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Published: September 20th 2006
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From Saigon we took the road quite travelled to Cambodia. I call it a road but it was more a bumpy mud track flanked by marshland.
After swerving livestock and helmetless motorists for a couple of hundred miles we arrived at a roadblock where Cambodians try to sell us coke and beers with interesting techniques. A blind guy thrusts his head through the window and sings whilst holding out a coca cola in his hand. This is not something greatly received by a hungover, tired and slightly grumpy Marsh who does his best to ignore him.
After a similar routine of travel we arrive eventually in the capital Phnom Penh. There we drive though the city and witness some of the most extreme poverty ever. Loads of kids in rags (which would prop look quite cool at Glasto) and crumbling buildings. Feeling too guilty (and skint) to check into a nice hotel we opt for a tiny room where we all sleep cramped into 2 beds for 50p a night.
Although this room is shocking, the owners and staff of our guesthouse aren't and they quickly became our friends. This sounds a little naive, but there is such a
marked difference in the people in Asia as the pretty much all the Cambodians we met were genuine nice guys with not real alterior motive.
The next day we get up scandolously early (7am!) and travel by Tuk tuk to the killing fields. This was where the Khmer rouge carried out mass genocide of intellectuals (i was worried), and people who supposedly had lived the 'soft' life before the revolution (again worried). To say it was a sobering experience is a huge understatement. The fields are left pretty much as they were found after the fall of Pol Pot, and in the centre there is a glass building of about 40ft, housing thousands of skulls of the victims.
From here we then went to the S21 detention centre, a former school that had been turned into an incarceration and torture facility under Pol Pot. This was extremely harrowing especially as again all the torture rooms and cells had been left exactly as they we found. Implements used to torture and shackles, everything. This was quite disturbing but educational.
After a lunch and a few beers our day turned from a journey through history to what could easily be
a stag weekend. The boys from the guesthouse took us on motorbike to the shooting range where we shot the shit out of a target (well the area around the target) with AK-47s and Pistols.
As if that wasn't macho enough we then went go karting around a brilliant track for next to nothing. I wont say who won, but it wasnt any of the people on the trip who currently hold a driving license!
By the end of this day we were shattered, so after a good dinner settled down and watched the film 'The Killing fields' with our Cambodian mates. Probably quite insensitive really, but we learnt a lot about what happend and they didnt seem too bothered.
The next day we rose early (as is becoming standard unfortunately) and took a trip over terrible roads in an awful bus to Siem Reap, a city in the north of the country.
After checking into our guesthouse we made friends with some more eager Camdodian Tuk Tuk drivers who took us to a temple in Angkor to watch the sunset. This was pretty unremarkable as it was cloudy and rammed with tourists but it gave us an idea
of what we were going to see.
Siem Reap has quite a large tourist area where we ate dinner and drunk cheap lager. The larger was so cheap in fact that Marsh, Adam and I decided the night was young and with our money belts and egos rammed firmly into our pockets went to a club where we were the only Westeners. This was a great laugh: Adam had his balls felt and mocked by a girl, we danced with tiny Cambodian men and didnt get shot. Succesful all round.
Feeling grogy and quite unspiritual we got up (again early) and went to the temples of Angkor. Marsh was sick on the journey which was received with laughter but also some sympathy by our drivers who were to drive us around all the temples for the whole day.
Angkor is like Cambodias premier theme park, except there are no rides (except spiritual ones, hippies) and is breathtaking. All the temples are in ruins really but you can still go anywhere you want (the brilliance of Asian health and safety). Highlights include Angkor wat, the biggest temple with a great view, and some other ruins where Tomb Raider was filmed (Adam nearly wet himself). We left there feeling knackered but definately fulfiled by the experience.
We are now in Thailand, on an amazing island south of Krabbi. We left Bangkok 2 days before the military coup and have been unaffected, as i imagine we will be for the rest of the trip so no worries.
Will write another blog detailling island life later, hope yopu are all well... James x
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Sam Edwards
Sam Edwards
"Coming staright outta Swindon..."
Would have been a better title, keep the guns close and avoid demostrations and Dave if you see him. Glad the fun is continuing, now go get burnt and make locals dance for you. Regards Sam x