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April 22nd 2012
Published: April 22nd 2012
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Carla: We took a boat along the Mekong early on Monday morning. The boat took an hour or so to reach the border at Vinh Xuong where we officially left Vietnam. The riverside landscape was crammed with stilt and floating houses up to this point and the river was busy with traffic. The boat went for 2 minutes through ‘no-man’s river’ to the Cambodian border control which illustrated the contrast between the two countries immediately. The entrance to the place was along a rickety wooden bridge and a sandy path and the necessary paperwork was completed in a shady compound complete with Buddhist shrines and pergolas for the officers to work beneath. The Cambodian riverscape was straightaway different from the Vietnamese; there were few houses, lots of skinny white cattle being washed in the river and virtually no other boats. The bustling Mekong was replaced with a lazy, rural and peaceful one. We continued along for a number of hours until suddenly in the distance we saw Phnom Penh. It rises up from the countryside without any preamble, no suburbs or any indication its coming. One minute fishing boats and rice paddies and the next minute the Royal Palace, Wat Ounalom, the Phnom Penh Quay, the Foreign Correspondents Club, bars, cafes and hotels all lined up along the Tonlé Sap River which meets the Mekong here. You can stand in Phnom Penh and look out across the Mekong to green countryside and fishing boats being rowed by hand. This was a small and totally manageable city in stark comparison to HCMC; there are only 2 million people in Phnom Penh and only 16 million in the whole of Cambodia. Mind you the heat had ratcheted up a notch or two from Vietnam, the temperature was nudging 35o in the shade. It was the final day of the Khmer New Year celebrations (apparently they were pleased that the death count had been down this year – less drink driving and the like) but some shops and market stalls were still open so we went and did a bit of browsing as we’d heard that Cambodia was the best value in Indochina. I was feeling a bit panicky about Al’s birthday as I’d had no opportunities to sneak off and buy him a pressie – but the next day we came to the conclusion that a nice meal and a visit to Angkor Wat would be a better way to spend money on him, so I was let off the hook!.
We visited the Royal Palace on our second day in Phnom Penh, there is still a King of Cambodia (apparently he’s such a devout Buddhist that he hasn’t got married and hasn’t provided the country with an heir, but nobody seems to mind) but I don’t think that he lives in the Palace as there wasn’t much furniture in the bits we saw. The current king is the son of King Sihanouk who was a colourful character in that he abdicated and ran for office as a normal politician in the 1950s and then proceeded to rule the country in a quite dictatorial manner. He was ousted by a military coup, fled to Beijing and made an alliance with the Khmer Rouge who then imprisoned him in his own palace for 4 years. Once the Khmer Rouge was defeated by the Vietnamese and the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1991, he came back again as a Monarch. He then abdicated AGAIN in 2004. Bit of an oddball.
The Silver Pagoda inside the Royal Palace was phenomenal – not just because the floor is lined with 5000 solid silver tiles but because there is a Baccarat-crystal Emerald Buddha that appears to glow from within and a solid gold life-size standing Buddha that is encrusted with 9534 diamonds. There are also some less ‘gaudy’ but really beautiful Khmer Buddhas made from green-stone and granite. I rate this as the best collection of Buddhas we’ve seen (partly because the Khmer Buddha face is harmonious and peaceful) although the pagoda was nowhere near as pleasing as the ones in Luang Prabang, despite its mega-bling floor.
That night we walked along the river to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (the FCC) which was suitably loungy, leather-chaired and open to the river breezes which were helped along by slowly turning dark-wood fans. No real journalists there now, just tourists and ex-pats but still quite evocative. And the pizzas were good.
The next day it was the 37th anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge and so, on the 6 hour bus journey to Siem Reap they showed The Killing Fields (well I presume it was for this reason and that they don’t do it every journey). Luckily George and Ruby didn’t look up from their iPods during the whole screening; trauma avoided. For the rest of the day I was in a slightly unreal state arriving at Siem Reap which is totally tourist-focused and full of pubs, restaurants, supermarkets and hotels; I couldn’t believe that it was only in 1998 that Pol Pot died and the dregs of the Khmer Rouge were finally defeated. Even counting from the end of the ‘Year Zero’ period it is only 33 years since people were terrorised, abused and starved in their own country. You would never guess it walking down ‘Pub Street’ in Siem Reap that’s for sure.
George: We spend one night at Chau Doc to wait for the boat to take us to Cambodia. We go on a boat for 6 hours to take us to Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia). We stay there for 2 nights. The next day we go to the King’s Palace. The day after that we get a coach to Siem Reap. On Dad’s birthday we go to lots of ancient temples, the first thing we go to is called Angkor Wat and it is the biggest religious building in the world. We leave at 6am to get to it, so we’re not all sweaty when we walk around. The second temple we go to is called Angkor Thom it is a temple to worship the king. The last temple we go to is called Ta Prohm, it is all ruins and there’s a lot of big trees. Next day we get on a mini-flight to Bangkok and then on an overnight flight to Sydney. The plane has DOUBLE DECKS and it is four seats in the middle and three either side. On Saturday we arrive in Sydney and Clare picks us up to take us to her house where we meet Archie and Louie (and Pete! Ed). In the evening we have a BBQ and toast marshmallows.
Ruby: From Saigon we went on a boat to Phnom Penh. We had to stop to get checked in. It was a lovely ride. In Siem Reap we went to Angkor Wat, it was the biggest temple in the world and it was massive and very crumbly. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! It was my Dad’s burthday; we had a lovely day. Today we got on the plane to Sydney, it was another overnight place. We are staying at Archie and Louies’ house. We had marshmallows. On Sunday morning the Easter Bunny found us in Australia. We had an egg hunt in the garden and I got a chocolate bunny and some yummy eggs.
Alex: We went to see the Angkor temples on my birthday. An un-birthdayish 5.15am rise was necessary to beat the crowds and the heat, although if we did it again, we would probably go even earlier as even arriving at 6.30am we were starting to get sweaty almost immediately. By 7.30 it was pouring off us. We stopped first at Angkor Wat – the big one. It’s the biggest religious building in the world, and I had been looking forward to seeing it for ages – it’s one of those places that are always listed in travel magazines as ‘must see’. It didn’t disappoint. Arriving as the sun was just poking above the walls, we crossed the stone bridge over the immense moat that surrounds the temple walls. It all felt very peaceful, although I would imagine by 10am it wouldn’t be. The temple building inside the walls was originally Hindu but was quickly taken over by Buddhists. Some of the cloistered corridors had evidently been damaged (I presume by earthquake) and had been repaired, but almost all the statues were headless. They were still dressed, and many had shrines where people still worshipped. We had declined the offer of a full day tour for $120 and instead hired a rickshaw driver to take us to the temples and ferry us around for $20. He took us on to Angkor Thom, and the Bayon temple. This was covered in huge smiling faces carved into the stone towers, the faces were of the Buddhist spirit Avalokiteshvara (although they supposedly look very like the face of King Jayavarman VII who had the temple built). By now we were absolutely baking, but went on to see Ta Prohm where the jungle is reclaiming the temple buildings. Huge trees grow out of and over the temple walls which are crumbling under their weight. It’s where they filmed the Lara Croft, Tomb Raider film, and it really does feel like a film set. The whole experience was amazing, and it deserves it’s status as a ‘wonder of the world’.
By lunchtime we were all exhausted by the heat and returned to the hotel, happy with our morning’s sightseeing, and went for a swim in the pool to cool off. Ruby then produced a birthday card for me, signed by the family and even the hotel staff. She also gave me a cut out stencil birthday present – she is lovely. In the evening, we went out for a meal to celebrate and had a traditional Khmer curry, then back to the hotel for a few birthday drinks on the terrace with Carla, and a big fat cigar for me. It was a lovely end to my birthday and our last day in Asia. The following day we set off for Australia, the flight to Bangkok and then on to Sydney all went well, although George was worried about a repeat of the Mumbai to Bangkok debacle. We arrived in Sydney to be met by Carla’s cousin Clare who is putting us up for the next 11 days. After all our recent moving about it’s nice to be staying put somewhere for a bit. We went for a bit of an explore around the neighbourhood. Clare and Pete live at Bilgola Plateau about an hour from Sydney and the house has a beautiful view down the hill to the beach; nearby is the ‘Home and Away’ beach. We had a barbeque (including kangaroo steaks) and while Pete was cooking, a possum jumped up onto the decking to have a look.
This morning we all went down to the beach, the waves were enormous, and hundreds of surfers were out (it being Sunday). George and Ruby are pleased as punch to have other children to play with (Archie and Louis – Clare and Petes' children). They all played in the seawater pool at the end of the beach. Great fun.


