Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville

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Saturday 19th Feb

The day was spent travelling from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, a lovely 7 hour journey!!
The journey was pretty uneventful, just continuous views of roads, fields, trees etc.

We had a quick check-in and then we got a tuk tuk to a restaurant by the river which is owned by a local orphanage. The orphans performed traditional dances and all the profits from the meal went towards funding the orphanage. They wore colourful outfits and used coconut shells to clap.

Afterwards we went to a bar next to the hotel where pitchers of beer cost just $2! Surprisingly for a Saturday night, the bar closed at 11.30pm so we were forced to go home early 😞

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Sunday 20th Feb

Still in Phnom Penn, we spent the morning at the Russian Markets. There were lots of interesting things, and lots of disgusting things too! I particularly disliked the locals chopping up fish, blood and fish guts everywhere!! I also purchased some souvenirs, sorry no gifts for anyone yet!

We left for the genocide museum at 1pm, the most shocking place we've seen so far. We expected it to be disturbing but it was horrible seeing pictures of victims, taken just hours after their death! We learnt that just 7 people survived S21 prison, and it was nice to see one of the survivors at the museum selling and signing a book about his experience. It described how he wasn't allowed to do anything without permission, not even turn over in his sleep.

If the museum wasn't disturbing enough, we headed to the killing fields which made the experience that much more real. As you walk around, you see the victims bones, teeth and clothes sticking out of the ground. There was also a room filled with hundreds of skulls that were collected from the graves during excavations.

Our guide didn't show much emotion when he was telling us about the events that took place and we learnt that it is because there are government spies around, so it is dangerous to have an opinion.

We all thought that the most shocking thing about the events that took place was that it only happened in 1975!

The tour ended at 4pm and after an emotional day we stopped at a place (Foreign Correspondence Club) that were offering half price cocktails. Afternoon drinks were lethal and it turned into a drunken night, our first proper night out since we arrived. We were all happy to find a bar offering pitchers of beer for $1.25, about a quid!! After that the night was a bit of a blur 😊

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Monday 21st Feb

The bus to Sihanoukville was picking us up at 7.30am, obviously I had the standard hangover from the night before so it wasn't a great start! The journey lasted 5 longgg hours but luckily that gave me time to sleep off the hangover!

Today was the first chance to relax on a beach. The beach was swarming with locals trying to sell bracelets or offering massages and manicures so it wasn't quite the relaxing experience we were after. A local girl named Lanti, made me a friendship bracelet but I think that means she were expecting me to buy something from her later on in the day. We managed to find some free sun loungers and we sat drinking beers and eating fresh scallops and squid.

For tea we went to a beach barbeque. We ate king prawns, squid and barracuda for just $3, it tasted so good! We all had an early night so we were ready to catch the rays as early as possible the next day.

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Tuesday 22nd Feb

Our first chance to sunbathe!! So far we haven't tanned at all because although the weather is hot, its also very cloudy. We learnt from our experiences the first day and went early and moved further down the beach to avoid too many sellers. It was nice to relax and have a swim in the sea after days of sightseeing and travelling.

Daniel burnt pretty easily so he moved to find some shade, which was a huge mistake! Once he was sat alone he got mithered by every single seller. Women pulled at his hairs and asked if he wanted them removed, and rubbed his shoulders and feet asking if he wanted a massage and pedicure. Two local boys who nicknamed Daniel "Mr pale man' sat and talked to him about England, football and his family. They tried to sell him bracelets but after repeatedly saying no, they both made him a 'good luck' bracelet instead.

We went to another beach barbeque and this one was selling 25 cent beers, around 15 pence, how great is that?! Later on, one of the guys from the group signed up at an open mic night so we watched him sing and we all had a bit of a dance. Due to the number of bars on the beach, the atmosphere was much more lively here so it was a big difference from the places we've visited so far.

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Unfortunately the computer we are on won't let us upload pictures so we'll add the pictures the next chance we get.

Speak Soon

Kim xx

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Photos

Traditional Cambodian Dancing
performed by the Orphans

S21 Prison
the cells in which prisoners were kept

Survivor
one of the 7 survivors of S21 prison

Killing Fields
a victims tooth

Comments

[Darren]

Beach bums
I thought this was an educational trip - the only thing you have learned is how to find cheap beer and convert the dollar values to sterling hic!