Blogs from South, Cambodia, Asia - page 4

This morning was very interesting but upsetting and somewhat depressing. After breakfast we got a ‘grab’ taxi to the genocide museum. This museum is in the site of the old S21 prison, used by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. It was originally built as a high school and the plain buildings surrounded by houses in the middle of a city seem out of place with what occurred there. We chose to get an audio guide which was well worth the extra cost. The Khmer Rouge came into power by force in 1975. Initially most people were pleased the corrupt monarchy had been overthrown. Within hours the soldiers were ‘evacuating’ Phnom Penh and sending it’s inhabitants to work in the countryside instead. Families were split up and anyone who resisted killed. Once in the countryside people ... read more

Today we scootered over to Bokor National Park to see the Hill Station which is one of the things recommended to see whilst in Kampot. Getting to the entrance of the park is a relatively short drive but from the entrance to the top takes quite a long time. The road is good but very windy - probably a lot of fun for motorbike enthusiasts. On the way up we stopped to look at various view points and a giant, sitting lady Buddha. The park has been leased out for the next 99years and the Chinese are levelling large areas and constructing huge complexes. This is a real shame as it means there’s no longer any trekking available through the park and it risks the wildlife here including elephants, tigers, sun bears, mongoose, hornbills and ... read more

There was a spectacular thunder storm last night, and judging by how wet everything was it rained a lot whilst we were asleep. This meant that the clothes we’d left to dry on the balcony were wetter than when we’d put them out! Oops. After breakfast we went looking for critters in the sea. Unfortunately the wind picked up and the sky clouded over making it very difficult to see anything. As the rain came down we gave up and swam back to our things before packing and checking out. The rest of the morning was spent reading in the bar, watching the ominous sky and dark sea with its white horses. Our tuk tuk to the bus stop was due to pick us up at 1pm. It was 30mins late. The hostel was great - ... read more

What a wonderful day. Idyllic and we finally feel Christmassy. We enjoyed breakfast on the balcony of our bungalow before doing our laundry (less fun but necessary). Chores done we headed to the bar for some tea and a snack and then descended to the beautiful, sandy beach. We went for a swim in the warm waters and then built our sandcastles. Mine was a simple affair. Stephens was rather more elaborate and he ended up with a group of locals coming to watch. They even went to find shells for him to decorate it with! Whilst he finished his construction I got to read in the shade on the edge of the beach. Construction complete we ate some lunch before going for a short walk in the jungle. It was beautiful but hard work in ... read more

We arrived in Phnom Phen late last night. Heading to the ‘visa on arrival’ desks we were disappointed to find a ridiculously long queue. We needn’t have been - the system is surprisingly quick and efficient. The customs form, visa form and arrivals form were all provided on the plane so everyone had filled out their info. Once at the front of the queue you give them your passport, visa form & passport photo and then go to a different queue to pay & pick up the visa. It’s only $30 for a tourist visa and there are ATMs where you queue so it’s easy to get cash. Having a foreign visa the ATMs would only allow us to withdraw US dollars and not the local reil. This meant we just converted some pounds to reil ... read more