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22nd April 2012

Lovely Temples
We thought the temples looked fantastic and Marion loved the trees with their roots growing over the buildings. We were also glad Al had a good birthday. He seemed very pleased with his cards from Ruby and George and present from Carla. So now you are in Oz and it seems you are having a good time. Nice that George and Ruby have some friends (cousins) to play with and the surfing looks wonderful. What a cheeky old possum! lots of love Nanny and Grandpop and Marion and Len
23rd April 2012

Sydney
Dear Carla Loved reading, and looking at your photos, about Angkor Wat - definately on my "One Day" Travel List! Also loved the photos from your boat ride along the Mekong - kept thinking the next one would show you pulling into Kurtz's encampment! Bet you are having an amazing time in Sydney. Loved the place when I visited for 10 days in 2004 for work. Have to add my hotel room over looked the Harbor Bridge and was a couple of hundred yards down from the Opera House ! - actually, looking back, I think this was my peak moment perks wise re. work... even had a suite with my own dining room and laundry room and bath tub big enough for 4 (I hasten to add I didn't try this out!)... all courtesy of a lovely heart device company who were based in Sydney and doing great work. Australia (well Sydney anyway) reminded me a lot of the US with all the good bits but not the bad (good standard of living for most, pioneering spirit, most people warm, open and welcoming but much smaller gap between haves and have nots compared to US and less obsession with guns). Try and visit the Blue Mountains outside Sydney - went for a wonderful day trip there and also to the wine growing Hunter Valley. One of my favorite spots in Sydney was The Bathers Pavillion on Balmorel Beach, Sydney. Also loved the cafes, shops and markets of Darlinghurst. Just starting to plan our 3 week summer trip to Maine and Nova Scotia! All the best Fiona.

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