Kingdom of Cambodia

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The start of our long anticipated Indochina tour begins with a meeting of our tour group to meet the tour leader, Cat from Bangkok, and our 12 fellow travellers; a real mixed group of nationalities - American, Swiss, Belgian, Canadian, Dutch and Polish New Zealanders from Australia! Seem like some interesting characters so it will be good to get to know them over the next few weeks. Then its back to our internet café which does pretty good food so we can do some last minute emails and have dinner. Next day, after an early breakfast we have a 3 hour drive from Bangkok to Poipet on the Cambodian border. Fortunately, the border troubles at Preah Vihar haven’t spread. The drive is pretty uneventful through tropical Thai countryside and well maintained towns. At Aranya Prathet (the Thai side of the border) we go to the huge market for lunch and a wander while awaiting our Cambodian visa’s being delivered. (This is actually pretty annoying as we’re having to pay a $10 dollar service fee yet could have done it ourselves in Bangkok - GAP’s trip notes had said they could be obtained easily on the border).

As we walk under the bridge that says Kingdom of Cambodia on it, the heavens open; “Welcome to Cambodia” - we all get pretty soaked. The formalities are straightforward though and we board our bus for the 160km - 4 hour journey to Siem Reap! The roads are not good in Cambodia - the road is being improved but most of it is a soil covered road with lots of diversions around new bridges and big potholes. We feel sorry for the folks on bikes who get completely splattered by overtaking lorries and cars. We make an impromptu stop to repair a burst tyre along the way and the town reminds M of India 50 years ago; lots of small shacks and stores along the roadside, many homes made of tin and wood, animals in the yard, and most people travelling on motorised or pedal bikes and tractors with their loads of wood or leeks stacked behind them. The Cambodians appear to be an enterprising people, trading on any skills they have - cooking, selling nick knacks, shakes, petrol in bottles by the road side, fruit stalls, cold water for tourists, sugar cane juice either crushed by mechanical devices or ornate & colourful hand grinding machines. Certainly this seems to be as poor a country as Myanmar.

The countryside is very different to Thailand - emerald green paddy fields and lots of pools of water and rivers in which local children play in the rain and men fish. Bullock or water buffalo driven carts seem to be the local transport for the rural folk.

In the notes that GAP have provided we read that some 50% of the population is less than 18 - a result of the killing fields under the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot in the 1970’s. That statistic brings home the extent of the genocide. The notes also warn not to go off proper trails and paths as the country is still littered with landmines - and we see the human cost of this daily. Quite sobering. The country has only been open to tourism since 1993 - though guerrilla activity by the Khmer Rouge continued until 1998 when Pol Pot died -without being tried for his crimes.

Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

We arrive at just after 6 pm and settle into the Angkor ST Hotel - very comfortable - and then join the group for dinner at Indochine café. It’s very nice (we try steamed fish and a Cambodian speciality Amok - fish cooked in coconut milk) but also very touristy so we decide in future to do as we usually do and find local places to eat. We take a wander around town - 5 years ago there were just 4 hotels, now there are over 100 and many of them are 5* joints owned by Japanese or Korean interests. It’s the only place we’ve found in Asia so far that has small supermarkets stocking President Brie and $93 bottles of Margaux!! The main tourist area is in the originally named Pub Street. But we do find a few promising looking places for tomorrow.

Siem Reap was once the capital of the Khmer Kingdom which extended to Thailand & Vietnam during the golden age of Cambodia. The capital city was moved to Phnom Penh in the 15th century when The Thai & Vietnamese kingdoms started taking over Khmer territory.

A highlight of this trip is the visit to Angkor Wat - a finalist for one of the 7 Wonders of the World - built between the 9th and 15th centuries and, after abandonment, only rediscovered in the 17th century by the French. It was built in the reign of Jayavarman II when the concept of the God King was established. There are many Hindu influences here as Hinduism was a major religion in the early years of the country. It is now mainly Buddhist & whilst we see a few Monks in saffron robes, they are more few & far between when compared to Myanmar. We’re up at 4 am to meet our guide, Noy, for a sunrise visit (we go back for breakfast afterwards then come back again for a full day’s tour). The sunrise is magical - the light and swirling clouds make a fantastic backdrop to the architecture of the temple. (It even takes M’s mind off the scaffolding erected on the spires for restoration work which he has taken as a personal grievance!) We spend an hour there just taking pictures and find kindred spirits in Annika & Patrique who have impressive cameras (we later find out that he’s a photographer and she runs a photo processing business) and also, like M, spend most of their time “snapping” rather than listening to Noy.

