Cambodia bound

---

Hey peoples, Amy here.

So we last left you in Hue on our way to Hoi An. First off you need to know that we got a hotel with a big fat wet swimming pool. And it was GOOOOOD. Our first swim and our first sun bathing. Other than that we spent most of our time there eating the local seafood (traditionally wrapped in a banana leaf) and making use of the other speciality; tailored clothing. This meant sitting for hours with fashion mags and catalogues finding what we wanted and then copious fittings for each of us to get our tres chic dresses and sandals just right. Once we had them just right we headed to Na Trang for our first beach action. It was an idyllic place where the sun always shone and the sea always cooled. We should have remembered this, however, as on our first day on the beach we were classic English tourists and burnt ourselves to a crisp (me a little worse than Louise as she had at least remembered the sun cream). Our cancer ridden bodies are still recovering but we have learnt our lesson - SPF50 from now on.

After a good few days of lounging around we were ready for some culture again and so headed down to Saigon (that's Ho Chi Minh City, by the way). On the first day I headed to the Reunification Palace while Louise recovered from our sleepless night bus journey. If your into Del Boy retro interiors then the palace is your place; it's barely been touched since the 70s and it shows. Big pastel plastic phones, garish carpets, stuffed animals and even a bar style like a barrel, t'was like your Nan's house (If yours was like mine).

Next day we headed to the War Remnants Museum to be faced with the realities (and atrocities) of the Vietnam War and it's aftermath. War photos and a model prison gave a graphic display of what that time must have been like for a great number of Vietnamese and the soldiers.

For dinner we went supper posh for a treat. We enjoyed a gourmet Vietnamese meal sitting around an indoor pool surrounded by grand pillars and ornate furniture. It was the most expensive meal so far (probably about a month's accomodation, I kid you not) but it was worth it, if only to give us a chance to wear our fancy handmade dresses. The next day we took a trip to the Mekong Delta. We couldn't understand a word the guide said ("now we get on de bawt on de beaver") but it was worth it for the scenery and winding our way through the jungle on a little boat.

Next day we headed for Phnom Penh. Due to various travellers' tales we were ready for the border crossing to involve hours of queuing and bribery but I think we were lucky as it was relatively hassle free and we arrived in good old Cambodia yesterday. If we thought the war museum in Vietnam was harrowing it was nothing compared to the Killing Fields and S-21 prison that we visited today. The killing fields are where the Khmer Rouge executed thousands of Cambodians between 1975 and 1979 for being suspected of not being true followers of their regime. Today you can walk around the mass graves and view a monument filled with the skulls of the bodies that have so far been found. The S-21 prison was where potential enemies of the Khmer Rouge were held and tortured and has been left almost exactly as it was found when the Khmer Rouge were defeated in1979. This includes the torture rooms and tiny cells all housed in an old school. There were photos of prisoners and wardens, both of whom included women and young children. An absolutely desperate place that shows a horrific point in the not too distant past. Our tuk tuk driver was lucky enough to have been born in 1980 but he told us about how his mother and father survived that time and how he lost an uncle to the Khmer Rouge regime.

Sorry for that slightly depressing ending! Despite all the horror that Cambodia suffered only 30 years ago it is now a lively and progressive place. The people are beautiful, happy and friendly and so far we're loving it.

We'll be back soon with more from Louise and Amy's Excellent Adventure. xxxx

---