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Published: February 27th 2007
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Sunrise at Angkor Wat
Our early rise was well worth the effort when we witnessed the sunrise behind this magnificent temple Greetings!
When we came up with the itinerary for our trip, Sue's parents could not understand why on earth we wanted to go to Cambodia! The reason, Mark explained, was a very old temple ruin known as Angkor Wat, which, over the years, numerous people had told him was a must see. "Oh right", Sue's parents replied, nodding their heads but looking less than convinced. Fortunately, we can report that the ancient temples of Angkor, one of the seven man made wonders of the world, lived up to the hype - just check out the picture to the right.
Angkor Wat is the jewel in the crown of well over two dozen temples and monuments to be visited in the area. There is also Ta Prohm, which for those of you less interested in the history, is where they filmed Tomb Raider. The most visually impressive feature at this temple is the enormous trees growing out of, and all over, the temple walls, giving it a real old world jungle feel. The temples were built during the period 900 to 1400 AD but after the fall of the Khymer Empire remained untouched until they were "re-discovered" in the 19th
Ta Prohm
Look how the roots of the trees have grown around these ruins. In many cases it is difficult to know whether the trees are supporting the ruins or vice versa! This is where Tomb Raider was filmed. century. Tourists are able to freely explore the insides of almost every temple, and in most cases climb over the outer walls and spires too. This enables you to get up real close and personal and enjoy your own little "Indiana Jones" moment. We spent 2 days exploring the ruins, which were one of the cultural highlights of our trip; right up there with Machu Picchu in Peru.
Great beaches was certainly not one of the reasons we put Cambodia on the itinerary. However, after heading south to the coastal town of Sihanoukville, we found two fabulous paradise islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Our favourite would have to be Koh Ta Kiev where we got to stay at Jonty's Jungle Camp. Jonty is an English fella from the Isle of Wight who opened for business just before Xmas. The concept behind his camp is the opportunity to spend a night on your very own "Robinson Crusoe" island, sleeping in a hammock, with a maximum of eight guests. On the two nights we stayed we were the only two on the island! It was all very basic, but the pristine beaches - all to ourselves - camp fire and
star lit night sky for a roof, more than made up for that (and besides, going rustic from time to time is good for the soul!!).
The starting point for our 12 days in Cambodia was the capital city of Phnom Pehn. What a crazy place! If we thought that there was a sleaze factor in Bangkok, then Phnom Pehn was literally rolling in it; massages were of the wandering hands variety (apparently) with all sorts of extras available for a few dollars more. Corruption and bribery are also a fact of life as we discovered when we hired a motorbike for the day. As we approached a set of traffic lights a policeman pulled us over. What were we supposed to have done? Had we breached their completely ridiculous idea of a highway code where people drive up the wrong side of the road and pull out of side streets without looking or stopping!?! Actually, no, we hadn't. What PC Copper was after, he informed us with a cheeky smile, was some beer money - 10 dollars worth of beer money would you believe. We tried to negotiate it down but he was having none of it. What
Killing Fields monument
This monument was erected to remember all those many people who lost their lives, under Pol Pot's rule. Inside this monument there are thousands of skulls and bones, that have been found in the killing fields nearby a great advert for tourism!
The reason we visited Phnom Pehn was to learn about Pol Pot and the Killing Fields of the Kyhmer Rouge. We first visited the genocide museum located at the infamour S21 detention centre, where we learned about the appauling conditions endured by so called "traitors" of the regime and some of the torture techniques employed .... shocking and sombre to say the very least. Then, the following day, we visited one of the many Killing Fields which are located all over Cambodia. We learned that during the Khymer Rouge's rain of terror which lasted from 1975 to 1979, more than 2 million Cambodians lost their lives. As you can imagine, these experiences were amongst the saddest and most shocking of our entire trip. But, at the same time, the spirit and welcoming nature of almost every Cambodian we met (our dubious police officer aside), also meant that it was one of the most inspiring and uplifting, and we can safely say that our trip to Cambodia turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of our travels - we would recommend Cambodia to anyone coming to the region.
After Cambodia it
Rai Lay beach, Krabi
Gorgeous beach surrounded by limestone cliffs. was time for some sun, sea and sand on the southern islands of Thailand. We opted to visit the Andaman Sea side of the country and our jumping off spot was the limestone mountain and rock climbing mecca that is Krabi. Krabi, and Rai Lay Beach in particular, are extremely stunning, but being something of a package holiday destination also extremely crowded. Exactly the same things can be said for Koh Lanta and beautiful Koh Phi Phi, where you can see tonnes and tonnes of "speedos" and Daniel Craig wannabes. In an effort to escape the crowds we decided to take a 3 night sailing trip around the islands. This was yet another completely new experience for us and meant that we got to see the more secluded and isolated spots, of which there are many, and Sue got to fulfill her life long ambition of standing at the bow of our 50ft yacht singing Duran Duran's classic 80's hit, "Her name is Rio"!
As our time in South East Asia neared its end, it was time for a spot of scuba diving. Mark took his advanced course (and passed) and Sue did 3 fun dives. The highlights would
Mark scuba diving
This picture was just before he jumped in to dive around Shark Point, to qualify for his Advanced SSI course. be diving the King Cruiser wreck, a ferry which sank in 1997, and Sue's very own private moment with a shark. No, she didn't get attacked, rather she was lucky enough to stroke a 2 metre long leopard shark that was snoozing on the bottom of the ocean - absolutely priceless.
On this occassion, our blog would not be complete without describing perhaps the worst point in our travels: the bus ride from Siem Reap in Cambodia across the border to Bangkok in Thailand. It lasted 14 hours in total and included a particularly moody 9 hour stretch on the Cambodian side. The road was completely unmade and the bus had no air conditioning. There was absolutely zero leg room, no suspension and the aisle was clogged with everyones backpacks. Dust poored in through the windows and it was about 35 degrees and humid. Just to top it off we got two punctures and sat on the side of the road for 3 hours in the baking sun. We will never ever forget that bus journey - and we have had some pretty bad ones - and if we ever have one like it again in this or any
Her name is Rio !!
OK - Mark wouldn't actually join me in singing that 80's classic, but it was a memorable moment for me!!! other lifetime it will be too soon!
India is up next on the agenda, the 10th and final country on our itinerary. We have just two months to go and apparently we are going to either love it or hate it. Our next blog will reveal all.
That's all for now comrades.
Take care,
Mark and Sue xx
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Time Flies!
I can't believe you are about to embark on the last leg of your trip - and I'm sure you can't either! Well, all the best in India and Mark, DON'T let any of that water pas your lips in any way shape or form - remember your sister when she was there, so watch it! Great pictures.