The daytime visit involves tours of Angkor Thom - a walled temple complex that includes the Bayon temple, Elephant Terrace (named for the carvings of elephants on the wall) and Royal Palace; the Jungle Temple - Ta Prohm; and of course, Angkor Wat.

Access to Angkor Thom is through a gate which has statues of gods and demons lining each side of the road. The gate itself, like the Bayon temple inside the complex, has faces carved in the limestone and the temple is covered in bas relief carvings of everyday life scenes. It’s pretty impressive.

Ta Prohm is an unexpected delight. Many of the stones are covered in green lichen and staining from what would have been a copper roof. This combined with the extended roots of trees - Banyan and teak - growing amongst, and often supporting, the ruins makes it special. The Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie was filmed here.

Angkor Wat is, somehow, not so special after the sunrise show. It’s still impressive though and we get some great pics of the temple from in front of the lake with it’s reflections in the water. We climb (not so high really but it’s very hot & humid) to the 2nd floor to see out across the complex. There are some beautiful carvings of battle scenes depicting the Ramayana (the Hindu Epic story of Sita being taken to Sri Lanka) and we note that many of them seem quite polished; apparently during the communist regime many people would come here and rub the carvings for luck. (Not sure why but it’s noticeable that most of the polished bits are the apsara’s breasts!!). We didn’t see in it’s splendor at sunset (the clouds came), but on a good day the sunset makes the Wat glow reddish because of the limestone it’s built with. So it’s a sort of Chameleon. Angkor is at the heart of the Country’s psyche. It’s on the national flag, the beer, the hotels, most things are named after it & the people are fiercely proud of this national symbol - even though the temples have not been well looked after and have been looted for historic antiques for sale.

Feeling hot we head off for a few beers, then wander down town to a local café for dinner - a spicy soup (samlor machou banle) with fish and pineapple, and also chicken with green aubergine. Both are good and make a nice change from pad thai or fried rice.

Phnom Penh(PP)

We arrive in PP at 6pm after a comfortable 6 hour drive from Siem Reap in one of the private Mekong Express buses. We start the journey with a small snack & cold water from the bus company served on board by a stewardess dressed in traditional clothes who gives us all - in Cambodian & English - snippets of information about the regions we travel through. Interesting & unique in our travels. We go through regions where specialities include grasshoppers, frogs & spiders for food.

PP was forcibly abandoned during the Khmer Rouge rule lead by Pol Pot from 1975 -79 (more of this dark period in the country’s history later). The country actually got it’s independence in 1953 from the French who didn’t really leave much of a legacy. Today the city is bustling with a real mix of buildings: neon lit global brands such as Suzuku, KFC, Toyota etc; restaurants from all over the world (Chinese, Khmer, Pizzas, Burgers, International); many clubs & bars; some very imposing residential buildings including the house of the UK Ambassador to the country - not sure there’s much to do for such a sumptuous home (mansion) at the tax payers expense, and some very decrepit homes. The old & new co exist somehow in an unplanned swathe of building (residential & Commercial) along side shanty towns & shacks by the river. The streets, while clean, smell of sewage which is happily discharged into the river which happens to be the life blood to a huge population of riverside dwellers. Whilst there is evidence of great wealth in the city most people live at a basic subsistence level. There are many street homeless, abandoned & orphaned kids, amputees (victims of land mines buried by the Khmer Rouge), & many children who beg to live. Many businesses sponsor children’s retraining programmes to get them out of poverty & give them a chance in life.

