Our opinions on bamboo - Cambodia

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We arrived in Cambodia at Phnom Penh, the capital, booked into the first hostel we saw and then set off for a light afternoon at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. Formerly a high school, the Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot's party) took control of it and turned it into a prison (S21) at which thousands of people, mainly Cambodians (including women and children) were detained and eventually killed. Like I said, a light afternoon. The Museum isn't a museum in the traditional sense of the word, you're completely free to wander around the prison, into all the cells and buildings and all round the grounds, to see whatever you want. It's possibly the most depressing place i've ever been, and we spent nearly 3 hours there, reading stories and first hand accounts from prisoners and guards and looking at photographs. The hardest things to witness were the photos of all the children that had been killed there (or detained and then killed at The Killing Fields just outside Phnom Penh), the skulls on display, the photos of what the Vietnamese and Cambodian Armies found in the cells when they ran the Khmer Rouge out (all of dead people as theyd been found) and for me the fact that all around the museum Cambodian families were forced to live in flats looking directly into the cells etc and the kids even played in the grounds.
That night we went for something to eat and ended up in a really nice Cambodian restuarant, we felt out of place as the only tourist/westerners there, this was made worse by the fact that everyone was really nicely dressed and we were in shorts n t shirts (ones that have been washed in weeks) and that everyone was staring and or laughing at us. We ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, naturally, and ended up getting 4 courses, most for free. First they gave us some little meat starters and peanutes (for free), then we had our main, then they gave us a pancake each (free desert 1) and then a platter of fruits (free desert 2). Ive not been so full in a long time, and it was even worth the stares and laughter, one worker spent so much time staring at us she didnt notice people trying to come into the restuarant and forgot to open the door for them, she was snapped out of her western daze by a shouting manager!

The next day to continue our jovial trip round Phnom Penh we went to the Killing Fields. A few miles out of Phnom Penh, these were the fields were the Khmer Rouge massacred hundreds of thousands of people, and dumped them all in mass graves at the site. Mainly open pits to show where different mass graves had been dug up, with signs detailing what remains were found there (e.g. 160 women and children, most with no heads) again it was a powerful and depressing place. In the middle of the fields stood a monument containing the thousands of skulls and bones dug up from the site, we saw a Cambodian girl break down and cry at this point, pretty upsetting.

We later visited Wat Phom, the main temple in Phnom Penh, same same but different to all temples we've seen so far, the highlight of this one were the resident monkeys. We watched these for a while and then decided we needed a drink after our depressing days and so set off to the riverside for some beers. For a few reasons, including not really warming to Phnom Penh and mostly a blocked toilet, we decided to head to Siem Reap the next day.

In Siem Reap we decided to treat ourselves to a hostel with a really nice pool, $10 a night. We spent most of our 5 days there by the pool, trying to save money, and then drinking 50cent pints of beer at night. The only day we really did anything different was to see the famous Angkor Temples. This was a lot more expensive than we'd anticipated, $20 a day ticket each, but it got you into the enormous temple sites and you could see as many as you liked (there were loads). We set off early (8am) to try and fit them all into a day, but after seeing the main ones, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and one used in Tomb Raider, we were knackered (about 3pm) and decided to head back home. Some of the temples were amazing to see, especially the 3 mentioned, and the resident monkeys chasing people was also a highlight, but after 7 hours a temple ruin just becomes another temple ruin.
Siem Reap obviously does very well with these temples, admitting thousands of people a day, and it shows in the city. The city was gorgeous, lovely river, great bars and restaurants, luxury hotels with golf courses etc. one of the most affluent place we've seen so far, and one of our favourites. Still as with everywhere in Asia there was a lot of poverty and it finally got to Vanessa when an old woman came round with a small bag asking for the scraps from our meal, Vanessa in tears gave her everything we had left and some money.

Random point about Cambodia: We met an Irish guy from near Carlow who now lives in Bury! Also it seems almost everyone we meet is Irish.

We really enjoyed Siem Reap and were pretty gutted to be leaving. Still we had to get to Bangkok to head down to the islands. The bus journey to Bangkok was fun. First the bus was crap, nothing like the 'VIP Aircon Bus' advertised. The aircon didnt work, it seemed to be held together by masking tape in a lot of places, there was a hole in the back of the bus through which you could see the road and the tire blew up about 30 minutes into the journey! Once at the border we were pretty much abondoned and were left to try and figure out crossing and where to go on our own. Once through a slimey little man told us to get in his minibus as he was working with our company and would take us to Bangkok. I didnt trust him at all as we were meant to be getting a coach and I couldnt see anyone else from our coach journey. He was getting a bit pissed off with me refusing to get in and telling him if he did take us I wasn't paying him anything. When an Irish couple we'd met on the coach, and a random London guy showed up we decided to get in, as no better options had presented themselves, it turned out he was working for the company and we got to Bangkok for free, I still didnt trust him!

So now we're in Bangkok, where our opinion of it has changed once again. After the craziness of Vietnam and all the beggars in Cambodia, Bangkok doesn't seem as hectic or bothersome anymore, it actually seems quite relaxed at times. Still we're only passing through and head down to Ko Samui for a couple of days tonight, then on to Ko Phagnan for the full moon party.

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Comments

[Big Brother]

Hello to the both of you
Only a quick one just to say hello to the both of you hope all is well and your enjoying your time away, all is good this end apart from Harvey having a cold, loads of snot, poor little man. Just want to say really good news Ness about passing your masters really pleased for you. Take care of each other love Dan Deb and the kids x x