Blogs from Phnom Penh, South, Cambodia, Asia - page 219

This is a story about the extremely violent mass murder of millions of men, women, and children...just a warning. Cambodia was a French colony until King Sihanouk declared independence in 1953. Sihanouk was very popular in the beginning and went on to create a socialist state, and around the same time cut ties with the US. This was a time when you were either on the side of North Vietnam and China…or the South Vietnam and the US. But his form of socialism was not very popular with the Khmer (Cambodian) people and the US-backed, anti-communist, Lon Nol, ousted him in 1970. From exile in China, Sihanouk formed a revolutionary group to go against Lon Nol. He called this group the Khmer Rouge. As the war in Vietnam started finding it’s way across the border into ... read more

The last few days have been relatively uneventful from my perspective as my vista has alternated between that of the bathroom or the TV (thank god for cable!). I've been cursed by the infamous Cambodia-Belly (you may have heard of its Indian Cousin) which decided to inflict its worst on me whilst journeying here from Siem Reap. Needless to say it was one hell of a bus ride and the riverfront of Phnom Penh is now a different shade of highlighter green - nice. Corb on the other hand has had several interesting adventures while out fossicking for food and bringing me treats such as chocolate lamingtons from the Kiwi Bakery (gotta love that man!). One such episode occured in a completely deserted department store where he was the only customer. On his way out a ... read more

Good day to you all from here in hot hot Cambodia. The last few days have been very humid and sticky, with temperatures reaching 32-33 degress. Sweat has enveloped my body like the plague as I reel off another perspiration-entrenched t-shirt. Ive started being a minger as I have been washing my tshirts in the shower (no washing powder), drying them and wearing them again the day after- bootiful! So anyway, i follow on from my last blog when we arrived in Cambodia. From Kratie we took a bus to Phnom Penh, the capital city, and found a beautiful hostel on the lakeside in the middle of the city. The little alleyway we stayed on was pertty dingey- full of either tuk tuk drivers or moto drivers harassing us for business, or Cambodian gangsters selling opium ... read more

Steph and I arrived yesterday in Cambodia. We did not do much for the day. We did take a walk around the town to take a look at some of the sights. Apparently, it is unforeseen for tourists to walk. Nobody does it. And, the trick to crossing the street is really quite interesting. There is no real trafic control, people turn when they want and drive where they want. When you cross the street on foot or on a moto, the trick is to just go, look straight ahead and don't look a driver in the eye. If you do, they think you will move for them. It is quite the thing to cross the street with five motorcycles heading toward you. So far so good though! We stopped at Wat Phnom and saw tones ... read more

As you have probably gathered from the heading to this entry, today was our last day in Cambodia, after a great 10 days in this fascinating country. And although there is some sadness that we are moving on, the overwhelming feeling I have in my heart right now is just gratitude, for I feel so enriched by the Khmer - their smiles and laughter, their humility even in the most dire of circumstances. And today just re-enforced everything I already knew about Kampuchea. We struggled out of bed at 6.45am this morning, and for me, this was definitely a struggle. Unlike most bugs I have had in Australia/Germany, this one is really giving me a solid workout, as I have little energy, and any rapid movement (like sitting up in bed) just makes we want to ... read more