on Serendipity beach and it's lined with Tiki-type bars/ restaurants, all open concept with comfy chairs and tables all over the beach in front of their places. All of the bars advertise $3 BBQs and Happy Hours everynight...draft beer 50 cents. At night it is a completely different atmosphere, with music playing, torches burning, and people fire dancing. It's unreal.

During the day, we would always head to the beach, grab a beach chair and bake in the sun. We thought Nha Trang was bad for being hounded to buy things on the beach, it doesn't compare to Sihanoukville. Here you are mostly approached by kids, usually ranging from 6-14 years old trying to sell you jewelery, especially bracelets that they custom make for you. By buying things from the kids you literally help them pay for school and food. So all day longs kids were making us headbands, bracelets, anklets, but it seriously got out of control. If you were talking to one child, 13 others would come up and crowd around you. They always wanted you to promise that you would get something made for you later, then they would come back and demand you buy something. I became friends with Nary, a local 14 year old girl, and when it was really hot, we would just relax on my chair and listen to my IPOD. Usually in the morning the beach was full of women offering you manis and pedis and massages (before the kids hit the beach after school). We learned to "doze off" as people were walking by. Also on the beach we have been approached by countless people begging for money, usually they have some form of diformity, or missing limb(s) from landmines, and some blind people. It is really sad, especially a blind man who is trailed along the beach by his little daughter as he sings in Khmer. One afternoon I set off on a booze cruise with one of Amanda's friends and we headed to Bamboo Island, it was great except that the boat broke down for about an hour and we ran out of booze! How ironic!

One night Shan and I went out for Mexican food, it was delicious! And I treated myself to a $2 Sol! Thought of you, Mom and Dad!!

I had one scary episode that happened in Sihanoukville...I'm not going into great detail because I am not letting it ruin my trip...one night after dinner my purse was stolen out from under me....IPOD, camera, money, cards, PASSPORT! Let's just say that is one phone call to Mom I wish I never had to make...to make a long story short, I recovered my passport and cards (someone found my purse on the beach), so thank God I have my passport, because getting a new one was going to be a nightmare....so hence why the photos from Sihanoukville are few and far between because my camera is gone!

We didn't let that ruin everything though, you have to roll with the punches, it was a great beach town, we met great people and had an amazing time!

PHNOM PENH
So we came back to the capital on the 7th of November and we stayed until the 13th. On Saturday we visited S-21 and the Killing Fields. That day really opened my eyes to the atrocities that occurred from 1975-1978 under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime. First we toured Tuol Sleng museum (S-21 which stands for Security 21). It was a school in the 1970's that was turned into the largest torture and detention centre in the country. There were four blocks each three stories tall that are facing a courtyard. The windows were barred with iron and barbed wire. Classrooms were turned into prison cells, clearly quickly built out of bricks or wood....one block was still had these original cells. Chains were still visible on the floors in the cell- it was really eerie. 17000 prisoners (men, women and children) went through S-21 and only 7 survived. Black and white mugshots of all of the prisoners lined the classrooms. Each had their hands tied behind they back and wore a number. The looks of hopelessness and despair was heart wrenching. "Interrogation" rooms occupied one or two blocks. The rooms still had the bed frames where people were shackled, interrogated and tortured. Those who died during interrogations at S 21 were buried in mass graves on the premise. In 1977, S-21 claimed over 100 victims daily. The most shocking exhibit was one room that contained skulls of some victims- piled on top of each other in a display. Most of the victims that were held at S 21 were transported to Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, which is where we visited next. The Killing Fields are about 14 kilometres from Phnom Penh and have about 123 mass graves. There is an enormous white monument which is a memorial to all of the victims. (It's estimated that approximately 2 million people were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime). The memorial is beautiful, yet morbid because it too is filled with skulls of the victims. There are craters in every directions that were the resting place/dumping ground of victims. Some graves are marked "women/children graves", "headless body graves", it's absolutely barbaric and unimaginable. Prisoners were blindfolded and shackled during their final journey here before being executed. Seeing this really makes you value your freedom and rights, and makes you thankful to live in a democratic, free country. I just finished an amazing book called "First They Killed My Father" which recounts the journey of a girl who was just 5 years old when Phnom Penh was invaded in 1975.

On Sunday, Shan and I ventured to the Central Market here in the capital. We took a Tuk Tuk driven by our usual driver, Jack. (He works at the Tat Hotel, where we are staying, so he's been our chauffeur). The market is an absolutely jam-packed maze of vendors, booths and umbrellas with a giant building in the centre. When we first walked in, the smell of raw meat/seafood filled the air. In every direction, fish, lobster, crabs, prawns and slabs of meat hung everywhere. Even whole yellow chickens hung by their feet were hanging by the dozen. Right away all of the vendors are right in your face. They are selling beauty products, clothes, scarves, linens, sunglasses, electronics, jewellery....literally anything you can think of. We bought a couple of things, but it was just nice to walk through and see the different items. In the evening we headed to the River for dinner. It was the Eve of Water Festival, so the atmosphere in the air was electric. Right downtown in front of the Palace looked like Canada Day night in Ottawa (minus the drunks). The streets were packed with Cambodians hanging out with their friends, selling everything, and partying.

SIEM REAP-
Shan and I arrived in Siem Reap, our final destination in Cambodia. The town is really nice, touristy with a Night Market and lots of shops and restaurants. We went to the Market last night and my fam will be very happy with my purchases....3 months from now the package should arrive in the mail once I mail it from Bangkok. We're staying at the Smiley Guest house, a room is only $6 a night! We're used to life without AC and hotwater....I can't believe I am saying this!! Last night (November 11th), Shannon and I went to the the temples of Angkor to watch the sunset. The temples were built between the 9th and 13th century by the Cambodian god kings. Hundreds of temples still exist today and are scattered all around Siem Reap. The temples were rediscovered in the 1800's by French explorers and today are a sight of pilgrimage for all Cambodians. For sunset, we climbed up through a forest to the Phnom Bakheng temple which was on top of a hill. The stairs were incredibly steep, but worth the climb. The sunset was incredible.

This morning Shan and I were up at 4:30am and headed to Angkor Wat for the sunrise. It was beautiful watching this divine monument light up, and you could hear Monks chatting as the sun rose. Very surreal. We visited many temples today, and the architectural details blows your mind. Everything is built of stone, and although it is aged, you can appreciate the detail carved into every single part of the temples. There were carvings of women dancing, Buddhas, elephants, lions..it felt as though we were in a movie. Angkor Wat was the most spectacular because it is enormous, and in amazing condition. Other temples had giant trees with their roots exposed that were growing right into the stone walls. We visited a temple where Tomb Raider was filmed (for anyone who has seen it, is the temple with the giant trees). We toured through many temples today, and they were absolutely breathtaking. One of my favorite temples was the one that had faces carved into all of the stones, so everywhere you looked someone was looking at you. This was an incredible experience that we will both cherish.

All in all, Cambodia has been an experience with ups and downs. I loved the Khmer culture, and I have fallen in love with the children of Cambodia. The country is extremely poor and in desperate need for food and money. Angkor Wat is a God send because it generates a lot of money to the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tomorrow we're taking a bus to Bangkok before we head North into Laos.

Miss everyone tons, hope all is well at home!!
Cheers
Jaclyn

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Photos

overcrowded boat cruise!
Don't worry Mom ours wasn't AS crowded