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Published: December 11th 2015
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From Phu Quoc I caught a bus over the border of Vietnam and then another bus to the Town of Kampot. I really enjoyed this riverside town , with its quirky cafes and live music. I stopped at Mad Monkey and treated myself to a Double Room to myself for the first time in ages. On my second day there I rented out a scooter and rode up Boko Mountain to see a temple of screaming monks. Unfortunately the bad weather meant that the monks were not there but the twisty turney roads and nice views made for great riding. My friend Dennis had said that at the top of the mountain it gets quite cold so be sure to bring a coat if it gets a bit chilly. I packed a coat but it never made its way into my daysack so I was freezing only wearing just a vest and shorts.
Next on the list was sihanoukeville, a coastal town with a party atmosphere. From Sihanoukeville you can get across to Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samolone, two remote islands. The weather was particularly bad so a few days were spent dodging the raindrops and waiting for it
to get better for our trip to Koh Rong.
I met a fellow traveller in ha long bay who was stopping at our hostel in Sihanoukeville, and later that afternoon I saw him again but with thick bandages wrapped around his head. It transpired that he had gone sunbathing on the beach, fell asleep and woke up to a dog biting his head. He had to go immediately to hospital and get Rabies injections into the site of the bite which sounds particularly nasty.
After 3 days of eagerly checking the weather forecast myself Noal , Hannah and Jordan decided to buddy up and rent out a bungalow on the island of Koh Chang. The bungalow was a little basic but it was on the beach with white sand, turquoise waters and it was inhabited by only a handful of people. I was a bit hesitant as to what I would do with myself for 4 days on a remote island but I loved being able to relax, read my book and talk/ drink by candlelight.
On the last day, the resort manager asked if we would like a boat ride around the islands. For a mere
$5 we agreed. When the time came a boat arrived which was captained by two ten year old lads and we were beckoned on to begin our trip. In the distance we could see dark rain clouds coming our way. Half way through fishing the heavens opened like was no tomorrow and we all ( bar one German Girl who was too excited for ‘ ze plankton’ ) asked the boys to promptly take us back to dry land.
Once I was back on the mainland I took a bus to Pnom Pen, the capital of Cambodia. I was unfortunate to see the aftermath of a motorcycle accident, two bodies lying motionless in the road with blood seeping over the road. This caused quite a bit of traffic and once I was finally in pnom pen it was about 10pm so I had some nosh and went to bed to get up early for my tour of the genocide museum and the infamous killing fields.
With 3 random folk from the hostel we caught a tuk tuk to the killing fields memorial. This was a death camp and burial ground for those killed during the Pol Pot Regime.
Pol Pot was the leader of the Khmer Rouge Party which rose to power after the Vietnamese war, enforcing socialism/ communism. Its estimated that 1-2 million people died under his regime which came to an end as late as 1979. I was really shocked at how fairly recent these horrible things had happened- to think it happened in the generation of my parents.
The Killing Fields really brought home how savage and brutal these killing were. Ammunition was expensive, so the majority of deaths were from the club, lance, or whatever rudimentary instrument that was used. Pol Pot allowed and encouraged the death of children by saying
‘ When you dig up the grass, you must remove even the roots. The most upsetting part was seeing a memorial of a tree used to forcefully kill small children so they did not avenge their parents deaths. I wondered how anyone could lack so much compassion and be so cold hearted. The audio guide went onto say that the executioners would be killed as ‘ an enemy of the state' if he or she refused to carry out these acts. Also at the museum was a monument containing 9000 skulls, each
of which were arranged by the weapon used to kill them.
We left the killing fields sickened and speechless. That afternoon w e went to the genocide museum and it was interesting to hear stories of local people who were affected by the regime.
I then travelled to Siem Reap to see the famous Ankhor Wat Temple. In the morning before leaving I went to a local shooting range to fire some weapons as is the done thing in Cambodia. I fired 20 rounds from an M15 and paid $50 which lasted me all of half a minute. What a way to literally burn your money.
In Siem Reap we ( myself and two girls who I had met in Hanoi) left a bit too early as we were walking around the temples in the heat of the day- it was so sweaty. I was a bit unwell that day and I was always mindful of the location of a toilet should I need one in an emergency.
That night after having starved myself to allow my stomach to settle I went for a walk around siem reap and randomly bumped into Jordan and Hannah from
Koh Rong. We arranged to play crazy golf the next day and in the evening I caught the bus to …..THAILAND!
Pictures Courtesy of Jordan Atkinson
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