Blogs from Phnom Penh, South, Cambodia, Asia - page 222

After a couple more days in Siem Reap we have moved on to Phnom Penh, the Capital of Cambodia.. great city, very small but very busy. Landmine Museam On our last day in Siem Reap we visited the landmine museam outside of town. Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world and a lot of people still are killed or maimed by them. This museam was started by this guy who had been fighting with the Khmear Rouge since he was 10. Grew up in the Jungle, spent his youth killing and setting booby traps and land mines.,Never saw a city until he was 25. when the fighting stopped he started to de-mine Cambodia, by hand with no metal dectors or anything. Started a school for child landmine vicitms as well...verry cool ... read more

OK, these photos have been sitting unpublished awaiting text for months and months. I'm giving up, it's never going to happen! Cambodia, boats, field work, etc etc.... read more

The last few days have being completely packed with sight seeing and new experiences. We spent 3 days in Siem Reap where we explored Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is definately worth the $40.00 to get in. The buildings are beautifully sculpured and tourists are free to climb on anything they see (at your own risk....it can be pretty sketchy at times). My favorite part of Angkor Wat was the monastery that is amongst the ruins. There are hundreds and hundreds of monks in tents. They are about as curious to see you as you are to see them and they are often eager to practice their English with the travelers. Back at the guest house Matt and I made friends with some of the locals working there and Matthew and Seiha (our tuk tuk driver) devoured ... read more

The last 2 weeks have been really hectic. We moved from Siem Reap down to Phnom Penh, the capital; on to Kratie in the north east; then onto Kampong Cham on the Mekong; back down to Phnom Penh; then to Kampot in the south; on to Kep a couple of hours further and then onto Sihnoukville on the south coast. Phnom Penh was a real shock to the system and made Siem Reap look like a sleepy little fishing village. The city is extremely dirty and unpleasant and our hostel was a hole which at night was barred up like a prison (slight fire hazard when locked inside) My room mate Emily and I had to change rooms after an awful first night hunting down and killing cockroaches in a room with no windows or ... read more

A late start today to go visit the markets. First stop was the Russian Market. It has stuff from everywhere and we found a few more goodies. Of particular interest was a stall selling crispy critters; ie. spiders, beetles and greasshoppers. We were taken to another second rate Chinese buffet for lunch. When we got back in the car, we suggested to the guide that she talk to her boss about giving options for meals. We would have preferred more local fare, but not insects. We then went to to another market. This one is in a huge domed building. It hought maybe it would have several levels but everything is on the ground floor. The dome with its many openings help keep the building cool. Nonetheless, the smell of rotting fish is prevasive. We were ... read more