Good times in Cambodia..

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First.. I'm in Siem Reap, Cambodia.. This country is not listed under Asia??? Am I missing something??


I forgot to mention that while we visited the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam we got to choose and then shoot guns!! I felt a little weird wanting to do it but was interested in how it felt to shoot a gun. We picked an M45 rifle I think??? I could be totally off... I shot 4, Susan 4 and Danielle 2. It was soo soo loud. It was hard to imagine gunfire going off around the jungles where we were.. aka more than 1 gun at at time. When I went up to shoot another guy was shooting close by.. It was soo loud and hard to pull the trigger and concentrate on a target...Helped give more perspective on the war I guess..

Aug 9th,

Bus at 930 am to Phnom Penn, Cambodia. It went by quick. I slept most of the way. We arrived to quite the bustling town. I was not expecting this at all. We got off the bus and a tuk tuk (Cambodia's version =motorcyle with a small wagon attached) was included to bring us to our hostel. Impressive!! He found us a nice place for 20 bucks total and near the center of town. We ventured to a place that Lonely Planet quoted as having 'heaping salads and health food'. It was a must for me bc unfortunatly not eating right, travelling, not sleeping much etc was catching up with me and I had 2 cold sores (eek and a head cold). It was delicious!! Blue cheese and avocado as ingredients...

Tried to find some 'live music' but all crap and nothing compared to jazz in Saigon the night before. Susan headed home earlier and Danielle and I turned up through the local market to get to our hotel. Earlier in the day when we walked through we experienced a real Asian market. No tourist stuff and no tourists! Fish everywhere, Meat hanging everywhere, all kinda weird smells, a man on a motorbike had a huge box full of bones.. like big Charlie ham bones.. It almost tipped on my feet and I fought my was out of there.. Gross!! Anyways, now it was desserted... all except for few bodys sleeping under mosquito nets and oh yes more RATS!!! There were no lights and no turning back. Danielle and I held each other and screamed and ran. The rats were close to our feet....unlike in Hoi An.. Ick!! Poor Susan, did this by herself.. very very brave girl!!

Aug 10th

I woke up to an exciting email!! The Rock won and Kev was man of the match! I phoned Kev at 1130 pm the night of the game celebrating with the team at the Parfreys... I was soo happy but sad I had missed out of this glorious event and party afterward!! First time I was a bit homesick but I had a full day planned...

I ended up having quite the emotional day...

We split up for the day. I wanted to go to Wildlife Sanctuary and the girls not soo much..

I jumped on the motorbike with my guy driver and 2 things I noticed right away... no beeping.. in Vietnam horns were non-stop.. if you passed, if you were driving straight, it made no sense at all. what if you had to beep to warn someone?? And no one except me wore a helmet. In Vietnam 95% did, here 95% did not..

Anyways, I loved heading out Cambodia's countryside. We went through small dirt road and villages. I saw gigantic pineapples for sale, lots of meat hanging on the side of the road etc. and then a dead dog!! I was sick to my stomach. It was right there a foot away from my leg. No one had moved it or cared. I thought I'd seen the worst. Then we turned onto the street to go to Sanctuary and their were elderly people begging everywhere. It was soo sad. Cambodia has the most poverty we've seen by far. It was really hard to be excited to go see the animals after witnessing their hardships. There were 3 bros and sis holding a one year old barley clothed begging. Just Awful!

Once I walked around with the animals my mood did lighten. I saw crocodiles, fed monkeys, looked at a family of gibbon monkeys, gave bears cocunuts, saw snakes and my favorite the tigers!! I could have stayed forever!!

Next, on to the killing fields.. Again, very sad and horrible...

Finally, to S-21 prison camp. A school turned into a torture prison by Pol Pot's regime. Again, eye opening and so very very sad.

After a nice hot shower (we have been staying in nicer and nicer places.. ) ate a quick supper and then went to 2 documentaries and a bar. The first one I had the mini theatre to myself. It was on Mines (explosives left behind from wars) in Cambodia and around the world. It was interesting and terrifying at same time. Danielle and Susan joined me for next one about Pol Pot's life.

Aug 11th

Travel day!! Bus left at 730 am and we arrived in Siem Reap at 130 pm. Not bad.. I slept most of way...

We got to Ancient Angkor guesthouse (with a pool and only 7 dollars a night) (an American man I met told me about it).

I immediately made my first but not last visit to the Western Clinic here. I was beginning to get pink eye!! Body on shut down.. even though I feel ok??? I am leaving for a week or R & R and beaches tomorrow!!

21 dollars later I have my meds (no lineups like at home) and a fistful of antiobiotics (unnecessary and making money off of me.. )

Rest up and head to Old market. Its really cute here. I like it better then Phnom Penn. There is a Le Pub Steet, a market and then all kinds of restaurants hidden in an alley. We get a Khmer Traditional Massage! Sooo relaxing.. Then, a few stores, and a delicous Khmer meal.. Danielle and I are obsessed with the cocunut milk dishes..

Aug 12th

We get up at 630 to get an early start for the Angkor Wat temples. A UNESCO World Heritage Site that people usually spend a couple days-a week and we alloted one half day!! haha

They were massive, super impressive, and well kept and pretty f-ing amazing!! We went to Ta Phrom where Angelina Jolie shot Tomb Raider. This one was overgrown with trees and was all our favorite. The sun was beating down on us and we were starving by 1 so called it a day at the temples.

Susan and I had delicious sandwhiches (Western style) and marble chocolate cheese cake and vanilla cappucino... Oh by the way, Cambodia is wayyy more expensive than the rest of Asia we visited. They use US dollars everywhere.. Damn it...

So, Susan and I said our goodbyes (a little tear and we reminisced over our lunch.. ). I didn't say farewell to Danielle bc in our delirious hungry state I thought I would see her again.

I was off to HAPPY RANCH!!! Soo excited!! I was going to go on horseback around Cambodia's countryside!!

So, I meet the owner. Super nice man. We called each other 3 times the night before to confirm etc and he was excited that I was so excited to go!!

I am paired up with a nice girl from Holland who is also by herself and a guide and after a few lessons in the saddle off we go. It was spectacular!! It rained, then the sun came out, then a light rain again. We passed through rice fields, small villages and old Angkor temple ruins with no other tourists. We walked slowly, and then tested our skills to a trot. I loved it although I am not sure how ppl ever get comfortable in a saddle. I was bouncing up and down, trying to push down with my feet, and I have bruises and scratches on my butt. Maybe the lack of cushion in the area??

We were 10 minutes away when my friend from Holland maybe got a little too confident with her horse, she went fast and unfortunately had a spill. She was Ok! A bit shaken, as was I. Don't worry Hughes' I was always in control and safe and happy and comfortable!!! AND we both had helmets!!

So, it had a crappy ending but all in all I loved it. Her tuk tuk driver and I took her to the same clinic I went to yesterday. I was a good med student. haha.. She got a tetanus booster just in case bc of a scratch of her back and I helped reassure her (being in a foreign country's clinic and all) We exchanged facebooks of course to swap pics..

Then, out to supper solo in the market.. A fab meal again with a glass or red vino.. The NZ boys behind me were talking rugby. 'We're way better than South Africa. The flankers, the lineouts, scrums" etc.. on and on they went.. Thanks guys for reminding me what a glorius momentous occasion i missed.. haha Shopped around.. now heading to bed for my 10 hour travel day back to Thailand.. Phuket and more diving Hear I come.. not much time left now...

Love NIk

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