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Published: January 15th 2007
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Gunrack
I'm posing with a Tommy Gun here, a pretty classic weapon in the gangster days. We would have spent a lot more money if we had it! The Cambodian voyage continues with our visit to the capital city of Phnom Penh. We arrived a day later than planned after a rough delay from Jason’s food poisoning - take note not to eat beef burgers from a Cambodian gas station, ever! He recovered strongly and we were on the bus south only 24 hours later. The Cambodian countryside is bustling with farmers, fields and small settlements, one of which we stopped at for some snacks; instead of the local “recommended” seasoned hairy tarantulas, I opted for mango and pineapple which was far safer for my general well being.
Getting off the bus in Phnom Penh was super hectic, engulfing the bus were a dozen or so hotel and taxi touts grabbing and pulling us to their businesses. Luckily Erin and Koren, the two Canadian girls we met coming into Cambodia, had arrived a day earlier and had arranged a place for us to stay, and subsequently 3 motorbike drivers were waiting sign in hand for us at the bus. The “No Problem” guesthouse was truly that, it was built on posts above a lake and was super laid back.
We spent a few days taking it easy,
Genocidal Remains
Disturbing, I know, but it really has a chilling effect with the thousands of skulls massed in a memorial at the "killing fields." enjoying the awesome Mexican food that this place served and the dozens of awesome DVDs from their collection. We also went to a pretty cool Hookah bar owned by this Sri Lankan fellow where we enjoyed some sheesha and drinks. The alleyways and street side shops had some pretty bizarre and cool stuff for sale; I’m having trouble resisting buying loads of stuff to bring back home… I just have no way to carry it around, and can’t really afford to send a huge box in the mail. Arghh!
The one day we really explored the area we did it all! Each of us on our own chauffeured motorbike; we first stopped at one of the old military bases to shoot us some ‘dem guns. Upon arriving we were handed a menu, but not just any menu. This one had handguns, rifles, machine guns, grenades, rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns. The prices ranged from $15 - 200 US. Keeping our highly fixed budgets in mind, we only could afford the automatic rifles, and from the Tommy gun, M16 and AK47 we all chose the AK47. The shooting chamber was about 3 yards wide and about 30 yards long with
Lakeside Sunset
From our floating/boardwalk guesthouse, the sunsets were pretty awesome... The sun just seems bigger in Southeast Asia - there must be an explanation. tires and sandbags at the far end, in front of which was an innocent piece of paper that we tried so hard to shoot to shreds. I bested the other boys with a ..mediocre?.. 16 hits of the 25 round clip - it’s really hard to be accurate considering the distance and the recoil of the gun, and the fact we’re all inexperienced soldiers! After finishing we were so tempted to buy everything in the “store” considering how much fun it was, but we held to our budget and moved on…
On a gloomier note, we stopped next at the killing fields. This was the location of the secret grounds on which the Khmer Rouge brutally killed thousands of innocent Cambodians as well as anyone else who opposed their brutal regime. The genocide was really horrific and the walk around the compound carried some pretty solemn feelings. There were dozens of mass graves, each entombing hundreds of people categorized by age and gender. A large marble monument about 75ft high was erected in the middle as a memorial to the thousands killed here. Inside behind glass cases were thousands of human skulls placed in commemoration to those who died.
Dusty Trails
Took this while riding, the face mask was a saviour from the loads and loads of dust flurrying around on the dirt roads. We left there and headed back to the city to the “S21” camp. An old high school was converted into a prison during the genocide and was the temporary home of those incarcerated by the Khmer Rouge. Each classroom was converted into jail cells, interrogation rooms, torture chambers, or other prison related offices. In the courtyard was a huge “flogging” tower where prisoners were beat and then dumped in water in an effort to extract information. From here prisoners “disappeared” and were never seen again - though it was later found out that they were brought to the killing fields.
The whole history of the country during the 70’s was disturbing, but it was a good experience to learn about it and see some of the record first hand.
We spent the last night laying low at the guesthouse enjoying more DVDs and a sunset and then caught an international bus across the border to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (formerly Saigon.) We had planned to spend a bit more time in Cambodia, but many attractions in Vietnam lured us across the border. We also have to get north to Hanoi in 2 weeks to meet Trevor
Mellow Guesthouse
We hung out at this guesthouse in Phnom Penh for several days. Awesome location and atmosphere. for his birthday!
-I love hearing from everyone and comments and e-mails are always enjoyed by me! Keep them coming 😊
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Aurore
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!James i miss you....the travel is great really!!!fantastic!!!the blog is a real pleasure to see....sorry for my english who is orrible!!! Trevor i miss you too.we were beautiful boy all tanned!! Make the most of landscape...because is splendid!! BIG KISSES FROM FRANCE... you want stopping place from France....i we wait!!!! xoxo