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Published: October 20th 2011
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We went into Cambodia with certain ideas of what this country might be like but in fact we should have never judged the book by its cover and we are glad we gave it a chance.
Cambodia was a refreshing experience with friendly locals and amazing landscapes.
We started in the capital, Phnom Penh, arriving in the evening. We headed to the restaurants and bars which were located right on the riverfront. The first strange thing we noticed when walking along the strip were the locals having an evening workout, over 100 people were following one instructor in a synchronised dance. We decided to leave them to it and watched it from a bar with an Angkor beer. The same night we looked around the night market, Natalie's eyes were scanning the cheap dresses while Chris's nose was sniffing out the food.
The following day we prepared ourselves for the killing fields of Phnom Penh, which is as upsetting as it sounds. Here was the place where 17,000 Cambodians were tortured, beaten, enslaved and murdered by the Khmer Rouge who were led by Pol Pot. Pol Pot wanted complete control over Cambodia and would kill anyone who stood in his way,
especially the working professionals and children.
The place is now very peaceful surrounded by a lake and it is now a memorial sight for those who suffered. Walking around, we listened to an audio tape that told us stories about what happened in each location. Some were pits of where hundreds of skeletons were discovered in later years and are still being unearthed today.
The main 'attraction' was a memorial tower with over 8000 skulls that had been found in the area. You can now pay respect to these by placing flowers outside. With most of the skulls you can see how the person lost their life by the damage to the bone.
The hardest part for us to understand was when we got to 'The Magic Tree'. This tree was used to kill babies, by holding them by the legs and beating them against the tree. Pol Pot did this to ensure family members did not seek revenge against him and the Khmer Rouge. (sorry to depress you). On a lighter note, we did get a bit of a tan that day!
The following day we intended to improve the tan by heading south towards the beach of Sihanoukville.
This beach goes down as the nicest beach to date, beating Nha Trang. The weather was great for the five days we were there and our hotel was very flashpacker. It came with a swimming pool and showed all the football we could have needed.
The highlight of the evenings were to walk to the beach, sit down 2 meters from the waves, have a BBQ and a beer (or five) and relax until it was time to go bed. The nightlife was great as well if you didn't fancy chilling, you could head to a bar and chat away to fellow backpackers. The only downside to Sihanoukville has to be the amount of people who come up to you selling fireworks, bracelets, small lobsters and even marijuana if you fancied! (don't worry we didn't). However, with the lobsters and squid, you could quite easily snack your way through the day on fresh seafood.
Natalie did make a friend on the beach, who we bought a bracelet from, her name was Hannah, who was a very confident teenage girl and would give Natalie a hug at the beginning of every night and also tell Chris she was going to kick
his ass! Bitch!
During our time here, we went on a day trip snorkeling around a few surrounding islands and relaxed on Bamboo Island. The sea was very choppy however and we were in a small boat. We both looked a bit green in the face but kept it down, unlike one woman. The diving wasn't great with little clarity but we enjoyed floating in the water and relaxing on the beaches. One beach we went to had a tree that was covered in flip flops that had been washed to shore and also Chris stood on a sea urchin thinking his time was up. Nothing came of it in the end though....wimp!
Apart from this we spent our time kicking back, relaxing by the pool and enjoying the sun....not to rub it in or anything!
We went back to Phnom Penh for one night and then headed off to Siem Reap.
We got off the bus in Siem Reap, looked up and saw a sign saying "Welcome, Christopher Yardley". We found out later that the hotel in Phnom Penh had told a hotel in Siem Reap we were coming in the event we would come to their hotel, which
we did.
Our second day in Siem Reap involved us going to the Angkor Wat temples. If you aren't sure what these are then watch the first Tomb Raider film. They are massive ruins from thousands of years ago where previous kings lived. It was a long day but definitely worth the trip as the ruins were breathtaking (quite literally). The heat and the amount of stairs ensured we got a good nights sleep that night. We were certainly Wat'd out by the end!
The ruins were really fascinating though, some of the sculptures were ancient but still in a decent condition. With most of them you could tell how old they were by the size of the trees and their roots that had grown on top. If you ever have the chance, go to the temples, they are truly a wonder of the world!
We are now in Bangkok, waiting for a bus over night to Ko Toa. We spent last night in Khao San Road, where we saw plenty of ladyboys and even had our feet nibbled by fish. The fish spa is the STRANGEST feeling in the world and we both couldn't stop laughing as they tickled
our feet. We even got another couple in stitches with our reaction to the fish. Oh and we also bought a bracelet each.....check out the photo's!!!
Quit Your Job,
Buy a Ticket,
Get a Tan,
Live Everyday,
Fall in Love and Never Return!
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Anne Newson
non-member comment
jealous
Glad you are both having such a fun time, really great to read your blog. Enjoy yourselves!!!