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Published: August 3rd 2006
blog by Dave We thoroughly enjoyed travelling
Laos with Sid and Kerry and so having figured out that we had similar itneraries, we decided to stick together as a four through
Cambodia and
Vietnam. It's so much easier to find hotel rooms and avoid the general hassle as a foursome, plus we all get on like a house on fire. This part of our travel is pretty hectic and it would be easy to rest for too long somewhere, so having the guys with us helped keep us to our schedule.
Cambodia has a dark recent history in terms of hostile political and military activity. On the 17th April 1975 the
Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, rolled into
Phnom Pehn and assumed political power over the capital, and indeed the rest of the country. Pol Pot tried to radically reform
Cambodia by turning it into a Maoist, agrigarian co-operative, where people from the major towns where forced to march into the countryside and undertake slave labour in the fields.
Phnom Pehn was emptied for use as a central
Khmer Rouge headquarters. The advent of this regime's rule was proclaimed Year Zero and currency, communications networks and postal
Slash and Burn for mile after mile
Just crossed into Cambodia - north of Na Trang & Kratieservices were abolished.
The country was liberated on Christmas Day 1978 when the Vietnamese invaded from the east and seized back
Phnom Pehn. Pol Pot and his leaders then disappeared into the jungle only to be seen again, on his death bed in 1998. Many Cambodians feel that he has cheated the punishment that had been due to him for all his crimes.
Whilst we were there, the United Nations finally put the wheels in motion for the trials of those responsible for the atrocities. This process had taken twenty five years to come about, and we watched on TV as the international judges were sworn in at the
Royal Palace in
Phnom Penh.
At present though, it is perfectly safe to travel this country despite there being attacks specifically targetting tourists as recently as 1998 by remaining minority Khmer factions.
To get there from
4000 islands (Si Phan Don) in
Laos, we first crossed the river from our hotel and then took a tuk-tuk toward to the border. Roughly halfway there we stopped and caught a minibus to actually cross into
Cambodia. There where many interesting beaurocratic procedures to be witnessed at the border -
Handful of fried crickets anyone?
Just crossed into Cambodia - north of Na Trang & Kratie both at the Laos checkpoint and the Cambodian. These basically entailed having to grease the palm of whoever felt like holding it out.
When we had crossed back over the river at
Stung Treng by passenger ferry we changed vehicle again for the final time into the most delapidated, broken down, death-trap of a van that we have seen. The list of its shortcomings includes tiny seats, rust in excess and exhaust fumes on the inside (coming through the door). The experience was also not enhanced by the six locals jammed into the back and the varied groceries and goods perched on the roof.
Our moods were not helped by the landscape dotted with large bare patches where clearly jungle once stood. This has been caused by a combination of slash and burn agriculture (a mini forest fire is started to clear the scrub and make the soil fertile), and de-forestation by logging for timber. Some eight hours after setting off we arrived in
Kratie at a hotel of the drivers choice, obviously, so that he can collect his commission from the hotelier. This had been selected by us as the overnight stopping point on our way south,
and it served its purpose adequately enough.
It was another delightful six hours on board a coach before we arrived at the capital
Phnom Penh, our first stop of note. We were greated by an absolute avalanche of tuk-tuk/taxi/moto(mopeds with space for passengers) drivers all competing for our custom. Each guy was so desperate that we were even being offered rides for free !
The city of
Phnom Penh was the scene of some of the most vivid and poignant moments in the Khmer Rouge's campaign of terror. We had read articles in the Lonely Planet and vaguely remembered news reports but it would soon become apparent just how incredibly naiive we were about the scale and nature of the horrors that took place here.
In May 1975, after the
Khmer Rouge had firmly taken control, the
Tol Svay Prey High School was turned into a makeshift prison called S-21 where suspected enemies of the regime where brought for 'questioning' before being taken away and summarily executed. Indeed some of those ordinary Cambodians interrogated here had often done nothing more than chat to a neighbour, hold a qualification of some sort, or simply show some intellect. Many
Ready peeled frog
In a supermarket in Phnom Penh actually died during the torture. The individuals would almost always be taken away from their villages with their entire family, including children. This school has now become a macabre museum -
The Tuol Sleng Museum, graphically showing the full extent of the atrocities that occurred here. There is display after display of black and white mugshots of the detainees here, putting faces to the horrendous stories.
This experience really took the wind out of our sails and left us in a very sombre mood.