The city is also packed with cars - Lexus is big here as are Toyota cars & 4x4s (we did see 1 BMW & a few Mercedes), motorbikes or motor scooters (cost about £500), bicycles and tuk tuks. Tuk Tuks here are slightly different in design than in Thailand but just as cheap (negotiate hard) and effective. In addition they have Motos here which are essentially scooters used as taxis just as in Rio but they are all over the country. Tourists need to bargain hard or get ripped off.

The city is not particularly special but has some places worthy of note & a visit. Main among these is the Royal Palace & the Silver Pagoda (all part of the same complex). The King actually occupies a part of this complex as well today & it‘s off limits. While we were there it was the celebration of his Birthday & Coronation which saw a big fire works display before the heavens opened & there was a mega downpour. The Palace is very impressive and worth the $6.50 admission. It’s as impressive as the Palace in Bangkok - if not more so - as the throne room is superb (alas no pictures allowed). Along the way is the Silver Pagoda which houses a solid gold image of the 5th Buddha to come which is amazing - studded with diamonds. It’s about 6 foot tall, weighing in at 90Kg of 24 carat gold. The craftsmanship of the robes is astounding and delicate. Also housed here is the solid emerald Buddha (about 2 foot high).

The other “main attraction” is the Tuol Sleng museum - a monument to the many thousands of Cambodians (mainly teachers, monks, professionals and even some Khmer Rouge soldiers - together with their families) killed by the Pol Pot regime that executed about 2 million local people directly & a further million died due to starvation or disease after working themselves to death for the regime building roads & undertaking construction work. The museum was a secondary school that was converted into a prison & torture chamber for men, women & children. It became know as Security Office 21. People were tortured in various ways including electrocution, water torture, beatings etc. The regime took photographs of all prisoners and these are on display along with photos taken by the Vietnamese when they liberated Phnom Penh - quite chilling.

Prisoners from S21, including their whole family - children too, were then taken to a place 14km away called the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek (1 of 343 such sites in the country) where they were killed & buried in mass graves. The site is now owned by a Japanese company that paid the government for the site and run it as a tourist attraction charging visitors $2 each. The place is pretty non-descript & we’re not sure a glass mausoleum with shelving displaying the skulls of those who died so tragically really makes a fitting memorial. We wondered at our own stupidity of taking pictures of such an austere site - was this the best way to remember the dead or showing our respects - we think not.

It’s a shame that a country with a rich history & heritage should focus on the darkest 4 years of their history (though it’s clearly a lucrative tourist attraction!!). Clearly they should never forget this mass genocide, however, this could be done with more respect such as in the school museum. To go to the heart of this Pol Pot was a teacher, who spent time in France (Cambodia was an ex French Protectorate) and China where he developed his love for communism and became leader of a rebel group, the Khmer Rouge (KR), which somehow managed to attract the patronage of the then King in exile. While the country was in turmoil following a coup and the American Vietnam war creeping into Cambodia, the KR assumed power in 1975 and went about subjugating the country to Pol Pot’s agrarian ideology by brute force against his own people, supported by the Chinese, the French & the US who were fighting the Vietnam war at the time. Oddly enough it is the Vietnamese that liberated the country from this dark period in 1979. The monarchy has been reinstated (despite the older King’s support for the Khmer Rouge) and elections have been held under the guidance of the UN, but the people are concerned about the corruption in government. More political parties are about though it will take time for this to become a more mature democratic state.

Our hotel - Townview II - is clean & comfortable and does a great breakfast - a local delicacy of rice & mince made like porridge (savoury) to which is added fresh coriander, fresh garlic & chilli sauce - yummy - and yellow (yes deep, bright yellow) watermelon, a first for both of us & tastes just the same as the red stuff! Wandering around the area near the hotel we find a great local restaurant and try some of the local specialities; a soup chnnang dei (cook your own soup a bit like a fondue) with meats and vegetables, phnom pleung (hill of fire) a table top volcanoe on which you cook beef, squid and prawns and vegetables, and loc lak - essentially steak and chip with an egg on top! There is also plenty of street food - bbq bananas, chicken, and a host of things we don’t recognise.

Sihanoukville

We leave the hotel at 7 am to catch another Mekong Express Bus to Sihanoukville - a resort town 4 hours drive away. We check into the Ochheuteal Bungalows, a few yards from the beach which is surprisingly full of tourists sunbathing. Our room is a lovely flat above the hotel reception & bar, done in traditional style with air con, TV & cold showers which we need in such heat.

