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Published: March 28th 2006
It's been a month or 2 since I've written my blog (sorry!) which is strange because Cambodia was my favorite country to visit and loads of exciting things happened, guess I just lost motivation for a while. But I'm back now, just hope I can remember all the little details.
Last time I wrote I was booked to cross the border from Loas into Cambodia, I had been told all the way through Laos and by many guidebooks that this was the only Cambodian land border at which it was not possible to get a visa on arrival so I hung around in Vientienne a few extra days and paid $45 dollars to ensure I had one before I got there. Leaving from Don Det in the 4000 islands a week later I boarded a little long boat to and headed for the Cambodian border, Dom Kralor. When I booked the ticket to Phnom Penh from a cafe on Don Det it cost $25 and they assured me the journey would take 8 hours, getting me into Cambodia's capital at a very reasonable 4pm.
After taking the boat across to mainland we were transferred onto a minibus and driven to
Memorial Stupa
The killing fieldsthe border. It's a strange crossing - in the middle of a forest we pulled up to a wooden hut with 2 guys inside, they checked our passports, bribed us for a few dollars and stamped us out of Loas. We then got back on the bus and drove 5 minutes up to another hut where we got out and had our passports checked, paid a couple of dollars "special fee" and were stamped into Cambodia. I have no idea where we were for the 5 minutes in between, but it looked really nice, reminded me of Laos in a way though parts of it were just like Cambodia.... Anyway 2 things happened at the crossing that pissed me off. First I noticed a big sign saying "Cambodian Visa on arrival $25" and the second was that my trousers fell down infront of everyone (stupid fisherman pants) I don't know if the 2 incidents are related but it seems like a bit of a coincidence to me.
Cambodia is notoriusly bad for it's roads - I knew that already after speaking to many people who had done the Bangkok to Siem Reap hell route. What I didn't expect was that
the roads would change instantly across the border from smooth paved roads in Loas to dusty bumpy tracks in Cambodia. So we bumped along the road for an hour or so before pulling into a cafe in Stung Treng. It's very normal for the buses to stop for an hour at 2 at places - the drivers get a small fee for bringing you there so it didn't seem to strange. I ordered breakfast and made friends with 2 girls going the same way as me (to Phnom Penh - other people were heading to Kratie and various other places) What did seem a bit strange however was that 3 hours later we were still sitting in said cafe. The tour guide was being shifty and refusing to answer anyone when we asked when we'd be heading off. "5 minutes" must mean something different in Khmer cause we were there for ages. Kratie is on route to Phnom Penh and most people were getting off there so me and my 2 new friends Cliona and Katie were excited at the thought of everyone else getting off and us having the minibus to ourselves. Still sat in the cafe it was
almost 2pm - never going to make it to Phnom Penh by 4pm, I overheard the guide tell someone else the bus wasn't going to Phnom Penh anymore, cheeky git wasn't even going to tell us just stick us on bus and let us find out at Kratie so he wouldn't be around to listen to hassle. Cliona, Katie and I confronted him and couldn't get a straight answer from the guy "Maybe" we were going to Phnom Penh. He "didn't know yet" and would phone the driver once in Kratie to let us know (yeah right) and we couldn't go because it was "chinese new year" Hmm, it was getting pretty obvious that he didn't think it was worth a driver for just 3 people and was trying to stall us till the next day when more people would be crossing. Eventually we found a German woman and her daughter who were trying to get to Kampong Cham which is a few hours north of Phnom Penh and convinced him to if they came it was worth sending us. FINALLY he agreed and we were set to go. A swedish guy was getting really ratty by now and demanded
to know when we'd be setting off, we were told in few minutes and to wait in the bus. So gullible as ever we all piled on and sat in the bus in the blistering sun for another half an hour. The old "wait in the car" trick - my parents used to do that to me when I was little, can't believe I fell for it again.
Anyway we eventually set off (though I was a bit worried my visa had expired we'd been in that bloody cafe so long) The road was hideous! It was so bumpy, even a 4WD would struggle never mind our crappy little minibus. I had bought a can of coke at the cafe and everytime I lifted it to my mouth to drink ended up wacking myself on teeth so gave up on that pretty quick, it was too bumpy to sleep or eat and too noisy too talk so we all just sat and concentrated on not throwing up. This was made increasingly difficult by the fact the german woman had sat in the passenger seat and had stuck on a tape of German pop music which she and the Swedes were
merrily singing along too. Bad taste.
