Ruins, The Rouge, and some serious R & R

Ruins

We can't begin to describe the seemingly limitless Temples of Angkor. We were well aware of the gargantuan display of 12th century Angkorian architecture that is Angkor Wat. However, what we didn't know when we got here was just how rich and diverse in ancient structure this region is...

We spent 3 days, guided by the trusty Jakey, our remorque-moto driver, exploring these frankly divine temples, ranging from 900m long reservoirs to vastly intricate structures on a cosier scale. Some of these fantastic sites are straight out of Tomb Raider (the game, not the film - although some scenes were shot here) in both layout and ambience. We can't go into them all. But if you haven't been, then get yourselves out here. Tourism is already on a rapidly accelerating incline. At this rate, it may do more harm than good.

The Rouge

Suffering from temple fatigue we were pleased to pack our bags and hit the road again, this time to the hussle and bussle of downtown Phnom Penh. Our scheduled rest stop enroute was quite the adventure as we were greeted by swarms of children selling everything from mango with chilli and salt (apparently a flavour sensation - Anne isn't so sure), crickets, and deep fried tarantulas (being a Scot, Steve would normally dive in at the prospect of anything deep fried but even the assurance that they taste just like crab (aye right) wasn't enough to convince him!). The driver must have been eating them though, as he spent the entire 5 hours hocking up phlegm (into what we don't know), much to Anne's disgust.

After a good night sleep and some local tucker from the street stalls we were up early to visit the palace complete with its emerald Buddha and silver flooring (very fancy!) before heading off to pay our respects to the modern history of Cambodia and spend some time reflecting upon the impact of the Khmer Rouge regime. It is truly difficult to put into words how horrific the Tuol Sleng museum (a high school converted to a prison and torture den) and the infamous killing fields were. However these important monuments serve to memorialise almost 2 million Khmer who were killed directly or indirectly by the Rouge and their four year plan to create a peasant state focussed on the production of massive quantities of rice. The extermination of people without any agricultural skills as well as educated people (often simply identified by wearing glasses??) was a key strategy of the Rouge.

Amidst a country still recovering from this terrible legacy we are pleased to now have a more thorough understanding of the people of Cambodia including a sense of where they have come from and where they still have to go.

R & R in Snooky Snook

Having been on the go for a couple of jam packed weeks we felt that some down time was in order and so we find ourselves in Snooky Snook (Sihanoukville) a small seaside town where we have located our little piece of paradise in the form of a bungalow on the beach (see images). We spend our days in the breeze with a few beers and books overlooking the beach and the fishermen hauling their catch (ahhh serenity!). A wee reminder of home, the bungalow owner, Joe, is an Australian and appears to be a stoned version of Len (go the mo!!). Joe and Anne are looking forward to teaching Steve all about the finer points of two-up on Friday (Anzac Day).

The beach is an idyllic stretch of white sand, dotted with coconut palms and filled with children and women selling everything including mangoes, lobsters, massages (the respectable type) and pedicures. And so that you're not all completely jealous, the down side is that the water is just a little too warm (sorry - the only bad thing we can think of to ease your pain!). We expect to continue at this pace until boredom and/or our Vietnamese visa kicks in.

An aside

Thanks all for your messages and comments...it is so great to hear from you all and gives a sense of home to us homeless hobos! Keep em coming!

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