The P family in Phnom Penh

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Friday 13th August Siem Reap

Here we are all doing well despite the date. You've got me back so enjoy the capital letters! We loved being in Phnom Penh so much that we decided to stay 3 nights. It just seemed to suit us well as there was always lots to do. Some of the highlights of our stay in the busy capital city:
Visit to the Killing Fields and Section 21 - actually not so much a highlight in that sense, but something we won't forget. Ruby kept asking very pertinent questions which we couldn't always answer. The worst thing was that at the Killing Fields, bits of clothes and teeth etc are still being brought up to the surface after heavy rainstorms, and then there was the unspeakable horrors of the Killing Tree. John and I were busy doing O levels and stuff while all this was going on: it's all scarily recent. Sam, our tuk tuk driver for the day, lost his father during the time. The S21 prison museum was in the actual building ie a high school, which was converted into tiny brick cells and torture chambers. It's all still there, the barbed wire, the notices, even blood spattered on the walls and ceiling.

On a happier note. ..there are lots of tourists in the city and loads of places to eat. We enjoyed the famous charity Friends Restaurant, where ex street children are trained and work, plus we found a charming cafe for breakfast just a couple of buildings away from our hotel, where we treated ourselves to Happy Hour Cocktails.

Today we bid a fond farewell to one of our favourite places so far and set off on a 6 hour bus journey to Siem Reap which is where I am now, in the lobby of the Riverside Hotel. Poor Ruby finds the whole bus station thing a bit of an ordeal ... luckily I bought Immodium in Bangkok! Never leave home without it! We both dozed the whole journey, well, it was better than watching the hideously violent DVDs that the Cambodians seem to adore.

Just had supper at the Khmer Kitchen, which is the place where Mick Jagger is reported to have once eaten. Fab food and buzzing atmosphere all for $21.


Off to the Angkor Wat tomorrow. It's the 8th wonder of the world so it's worth getting up early for.

Hey, I forgot to mention, our hotel has a lovely outdoor swimming pool! Luxury! See next instalment - Sights of Cambodia,

love

Jenny & Co xx

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