Cambodia

Asia » Cambodia
September 3rd 2007

Published: October 15th 2007

Edit Blog Post

Bowthy

Eggs ON Toast

Eggs actually arriving on the toast! A first for Asia.

Phnom Penh

After having yet more contraband toiletries confiscated at the airport I arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and was pleasantly surprised to find it a chaotic and welcoming place with friendly locals and, at last, some draft lager. The beer in the hotel bar was cold enough to take the edge off the humid city air and a delicious plate of amok, the local fish and coconut curry, and a game of pool later I felt at home.

Where am I?

That didn´t stop me waking up in the morning with, as usual, absolutely no idea of where I was or which country I was in, something that has been happening for a few weeks now. The superb breakfast of eggs on toast, with the eggs and toast miraculously arriving at the same time and on the same plate, a first for me in Asia, put me in a positive frame of mind and after hooking up with a couple of other travellers, we headed for the Killing Fields.

AK-47

On the way, we stopped at a place where you could fire live ammunition from classic weapons. I chose to shoot some rounds using an AK-47. It was

Would you let this man fire a loaded gun?

exciting, but I never want to do it again. It must be horrible to have to shoot someone, but of course, not as bad as being shot at.

The Killing Fields

Starting to feel a little uneasy about the whole gun thing, we went to see the nearby Genocidal Centre, otherwise known as the Killing Fields, one of the many Khmer Rouge mass graves in Cambodia. Eight thousand or so bodies have been exhumed here and some of the skulls put into a memorial pagoda. Underfoot, as you tour the graves, are the half buried remains of some of the victims' clothing along with shards of their bones.

Tuol Sleng

Quiet with our own thoughts, we headed to Tuol Sleng, a school converted by the Khmer Rouge into their notorious S.1. prison camp. Many of the classrooms were converted into cells in which the inmates were tortured and often killed. Anyone who made it out of here alive was sent to the Killing Fields to be finished off. In the museum some of the instruments of torture are on display. Taking a wrong turn I found another pile of victims' clothes, possibly not moved since the Khmer Rouge

AK/47

Always nice to shoot some bullets before going to a war memorial.

were running the place.

Many of the Khmer Rouge cadre were poor and uneducated farmers hoping for a better life and themselves living in fear of Angkar (The Organisation). It struck me how easy it seems to have been to have generated an atmosphere where it became the norm to commit such atrocities as happened here.

Night life

As a result of the Khmer Rouge regime, 50%!o(MISSING)f the population is below the age of 21 and, happy not be under the kosh of Pol Pot and his crew, they like to have good time. I'm pleased to say that the Cambodians know how to party and the night life of Phnom Penh has a very special atmosphere, its many bars and nightclubs housed in some fantastic French colonial buildings.

Siem Reap and Angkor

A six hour bus ride north of the capital is Siem Reap, the town closest to the magnificent temples of Angkor. Suffering from 'flu I struggled out of bed to witness the sun rising over Angkor Wat, one of the biggest temple complexes of the area. A couple of day's temple touring later and I'd had my fill, so took a trip on the

Celebrating hitting the target

mighty Tonle Sap lake, the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia, where many Cambodians live in floating houses.

Ripe

I would liked to have spent longer in Cambodia, the place is ripe for some motorbike adventure and there are many more places I would have liked to have seen. However, a little pushed for time I nervously boarded a flight to Laos on the country's less than reputable national airline. I needn't have worried.

Additional photos below

Photos: 39, Displayed: 24