The killing fields of
Choeung Ek, made famous by the award winning film "The Killing Fields", where not far away and also available to visit. Whilst we were already feeling glum we decided to stop here. Gluttons for punishment or what ? It was here that prisoners from S-21 where brought by the truck load and killed. The
Khmer Rouge soldiers often used farm tools to despatch the prisoners to preserve expensive bullets. The most staggering thing about this place, apart from the huge tower containing some 4500 skulls of some of the victims, is the peaceful atmosphere that now exists here.
There are unbelievably, still bones, teeth and clothing of victims found underfoot
at the edge of the mass grave pits here. The most sobering and distressing part of the tour came when we stumbled across a large tree which bore a sign explaining that infants where killed here by being beaten against the trunk. Imagining the mindset of those carrying out these acts is beyond our capability. I think that summarises what the Cambodians have had to deal with, and for many it must still be fairly fresh in the memory.
I'll have to move on to happier tales now before it becomes too depressing a read. Needless to say we needed cheering up and so decided to explore the culinary delights of the city.
In a small side street there is a smart new cafe called 'Friends'. Here they help out street kids by allowing them to work in the kitchens or as waiters and waitresses. Apart from providing a sense of worth and pride for them, it also ensures that they obtain a trade of sorts as well as a legitimate income. The food here was spectacular, a mixture of tapas, light bites and traditional Cambodian food. So much did we enjoy it in fact that Bronia
purchased a copy of the house recipe book for use back in the UK !!
With our spirits partially restored we spent the next couple of days exploring the older historic sights of the city. There was some great opportunities for 'Mannings Tours' to shine here, with most of the sights being within walking distance of each other. Many ancient buildings, including the huge
Royal Palace complex similar to that of
Bangkok, remained undamaged throughout the fighting although much of the valuable contents were pillaged by the
Khmer Rouge.
The
Royal Palace comprises several pagodas and temples which stand within a small walled citadel. The
Royal Residence which is still used for state occasions is closed to the public but the old
Throne Hall, the
Silver Pagoda and the
Chan Chaya Pavilion were all beautiful and fascinating places to visit.
Wat Phnom (The temple on the hill) is where the city got its name. Legend has it that a woman named Penh found four buddha statues here, washed up by the
Mekong river and the temple was built to house them. Today people come to the temple to pray for good luck, and so we passed by
on our walking tour.
We also checked out the
Independance Monument, built to commemorate freedom from the French in 1953 and modelled on
Angkor Wat's central tower, as well as several markets including
Psar Tmei. This huge dark yellow domed art-deco hall houses an enormous market place selling virtually everything you could imagine - absolute heaven for the girls, not such heaven for our wallets !!!
Having thoroughly explored the capital, we were next off to
Seim Reap, the nearest town to the legendary
Angkor temples. The complexity and scale of the site was going to be a stern test of 'Mannings Tours', but a challenge to be relished.
The first thing that struck us here was the amount of growth evident in this town. Everywhere in sight were the foundations of new hotels being erected and we had to wonder whether these were really all necessary.
We had to plan which temples and sites to visit within our three days here, as there is simply too much to see, over too wide an area (80 sq km) - even if we'd had twice as long.
First we decided to visit
Kbal Spean - a
rock riverbed which had been carved and sculpted into linga (Hindu phallic symbols). This was about 50km outside
Siem Reap, the furthest point we would venture to, in the middle of the jungle. The dark red dirt and sand road here was absolutely terrible with huge puddles and troughs. Even the potholes had potholes. As we arrived by remorque-moto (a motorbike with attached trailer for two people - not the best choice), the sky was ominously dark and we were soon engulfed in a monsoon downpour. We persevered though and it proved to be well worthwhile as the sculpted rocks and the carved riverbed were incredible. This site was only discovered in 1969 by a French ethnologist but was soon off limits due to the civil war. It was only made safe as of 1998 due to the amount of land mines planted in the jungle here.
After the rain the road had deteriorated horribly and on the way to
Banteay Srei - our next and only remaining distant site - we got drenched by some passing vehicles. When we eventually arrived it was like a scene from a horror movie. We were saturated and stained red by the
puddle water. Determined to make the best of it - we pressed on.
Banteay Srei is considered by many to be the jewel in the crown of
Ankor art. It is one of the smallest sites at
Angkor but one of the best preserved. In fact its name means 'Citadel of the Women', as its carvings are said to be too small to have been made by the hand of a man.
