Arrival in Cambodia

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The journey to Cambodia was surprisingly pleasant. Given we had got the most amazingly cheap flights from Gold coast to Cambodia via vietnam, we were not expecting anything much. The night flight was pretty full but I lucked out again and had nobody next to me (for my 4th flight in a row!) and so got almost a full 7 hours sleep, perfect. Quick transit in Kuala lumpur and our bags arrived safely, which we were also surprised about given the check in lady for air asia told me bags "frequently" don't make it to their destinations due to a new air terminal in KL.

First impression of Cambodia was a good one, we expected chaos at the airport with the tuk tuk mafia out to get us. But it was one of the smoothest airports ever, taking all of 5 minutes, a brief form and $20 handed over for a visa and security/customs. Then we went off to find a tuktuk to get us to our guesthouse, expecting to be mobbed walked straight over and jumped in a tuktuk.

The journey to the guesthouse was an array to the senses. The bumpy, dusty road was fun, and best described as organised chaos. No real road rules, hundreds of motorbikes/mopeds and tuk tuks and the odd car blocking the road. Despite the chaos everybody seemed to know exactly where to go at what time. We were soon to realise crossing the road and walking around also requires the same amount of trust, just walk out into 7 lanes, and everybody just goes around, with the obligatory beep of the horn of course, the louder the better.

The guesthouse was nice, we have a room with one double one single bed, air con, flat screen tv, fridge and a balcony overlooking an all day all night market. All for $20 a night. We dropped our stuff and headed out for a walk.

Walking around the streets we were surprised how friendly everybody is. The kids all wave, even the tuk tuk drivers will chat to you despite knowing you are unlikely to use them. Most people took a simple no and stop bothering you. Not half as bad as Marakesh and other places we have been. We were even able to wander the markets without any hassle to buy anything when looking on stalls. Maybe they realise you won't buy anything if so.

We made it to the golden palace, the king of Cambodia's official residence, and the national museum. It was here we met our tuk tuk driver for the next day, we got chatting and he told us a lot about his history and experiencesduring the Khemer rouge period as a 13 year old (if you are not aware, Cambodia went through a mass genocide in the 70's, where the Khemer rouge executed a quarter of his own population). He told us of how he lost his sister and cousins to the time, and how he was starved, seperated from his family and punished for many years until finally escaping and being reunited with most of his family. It was enough for us to decide to take him as our driver for the next day, to visit the killing fields and genocide museum S21. He did not disappoint!

We started off by visiting S21, an old school taken over by Khemer rouge and turned into a prison where people where tortured for interrogation and mostly murdered. It felt very disturbing walking around inside, seeing the cells and the torture devices and reading the accounts of survivors. We then went to the killing fields, one of 300 in Cambodia. In this particular one they have found 20000 bodies in mass graves, the details of their executions grusome, including a killing tree which was used to beat babies to death around the heads. There are bits of bone in the ground still visible, clothes on display, and hundreds of boney remains in a huge shrine. It was a moving place to visit, and a real insight to the terrible history. Our tuk tuk driver told us more stories from his youth over dinner, some very interesting on how he survived by making food out of plants and hiding the evidence.

We were then treated to an off road country experience as promised by the driver, he took us to a buddist temple complex not many people know about where monks and nuns live. We passed through villages on stilts, where people had rebuilt there homes after they were ordered out, and everybody waved, children shouted hello everywhere. We then had to get onto a bamboo raft with the tuktuk and cross the river. The temple complex itself was magnificent and we felt honoured that these people had let us inside their home as it is not a usual tourist spot. We were the only people there, and were also allowed to take photos, which is normally prohibited.

So as we sit on the balcony now, we view the country in a different way. It is great to see how much the country is moving on, and yet you can still see how many people are still affected by this tragic period.

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