We find a beachside bar for a cold beer, check out options for dinner - lots of BBQ seafood for $2 - 3 and relax! Or at least we try; we are quickly besieged by locals desperately trying to make a living offering massages or fruit or manicures. There are many people who have lost limbs as a result of the internal war waged by the Khmer Rouge, which is sad. Begging for them is a way of life as it is for the old, disabled & infirm to the extent that one woman was dragging her very ill husband (almost on his last legs) around the beach forcibly so as to get some money off the travellers.

The currency here is the Riel (4,000 to a US dollar), however in reality the US dollar rules - so everything is one dollar or 2 dollar for starters & any change is given in Riel. This makes Cambodia more expensive than Thailand.

C decides she wants a quiet day for her Birthday which is just as well. It’s chucking it down in the morning & we feel sorry for the bulk of the group who have set off on a boat & snorkelling trip which we skipped as we hear that the sea life isn’t brill here but is in Nha Trang in Vietnam where we hope to go snorkelling at least. (Feedback is that we were right). C opens her cards from Sarah & Louise, and as we “channel hop” come across a movie by Billy Crystal, “American Sweethearts” which has a great cast & is really funny so we lie in & watch this. We go for breakfast at 10.30 am & the rain lets up. So it’s shower & off to the beach. It’s hot as ever so a few cold beers accompanied by 10 enormous king prawns for $5 went down a treat followed by BBQ squid on sticks - 4 for a $1. Amazing food & value. C’s in heaven.

We catch up with our emails & C’s birthday wishes from family & friends then go for a late afternoon stroll by the beach which is packed with locals who are on a 2 day bank holiday to celebrate the King’s birthday & coronation. They all seem to have come with picnics and sit on beach chairs & low tables & set out their fayre for all the family - it’s great atmosphere & many set off fireworks. The 3 F’s - Family, Faith & Food sum up the Cambodian Lifestyle. We are then treated to an amazing sunset which is a lovely ending to a relaxing day for C. We do return to the beach for dinner - cocktails for starters (Margaritas) followed by BBQ barracuda & squid with baked potatoes, & fried rice with mixed seafood . All for a pricey $13.50. Clearly our most expensive meal to date - C definitely knows how to bust the Budget!!! Anyway she had a fab time & deserves it.

And on to Vietnam

We are up early for our 7am start to the border crossing into Vietnam. We are taken to the Holy Cow, 10 minutes from where we’re staying, for breakfast which is ok but unnecessarily time consuming. We suspect we have been brought here so that the tour leader & drivers could get a free breakfast. We eventually get on our way & after 2 hours make a brief stop in Kampot. The country side is beautiful & it seems amazing how quickly we have gone through this country with it’s regional variations - from the culturally rich Siem Reap, then the Capital with it’s dark past, and finally the developing seaside resort of Sihanoukville. Then onto a stop 10 minutes from the border where we are taken to a place for lunch & have the worst food of the trip so far & everyone complains about both the quality & the cost. Again we feel that we have been suckered into coming here so that the Tour leader & drivers can have a free lunch at our expense. People really complain (Gap adventures really need to get this crap sorted & the tour leader’s chances of a decent tip are diminishing by the day!) - especially as across the way M finds a place doing local noodles traditional style & very tasty for 1000 Riel or 25 cents!!

Unfortunately, one week in, we feel our tour leader isn’t very well informed about the countries we are travelling through (or isn‘t very good at sharing that information) compared to our other travel experiences; it’s been difficult to find out as much about things as we would normally - e.g about the social infrastructure & political scene from local perspective.

10 mins away is the Cambodian border which goes well, then cross no-mans land & into Vietnam where after much form filling (even though we have a visa already), we are all asked to pay $1 insurance fee - which we understand is the local bribe expected here & on the boarder crossing at Laos!! So it’s into Vietnam on a hot sunny afternoon carrying our rucksacks & into the waiting coach …………… see you in Vietnam in the next instalment starting at Chau Doc.

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