Holiday in Cambodia - Phnom Penh, Angkor Wat and back to Bangkok

---

Hello All. After leaving Vietnam on 6th March we arrived in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh at about 6pm after a long, sweaty busride. I'm sure I read somewhere that Phnom Penh was once known as the pearl of Asia - hmm, well things have changed it seems as it is now just a sprawling, dirty town. We found it difficult to find a central location to stay close to anything so we were a bit isolated in what I presume was the red light district since every time I walked up the street I was offered Boom-Boom (Shag) and Yum-Yum (Blow-job). Sadly I had to decline. We did eventually find some bars and restaurants near the riverside area offering draft beer for 50c which is pretty good really.

We only wanted one full day in Phnom Penh to learn a bit about the history of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge which we did by going to visit the notorious S-21 prison and the Killing Field at Choeung Ek just outside the city the next day. We hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day for $12 and he took us to both places which we found really interesting and quite moving. I didn't really know anything about it at all and in hindsight I find it incredible that it is not something that you ever really hear about. Obviously we hear a lot about the holocaust because it was part of the broader story of WWII, and even the Vietnam war is portrayed in countless films and books, probably because of the starring role the US played, but the Khmer Rouge, who were responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million Cambodians, many by genocide, are not really on anyones agenda, and were actually allowed to continue governing the country until the late 90s, which is unbelieveable.

Anyway, it is a fascinating story. Pol Pot's interpretation of Marxism and what he set out to achieve is so deranged that it is difficult to begin to understand. But when you go to the killing fields and see 1000s of skulls stacked up and a tree where they used to smash childrens heads open on before throwing them into a ditch, you realise that understanding the politics of a lunatic is not really what history is about. History is about real people who actually existed and, in this case, were so brutally murdered. The eerily quiet atmosphere created by the audio tours that are handed out for free make that history even more tangible and the whole experience was just very humbling.

One day of death and destruction was quite enough, and so the next day we made our way to Siem Reap where we planned to spend a couple of days exploring the temples of Angkor Wat. After an even sweatier 9 hour bus ride we arrived at our pre-booked hostel to a room full of mozzys that stank of piss. And although we realise we are on a budget and shouldn't expect too much for our money, we drew a line in the sand and went in search of a different abode. Luckily we stumbled on a pretty good deal at the Backpacker Hostel which had a gigantic, clean fan room for the same price anyway, and planned our route for the next couple of days around the temples.

There are 3 options for the temples, 1 day pass $20, 3 day pass $40 or 1 week pass $60, so seeing as we only had a couple of days we went for the 3 day pass. Lonely Planet makes it sound like 3 days is the bare minimum required to see the main sights in Angkor Wat, but our experience proved otherwise. Day 1 we decided to hire a bike for the experience, and it only cost $1! It was a really good way to get around as you can take it at your own pace, go where you want to go and its good fun. But it was really tiring and painful on the old arse-cheeks for sure. For the 1st day we did like the West and North of the area which included the morning in Angkor Thom where you find the Bayon which was fantastic and the Terrace of Elephants which was also impressive. We easily saw everything in Angkor Thom that morning, but it got gradually hotter and hotter and I'd be lying if I said it was easy-going all that exploring. After a spot of lunch we went to see Preah Khan which had the classic ruined temple vibe, Neak Poan and Ta Som which is the furthest away. Then we turned round and just about got to Phnom Bakheng which is up a hill and everyone goes there for the evening sunset. When we got up there is was looking a little cloudy, it was over crowded and we were pretty tired, so we decided to get on back to hostel and get a much needed shower. I guess the whole day was about a 20km bike ride round trip which wasn't too bad, but in the heat and with lots of temples to explore (and very hard seats) its not for the fainthearted!

So the next day we got a Tuk-Tuk which we managed to get for $12 again which is apparently quite good. Our guide took us wherever we wanted to go as well which was great. That day started at the main attraction, Angkor Wat, in the morning, which is apparently the largest religious building in the world. And very impressive it is indeed. You can go in a climb all the way to the top of the 3 main spires and to go around the whole thing took a couple of hours. After that we did the rest of the temples on the East of the area including Banteay Kdei and Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm was the most impressive because it is basically set in the jungle and there are gigantic trees growing all over what is essentially a massive ruined temple. It was in fact the setting for the Tomb Raider movie, and I'm not surprised because it was exactly how you imagine an Indiana Jones temple to be like. I personally enjoyed it the most of all the temples, even Angkor Wat itself which is big but for me Ta Prohm was more aesthetically impressive and interesting.

That night we were absolutely shattered so we got back and had a shower and didn't do much else. The next day we were up again bright and early to get a 10am 8hour bus back to Bangkok. It wasn't too bad a journey, but the border crossing is a hectic 1-2hour confusing non-queue/fistfight to get stamped. You have to change bus and the bus companies give you colour coded stickers and write numbers on you, all of which essentially mean nothing, even to them, but somehow you just make it through!

I can't bring myself to talk about Bangkok. Second time round was even worse than the first time. This place is just a hell-hole. Its just a big massive dirty horrible place where everyone is out to fuck you over. And they do it so well. It is just terrible...but we did have a good night of Muay Thai kickboxing last night where we got front row seats. Other than that I hate Bangkok with a passion, so much so that we decided to leave a day early for Ko Lanta and Ko Phi Phi...which in itself ended up with the hostel trying to over charge us and threats of calling the police...from them! Sam Sen Sam hostel, Th Sam Sen, Soi 3 - don't go there.

We get an overnight bus and boat to Ko Lanta tonight and I basically cannot wait to get out of Bangkok and hopefully find some peace!

---