On arrival at Kratie we bid farewell to the rest of the minibus and piled into a car for the rest of the journey. There were 5 of us in the car and a heap of luggage so the German woman sat in the front and me Cliona, Katie and the womans daughter squeezed into the back along with some bags that wouldn't fit in the boot. It was a tight squeeze but only for a couple of hours till we got to Kompong Cham then it'd be plain sailing to Phnom Penh, right? Wrong. we drove round the corner where we picked up 2 Cambodians and 2 HUGE bags of rice. The driver had obviously thought if he was going that way anyway might as well make it more profitable. So, imagine sitting in a small car 4 people and 2 bags of rice in the front, 4 people and bags in the back and a trunk full of backpacks for 6 hours drive. It didn't take long for the German woman to crack. Everything in Cambodia is about money, so after a small negociation, $15 passed hands and the Cambodians and their
rice were turfed out roadside. (they didn't seem too disheartened as they flagged down the next car) Anyway this story is getting epic and though the journey was epic I wont bore you with ALL the details. To cut a long story short we arrived in Phnom Penh at 11pm, only 7 hours later than expected. Phnom Penh has a rep for being a bit seedy and dodge and guidebooks advise you not to walk at night with bags, so when the driver pulled up and asked us 3 young girls to get out in a poorly lit car park, we were obviously a little concerned. The car was soon surronded by moto drivers, pulling our bags out the trunk and trying to get us to go with them. We begged the driver to take us to a motel, appartently he didn't know his way around the city. After trying for a bit we stumbled across the magic words "we'll pay you." Bingo "How much?" He asked and a few minutes later our drivers memory came flooding back and we were on our way to a nice safe guest house by the river. Phew, welcome to Cambodia. Been in the
country one day and realised here it was all about the money. Not suprising considering the average monthly wage in Cambodia for a teacher is $30.
So I spent 2 nights in Phnom Penh before heading to the beaches of Sihanoukville where I planned to spent about 3 nights.
Sihanoukville
On arriving in Sihanoukville I hopped on motorbike, backpack squished in between drivers legs and front of bike and my other ever expanding hand luggage bag on my back and asked him to take me somewhere cheap. He took me to "Chiva's Shack" a little cafe on serendipity beach. They led me up to the roof and explained that for $2 I could stay for as long as I liked, a week, a month, a year! the only deal was I ate once a day in the bar. Sweet.
I loved Chiva's Shack, my room constisted of a matress on the floor, a mosquito net and a fan. Going downstairs through the kitchen and bar you walk staright out onto the beach, it's perfect. There are loads of similar deals along the beach but Chiva shack is def the best one. It is run by Mama, Papa and their
Security of regulation
S-21
#6:Whilst getting lashes or lectrification you must not cry out at all.
#7:Do nothing sit still and follow my orders. family including a really cute but hyperactive and cheeky girl called Hannah.
Out on the beach during the days it's very difficult to get a moments peace, little kids constantly approach you selling hand made bracelets and keychains. Even if you say no they still hang around, talking and asking questions in perfect English whilst clambering all over you. Some people find it annoynig but I thought the kids were so cute I couldn't tell them to go away. Women walk the beach offering beauty services like Manicures and Massages. I got my legs threaded (pull out hairs from roots using a small bit of thread) and it hurt like hell, I'd already agreed she could do my eyebrows too and so infront of all the kids almost threw up because it hurt so much! Made friends with a Canadian girl who also had her legs done and didn't think it was too painful, I must just be a wimp.
I had planned to only stay a couple of days in Sihanoukville but ended up enjoying it so much I stayed about week and a half just relaxing on the beach during the day and drinking buckets with Papa at
night. I also spent a bit of time teaching English to the bar staff in return for free soft drinks and Khmer lessons. One day I was trying to explain what a dinasour was to my keen pupil (we'd already been through pirates and UFO's), he still wasn't getting it so I drew a picture to which he said "My friend has one of those" I almost wet myself laughing at that.
Another day I was lying on the beach sunbathing when Hannah came over to bug me, she started stealing my sunglasses and pulling my hair so I squirted her with my factor 30 sunscreen, she went nuts! In Cambodia and most Asian countries the woman prefer to have as white skin as possible and it's pretty hard to find a moisturiser that doesn't contain skin lightner. Hannah is only 13 and had always seen westeners spraying lotion on themselves and then going browner, she thought the sunscreen made you brown so I explained it stopped the sun and would keep your skin white, so she proceded to use the rest of my tube now believing it would TURN her white. Strange child.
