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Published: June 30th 2006
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Saturday 24th June Laura - Well we're in Cambodia now, our 4th country (if you count HongKong as a seperate country). Arrived in Phnom Penh as the sun was setting last night. The bus journey from the boat dock was fun - the road being a stoney dirt track even though it is a main road. The kind of journey that you need a good bra for. It was also interesting because we passed through lots of villages which had bamboo houses on stilts, even though they were quite far from the river. It was a very quiet, rural road. And then all of a sudden, after about an hour, we stumbled into Phnom Penh.
We were dropped at a dive of a hotel, which we decided not to stay in (the Capitol, for anyone who's interested - the staff are unfriendly and rooms very very basic). Ended up in the 'Nice' guesthouse a couple of doors down. Same price but much nicer.
We ate in 'Mama' restaurant, recommended by the lonely planet. I ate a dish that had been sitting in a pan on the table next to us all evening. We thought it was a display,
Tonight's dinner - yummy...
The central market meat stalls to show you what you'd get. Then the waitress took it out to cook! Anyway, I didn't get ill, and by the way Angela it was Lauren who was ill with food poisoning, not me, but thanks for the sympathy all the same!
We got up very late this morning, enjoying the fact that we weren't being woken up at half six by a tour guide. We had lunch then walked to the market, which is set inside an art deco building. Not all that pretty but the market was quite interesting. Although seeing (and smelling) all the 'fresh' food almost put me off eating.
Then we walked in the scorching heat to the lake. This is right next to the backpacker area so there are loads of cafes and guesthouses lining the lake. Where there aren't cafes, there are houses on stilts. So the lake is completely surrounded by buildings and therefore isn't the most picturesque lake in the world. But it was a nice setting to spend the day sipping banana and nutella milkshakes. We stayed until sunset, but it was cloudy so there wasn't really a spectacle.
After that we jumped on a motorbike
and got a lift back to the hotel. This was quite fun, in the same way that rollercoasters are fun. I was at the back, clinging onto Paul for dear life and cringing everytime we went round a corner or were overtaken by anything bigger than a pushbike. But it got us back in one piece and meant we didn't have to walk the streets of Phnom Penh at night. Apparently, although the capital is not as unsafe as it once was, there is an area near the lake that used to be the brothel area. This area is, according to the lonely planet, "the kind of place where drunk Khmers shoot each other over a karaoke microphone". That statement made me both amused and scared.
Tomorrow morning we are being picked up by a Tuktuk driver (his name is Bang) who will take us around the city. So that should be fun.
On first impressions Cambodia seems good. To us it seems very similar to Vietnam (or "same same but different", as the Vietnemese love to say). There doesn't seem to be as many tourists as Vietnam, and those that are around seem only to be going
to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. It also doesn't seem as Westernised as Vietnam. Obviously we haven't seen much of it yet, but this is the capital and we have seen no trace of McDonalds or KFC. Phnom Penh is a very busy city and very much like what you may imagine an Asian city to be like. We like it so far.
Sunday 25th June Paul - Up nice and early to meet our Tuktuk driver for the day. He would be taking us round the sights of Phnom Penh and also acting as our little guide. He spoke excellent English so we were pleased. After a quick brush up on the history of Cambodia thanks to Bang we set off for The Killing Fields. This is the place where the Khmer Rouge slaughtered over 20,000 men, woman and children who had already been through hell at S-21 (more on that later...). According to Bang they were often beaten to death to save on bullets. And according to the Guide book the remains of 8950 people were exhumed from their mass graves in 1980 and many of these graves have been left untouched leading to
gruesome views.
We pulled up to the entrance and walked in. It's a very quiet place with very few tourists about. In the middle of it all there is a huge glass building which houses the skulls of the people found here. It's a strange and horrible feeling standing in front of them all, knowing that they were killed not long ago. At the rear of the site were the mass graves and they were not pleasant viewing. Scattered clothing lies everywhere and bones and teeth are strewn across the floor. One tree has a sign that reads "The children were brought here and their throats were slit''
Climbed back aboard our Tuktuk and Bang took us to the Tuol Sleng Museum, also known as S-21. This was a former high school which was taken over by Pol Pot and became the largest dentention centre in the country. Like the Nazi's the Khmer Rouge kept photographic evidence of the atrocities and they were all on display in the school grounds. As I walked in it's hard to imagine this as anything other than a school grounds. There are swings and climbing frames but as you get closer you
see things differently. The climbing frames were used to hang the prisoners until just before death, and then they were cut down. All the cells were viewable, all with blood stains still on the floor and walls. It was terrible. All the victims photos were displayed in harrowing galleries around the school yard and in their cells. It's unbelivable that these crimes aren't as well known in the West and it's a truely horrifying experience to see it all.
After that we were in need of a boost so Bang took us to a gorgeous restaurant where we ate Cambodian themed tapas. It was delicious. Had a brief visit to Wat Phnom which was ok but was really just another small temple with lots of beggers about. The most interesting thing was the wild monkeys that roam about this part of the city. According to Bang they live at the Wat but venture out into the city to rob food from the markets. Brilliant. As we left we saw a couple of monkeys running along the top of buildings. We can only hope they were going to rob one of the many expensive restaurants on the river front.
Had a brief visit to the Royal Palace which was a typical temple complex. Very pretty though. The highlight of this was undoubtedly the culture vulture Laura's adventures. I'll set the scene. Ticket in hand she walks up to the entrance to the palace.
"Sorry Miss you can't come in!''
''Why not?''
The guy points to a sign saying no tank tops or shorts.
Laura was wearing both.
Classic.
''What do I do?''
The guy points towards a woman who is grinning and holding up some sexy clothes for Laura to put on. Suffice to say, she wasn't best pleased.
Headed back to the hotel and showered and got ready for the England game. Watched it in a cracking little bar with lots of embarrasing English expats complete with beer bellies and wonderful renditions of the National Anthem. England were appalling but at least we are through.
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