Blogs from Cambodia, Asia - page 846

Hello again! We left Saigon with a bunch of other backpackers and took a trip around the Mekong Delta, where we saw how people really live in Viet Nam (in very smelly places with lots of rubbish). Everybody was so friendly though and we had a brilliant time cruising down beautiful little canals wearing those Vietnamese straw hats and picking bananas off the trees. Visited a noodle factory which was also a pig sty and cock-fighting venue, a crocodile farm (yes, farm not sanctuary) and nearly ate the local delicacy of raw pork (which I thought was a pink sweet). One of the locals stopped me just in time. We think we managed to avoid eating dog, and discovered snake tastes just like chicken, with the added bonus of not having flu. Great atmosphere everywhere we ... read more

Cycling through the city, I tried out different intonations of "Soo-sih-day" as I sung out my hellos on the fly. A moto driver replied "hello lady" and a monk gave me a subtly saucy smile. I reasoned my Khmer pronunciation must be improving. Nicola, my partner in crime since Saigon, pedals up alongside. "Do you think we should call in at your boyfriend's for a cup of ice cream on the way home?" I readily agree to the plan. We've been cycling around the city all day, scheming over our morning tea and coffee, sussing out the NGOs in town, and doing our best to network our way into the wild world of Phnom Penh. In the oppressive afternoon heat, we're ready for a leisurely rest at the Okay Guesthouse and a naperoo. Nicola has been ... read more

Before today, I always considered the bus ride between Chile and Argentina to be the most dramatic border crossing. The Andes Mountains themselves seem to echo the message that you have arrived in another way of life. The journey made in Chile's first-rate buses, however, could never compare to the transm experienced by entering the Kingdom of Cambodia. A relatively uneventful ride through the Vietnamese countryside ended in a dusty parking lot, where we were told to collect our bags. A 300 meter stretch of dusty road under construction was all that separated us from the border, and our bus guide instructed us that a shabbier bus and worse roads would be awaiting us on the other side. True to his word, we emerged on the other side to board the bus of a driver who ... read more

"The temples at Angkor are spread out over some 40 miles around the village of Siem Reap, about 192 miles from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. They were built between the eighth and 13th centuries and range from single towers made of bricks to vast stone temple complexes." While the whole temple complex is referred to as Angkor Wat, Angkor Wat is actually one particular temple. There are two main sites for the temples - the City of Angkor and Roluos. The temples are both Hindu and Buddhist, and Indian methods of architecture as well as Hindu mythology were influential in the construction of the Angkor temples. (The story of the Churning of the Sea of the Milk is at the end of this journal.) "ANGKOR WAT: Regarded as the supreme masterpiece of Khmer architecture, it ... read more

Siem Reap n'est pas super. Mais Angkor est impressionnant! Nous avons passes quelques jours la bas, pour ensuite continuer vers Phnom Phen et Sianoukville.... read more