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Published: February 26th 2006
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Broken Tuk-tuk
Our carriage for three days, minus a heavily perforated front wheel Morning all
Before i get started, i just want to ask what the heck is going on back in England? I log into BBC website this morning and find in the football Arsenal loose to Blackburn, Chelsea got spanked at home by Barcelona and England loose in the rugby to Scotland. Now to be fair for two out of three of those I would happily travel to Cambodia every year but getting turned over by the scots in the 6-nations leaves a bad taste in my mouth - and I have had enough of that at times with the food
On the subject of food although generally the quality has been great, its a pretty mixed bag here in terms of styles. Cambodian grub seems on the whole to be a mix of Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese. They do have their own style - Khmer - but generally the food seems to reflect the fact that Cambodian history over the last hundred years has been really messed up by the various countries and factions running it from one time to another. One strange part after 7 weeks of Indian and ASian food has been the stalls everywhere selling
Angkhor Wat
As you walk up you cant help but humm the 'Indiana Jones' theme tune....or is that just me? French Baguettes. Its the legacy from the French who played a big part in running the country in the past. Our tuk-tuk got a puncture on the way to one of the (many, many temples) we have visited in the last week and while we waited i got a french loaf stuffed with laughing cow cheese from a street vendor. Felt for a moment like I was back in France - until i saw the next stall selling barbecued sparrow!
We got here on Tuesday, spent Wednesday and Thursday visiting some of the temples and palaces in Angkhor Wat, then took a bus from Siam Reap to Phnom Penh on Friday and have the weekend here before Vietnam tomorrow. We hired a Tuk-tuk (motorbike with carriage attached) for three days in Siam Reap for about 45$ US. Thats another weird thing in Cambodia, they use two currencies - their one, the Riel, and then US dollars - a hangover from the UN involvement in the last few decades. Siam Reap is the nearest town to Angkhor Wat, our main reason for visiting Cambodia. Its said to be one of the greatest historical sites in the world, up there with
View to the top
This shot was just an excuse to take a break in climbing the steps as the seven year olds skipped past us the pyramids, and it didnt dissapoint. Its a whole series of ancient temples and palaces that for hundreds of years were lost in the jungle and really have only been readily accesible to the mainstay of the western world for the last few years. Its a phenomenal place, spread out through over 300 sq kilometres. Some of the sites are still unaccesible because of the lack of infrastructure or even danger of minefields - again another legacy of Cambodias checquered history
The only downside was, and still is, the heat. Now I know its cold back in England and some sunshine might sound appealing, but there is a limit and I think I reached it about a week ago. It is 35+ degrees atm, and when you are climbing as hundred large stone steps to get to the top of yet another ancient monument, your shirt clinging to your back and mosquitos surfing along your neck it starts to get a bit much. Still, by Hong-Kong next weekend it will drop a lot, and then it should be colder and colder as we go north through China
We were all 'templed-out' after 3 days in Siam Reap so
Temples and trees
This temple had been over run with trees and they were still growing in, on, around and over the temple walls caught a bus for 6 hours down to the capital, Phnom Penh, for 9$ each. Phnom Penh is ok, though still bares the scars of being abandoned for three years during the Khmer Rouge era in the seventies. There is also a lot more hassle here than we have seen since India, nothing unpleasant, just constant offers of 'Tuk-tuk, sir?', 'Moto, sir?', 'You want a book, sir?', and of course the universal favourite 'Money please sir'. The last one has added impact here in Cambodia, i suppose, from the number of people begging who have one or more limbs missing - one of the worst parts of Cambodias historical legacy, the land-mine victims.
On a similar train of thought I guess, Jo and I visited the genocide museum here yesterday. Neither of us really understood much about the Khmer Rouge part of Cambodias recent history, but Im not sure even knowing about it could prepare you for visiting the secondary school that was turned into camp s-21 for three years in the seventies, a detainment and torture centre where over 14,000 people were killed. We didnt talk much as we went around it, theres not a lot you can
Cambodian Traditional Dance
Jo eventually explained to me the buffet accompanying this night out was eat-as-much-as-you-want, not eat-as-much-as-you-can say when you are faced with the stark facts about just what people can do to one another.
Sorry if the last couple of paragraphs weren't my usual witty, light-hearted banter. Then again, thats one of the things I think we'll both take from our short time in Cambodia. For all the darkness in their past and troubles they still face, the Cambodian people seem to be among the friendliest, politest, and best humoured of those we've met so far.
We're spending today (Sunday) chilling and getting ourselves ready for the 4 hour bus journey to Saigon, Vietnam tomorrow. Personally, I am also continuing my ground breaking personal experiments in just how much water the human body can loose and yet still retain in a single shirt. Results to follow soon
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Jason Szabo
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Don't Forget United.
...and what's even better is that Liverpool knocked you boys (U.S.A....U.S.A.....U.S.A) out of the FA Cup! Just accessed your BLOG for the first time and great to see that both you and Jo are having a wonderful time! It must be amazing and you've still got so much more to do so enjoy! Love to you both. Jay, Clare and Charlie x