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Published: February 10th 2008
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It begins, the 11th Jan 2008, 5pm and I'm in an Irish bar. Celebrating the fact that it has only taken me nine and half hours! to get from Bangkok to Siem Reap. I've managed to avoid all the scams and haven't been badly ripped off by the Cambodian transport mafia. I am a lucky one.
Having not given much thought to what Siem Reap would be like, I was taken aback by how "western" it was. But, with the Khmer crown jewel of Angkor Wat just 3 km down the road and 2 million plus visitors a year, I guess I should have been expecting something more than teak houses and dirt tracks!
So, the morning after my arrival, with a suitably bad hangover from my night celebrating! I head off to the Angkor Archaeological Park (AAP). I buy my 7 day pass, for the princely sum of $60 and set off exploring the Wats on a rickety old bicycle. I reckon I clocked up nearly 100 miles on my trusty steed over the following 7 days. Many an evening was spent in the bars of Siem Reap, supping beer with my fellow travelers and bemoaning the soreness
of our butts. But, what an experience. I hope the photos even vaguely do justice to the splendor of Angkor. This place is truly a sight to behold.
I have fond memories of Siem Reap itself, especially the street stalls. Where you could stop for a beer in the wee hours of the morning. Sitting with Khmer ladies, who, convinced I must be cold encouraged me to stay warm Khmer style; a plastic bag on the head. There is some fellow traveler out there who has some classic photos. Unfortunately, as is often the case, e-mails weren't exchanged and our paths have not crossed again.
After a week and feeling truly templed out, I headed south to Phnom Penh. It was on this, my first bus journey, I began to appreciate how very beautiful, but very flat, Cambodia is. Traveling through the flood plains of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers, every house is built on stilts, some, 10-15ft in the air. It is easy to imagine that the country must look like a huge lake during the rainy season.
Phnom Penh arrives and what an assault on your senses it is. Loud, manic, smelly....but such fun!
No visit to Phnom Penh is complete without visiting the Killing Fields and S21, the prison were the Khmer Rouge held and tortured people before sending them to the Killing Fields. This trip shocks even the most talkative into silence and reduces many to tears. It is a poignant reminder of what the Khmer went through and leads to a better understanding of how the loss of nearly a quarter of the countries population effects every person here today.
Two days of sensory overload were enough for me, so I headed north to the provincial town of Kratie and went in search of the endangered Irrawaddy, fresh water dolphins of the Mekong. Kratie was what I'd like to believe as normal Cambodia. No beggars and people who genuinely just want to talk to you and practice their English. I spent 3 amazing days here, visiting the villages with a local boy, watching the dolphins play in the river and chilling on the terrace as the sun set over the Mekong.
With my time in Cambodia fast running out, it was time for yet another bus journey. This time, heading south towards the coast and the town of
Kampot. Kampot is famous for its pepper, the Durien fruit; Khmer love it, but it is sooooo smelly, a real stomach churner. The reason I and many travelers go to Kampot, is to visit the Bokor Hill Station. A French resort, built on the hill in prime national park in the early 20's. It was abandoned when overrun by the Vietnamese in the 50's and in later years was one of strong holds of the Khmer Rouge. An eerie ghost town, often shrouded in mist and with the ever present mine warning signs.
Having made the pilgrimage to Kampot and to then find out that the road to the hill station was closed 2 days previous, came as a bit of a shock to myself and many other travelers. A big corporation has bought the site to develop as a new hotel complex. Another piece of history about to be lost forever.
Not to be detered, that evening, over a few beers, a group of us found a local guide willing to take us on a trek up the mountain the following day. This trek could be a blog in itself, our mini adventure was really not quite
as mini as we thought. What lay ahead, was 9 hours of hard slog. Cutting our way through the jungle and hauling ourselves up steep inclines by vines. There were some serious highs, but also rock bottom lows. One case of food poisoning, 1 girl in floods of tears over the pain. The onset of torrential rain, when it was still dark and we were still on the mountain. Our pick-up vehicle getting stuck in the mud twice and us having to push/pull it out, and finally, all the vehicles electrics failing as we are driving on the road to hell, with no lights and no windscreen wipers.
Despite all of this, the next morning over brekky, our little group were in agreement that it was an epic day and a journey well worth making. The chance to walk in the ruins and imagine them in their hey day, will soon be lost to the world, we're all glad we got in there at the last.
So Cambodia has come to and end for me. I've now entered Vietnam via the Mekong Delta and am heading north. Where apparently it is cold!!
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