Phnom Penh
After all the
fun in the sun down by the sea I headed back to the incredibly hot and busy capital Phnom Penh, this time choosing to stay by the lake which is much better for backpackers than the river (not so many sweaty old men parading their 12 year old Cambodian girlfriends around)
I spent a grim day visiting the killing fields and S-21 which was a high school taken over by Pol Pot's forces and was the country's largest centre of detention and torture. In the 3 years between 1975 and 1978 more than 17,000 people were held at S-21 before being taken to Choeung Ek (the killing fields) where they bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting precious bullets. The whole experience was harrowing - walking round an old High School looking at all the cell's and weapons of torture used. Barbed wire covers all the windows and balconeys to stop the prisoners killing themselves. The Khmer Rouge were meticulus in keeping records and there is room after room of prisoners pictures, some of the children are so small it's hard to imagine what hell they went through before they were killed. The Killing fields, 15KM outside the city are equally
Angkor Wat
Largest religous building in the world grim. Walking around, fragments of human bones and clothing are scattered amongst the mass graves. A memorial stupa erected in 1988 stands in the centre and holds 8000 skulls arranged by sex and age. All in all a depressing day, but vital to understand the history of this amazing country.
Back at the guest house I made friends with an English bloke and an American guy and convinced them to come with me to the Heart of Darkness, Southeast Asia's most famous nightclub. We headed off to find a tuk tuk around 11 o clock after a few drinks in the guesthouse. We couldn't find one anywhere and were getting pestered by moto drivers, we explained to them we didn't want to be seperated - we always wanted to remain within sight of each other (P.P is a bit scary at night) they agreed and we each hopped on the back of a motorbike. It was the funniest thing ever - we ended up doing a sort of flying v formation down the road, it must have been hilarous to see. We were pissed and pissing ourselves laughing doing high fives and king of the world impressions whilst cruising along
the roads on motorbikes. Classic.
Anyway, the Heart of Darkness has a bit of a rep. My guidebook/bible advised us not to start any trouble and in the event of a fight to back down. All the rich Khmers head there with there bodyguards and more than one night has ended in a gun battle. Fun. At the guesthouse we had decided it was goth night at the heart.... (don't ask) and I had happily plastered my 2 new friends with eyeliner. This didn't seem to go down too well with a particularly fat and important looking Khmer bloke, so when minutes after arriving James sat on his seat we were basically told to move it or loose it. Ha! had been there 5 minutes and already recieved our first death threat. We moved to a corner of the bar and tried our best not to piss anyone else off. Good times.
After hanging around Phnom Penh for a few days I headed with James up to Siem Reap to visit the Temples of Angkor.
Siem Reap
The temples of Angkor are the second wonder of the world. The capital of Cambodia's ancient Khmer empire. There are hundreds of
temples and it is very easy to spend a week wondering around the ancient ruins. Unfortunately, due to spending too long at the beach, I only had one day. So I hooked up with a tour guide and asked him to show me the highlights. It was incredible, wish I'd had an extra day, there is just too much to see. I woke early and headed up in time to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat - the worlds largest religous building. Next we visited Bayon, a temple built by a very vain king. 216 images of his face smile out the stone at you. We probably visited about 8 more temples, each one an incredible structure. Leaving me wondering like with the Pyramids, how the hell did they build these things so long ago?! Tomb Raider was filmed at the temples of Angkor in the Ta Promh temple and my Guide went to great lenghts to tell me what a great woman Angelina Jolie is and how happy all Cambodians are that she adopted Maddox. It seems when she was here she spent a long time playing with the kids and hanging out with the locals.
It was
a long and tiring day, made worse by the blistering heat and the fact that I'd managed to pick up a really nasty chest infection. Back at the guest house I baffled all the staff by drinking glass after glass of hot lemon and honey. Felt so ill and the thought of a 12 hour bus journey back to Bangkok on those bumpy roads was hideous, but seeing as I was flying to Australia in a day I didn't really have much choice! I had planned to give blood in Siem Reap, due to the religion not many Khmers will donate and the local hospitals constantly call on travellers to give, but they said I was too ill. Land mines are still a huge problem in Cambodia with between 4 and 6 million dotted around the countryside. Up to 40,000 Cambodians have lost limbs due to mines and one in 275 people are amputees. It's very common to see amputees begging on the street. I had been told the best thing to do to help was not to give money but to give blood or a donation to an orphanage instead and so was really dissapointed when I couldn't do
my bit. However saying that I will be back to Cambodia, I loved it so much - my fav place so far!
So sorry this blog took so long, I wrote an extra long one to make up for it! At the moment I am on the Sunshine Coast (though looking out the window it's not living up to it's name - pissing with rain!) in Australia trying hard to get a job, will write more soon - promise!
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Eilidh
non-member comment
Safe...
Glad you`re safe and sound pet, we were starting to worry, my mum nearly organised a search party all the way from Vancouver!!! Keep on keeping on, loads of love, xxx