The next section kept us slightly closer to the town and we started with
Preah Khan, a huge ruined temple which had been partially left to the jungle. It would take forever to describe each of the places we saw, but I will list them here so that the photos below will become relevant. We visited (in order)
- Preah Neak Prean (a swimming pool complex),
- Ta Som (a ruined Buddhist temple),
- Eastern Mebon (formerly in the centre of a reservoir),
- Pre Rup (an early royal crematorium with three tiers),
- Banteay Kdei (a massive Buddhist monastery),
- Sra Srang (an 800m by 400m lake),
- and finally the highlight of the day - Ta Prohm.
Ta Prohm was used in the film
Tomb Raider and is probably the
most atmospheric ruin at
Angkor. The appeal of the temple here is that unlike the others, it has been left to the jungle, with vast root systems slowly squeezing the stonework. The eerie dappled light and the sounds of the forest give the ruins a unique ambience and make this place truly unforgettable.
Our final day started with the daddy of all temples,
Angkor Wat, the largest religious structure in the world. Having seen pictures of the incredible place I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong. There aren't many words that seem adequate enough to describe this awesome temple. As soon as you step through the gateway (ordinarily a stunning ruin in itself) and see the enormity of the towers beyond - the hairs on your neck stand up. I think I will have to let the photos speak for themselves, but needless to say this will remain in the memory for a lifetime. It is believed to have been built originally as a tomb between 1112 and 1152. The sculptured walls and detailed carvings here are breathtaking.
We imagined that after
Angkor Wat everything now would be a mild anti-climax. This was until we
arrived at the
South Gate of Angkor Thom.
Angkor Thom is a huge fortified city, 10km square. It is believed that at its height, this city may have supported a population of one million people. The city is surrounded by a wall 8m high and 12km in length, with a moat of 100m width and five monumental gates. Each gate is fronted by statues of 54 gods on one side and 54 demons on the other.
Inside the citadel are a multitude of further ruined temples, the highlights of which are the
Baphuon (an enormous central pyramidal temple that is still being pieced together), the
Royal Enclosure (a tall former palace) , and the
Terrace of Elephants (a 350m wall carved with elephants used as a huge viewing terrace for public ceremonies).
The highlight here though, was undoubtedly the
Bayon. This was an enigmatic collection of towers and rooms, still shrouded in mystery, with stooped corridors and steep flights of stony stairs. It boasts 54 gothic towers each decorated with 4 humourlessly smiling faces.
The whole effect is magnificent and captivating.
Our visit to
Angkor left us all absolutely thrilled and overhwhelmed, something which we will all
treasure and fondly recall.
After a brief and mildly unpleasant stop back in
Phnom Penh (the hotel for that one night was appalling), we decided that it was time for some well earned R&R.
"It must be a nightmare", I hear you cry !
Sihanoukville has become known as the
Costa del Cambodia, but the development here is actually way behind that of anywhere in Spain. The beaches here became popular in the '60's before a lull in tourism led to a decline in facilities. Now the region is again experiencing something of a boom since some big developers moved in. We arrived during a torrential downpour and trudged around until we found a nice hotel not too far from the beach.
Sadly, but perhaps it serves us right, the rain did not let up until our last morning, so we saw very little sand and absolutely no surf.
In between showers we did get into the centre of town, including a visit to the
Snake House - a cafe/restaurant set inside a reptile house where the tables have glass tops and contain some slithery surprises below.
Whilst the rain came down we satisfied ourselves
with a game or two of pool at a nearby tourist bar which we adopted as our 'local'. The place served baked beans which was a huge bonus - we all agreed we'd missed them, although given their famous after effects we soon changed our minds. The remaining time was filled by catching up with our diaries and generally taking things easy.
The sunshine greeted our exit from the coast and after finally getting a glimpse of the beach we caught our bus back to
Phnom Penh for the third and final time from where we would head straight into
Ho Chi Minh City in
Vietnam and the next leg of our
South East Asia tour.
See you there............
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Kerry and Sid
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Well it looks like you have beaten us to the post in the marketing of Mannings Tours. Now everybody knows and the Glory is taken. Dont worry we still have e few images fit for a leaflet....... Missing you gus, it was lovely to see images of you both, it brings it all flooding back. Lots of Love..........x x x x x x