Cambodia, Shhh don't tell anyone

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Wow what a place, it sums up what i love and loath about the east west debate. Why have we (west) interfieried in so many of these far flung countries. in this case france and america to such horrific results but yet anger and bitterness seems to wash away with the late afternoon showers.

A people with on the whole so very little but seems to be happier than so many more people and countries with so much more. Phnom Penh is busy and functional. It wont win any tourist awards but really its not a tourist city. It has many things to occupy 2-3 days of tournist activity many are hard to swallow but need to be seen like the School prison used by the Khmer Rouge, or the killing fields. Harrowing but they tell a story we should never forget and sadly is all to often repeated in recent times in the balkan and now in Iraq and Syria. The banks of the meklong river have numerous tourist type hotels and bars and shops. Ideal for a lazy night shopping of a beer and recovery from jet lag. The beer is very cheap but imported soft drinks like coke etc will sting your pocket. the banks of the river will (in the wet season) take you by ferry to the must see Siem Reap. 30$ or so and 5hr on a boat thats safe but anything for 5hrs can become weary. The other option is by road 6+hrs. 70$ private cab, 12$ in mini van or less on coach. the roads are not so good so the slower the veichle will take much longer. overtaking a local on a tractor or ox cart is a good pitcure oppertunity but a ongoing delay. You could fly to siem reap wither direct from bangkok or from the capital but you would miss the country. It is not as dynamic or beautiful as loas or north vietnam but it does paint a picture to the real cambodia. its a country of real poverty and continous battle with weather floods and humidity. Outside the captital and the tourist areas around Angkor Wat it is poor. everyone seems very happy, i was truley humbled by how happy people could be who have so little. I actually got quiet spiritual about it all and have an open mind to the ways and method of budism even more so since my trip.

Arrival in Siem Reap your in a tourist trap of a good kind. Hostels or Hotels (my was Siem Reap Hsotel) cheap as chips, bar, pool, food, 2min walk to town centre plus loads of trips available. But if you want a resort or if you need a 4-5star you will find also. The town has horrds of tourist option. Food of the very highest quality or from the market stalls. Massage options both fish eating your feet while you have a beer or the more tradtional types. Bars number in half centry atleast so if you want to cut loose and relax you can, I wish i stayed here much longer. The nights were fun with loads of local and foriegn tourist. The days were filled with non stop activities. Quad biking at dusk, cooking classes, orphanage visit plus the jew in the asian crown the anccient ruins and amazing story around the temples and cities of Angkor Wat and their equally well endowded ifless well know sister ruins. By bike or by tour by tuk tuk (my prefered option) you can spend the whole day if not week in the woods and jungles exploring, shopping at the tourist traps or reading a book or re connecting with a lost world with an amazing story. Its a place the rough and ready back packer could visit but also his or hers mother and auntie. It has the hom comforts we are used too and expect in the west but not so well polished or overloaded that it has lost it charm (yet) no McDonalds etc in sight is always a good sign.

The airport in and out is surprizingly wonderful. Small but very modern and clean, more than i expected.

I will be back, next time with a bike (likely of the motorised version) to travel at a more suitable pace and get off the beaten track...

You will love Cambodia, just dont tell anyone...

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