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Published: March 30th 2009
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Vietnam to Cambodia
Buffalo and kids in the mekong Pnomh Penh
The slow boat from Chau Doc in Vietnam to Pnomh Penh was long but very enjoyable. Everywhere along the route kids were swimming in the river, sometimes alongside water buffalo, and shouting hello whenever we passed while women washed clothes. My accomodation was near Boeng Kak lake that is due to be reclaimed in the next year or so for development which is a shame. At the moment though it is backpackerville and a great place to be based.
Pnomh Penh was scorching, so much so, that I found myself doing very little each day. Of course, continuing my morbid fascination with the horrors of war, I first of all visited the Toul Sleng Genocide museum, a former school, which is where 20,000 victims. many of them children, were tortured and later executed by the Khmer Rouge in Choeung EK (the Killing Fields) located about 15km outside of town. While I was in Pnomh Penh, Duch, the notorious head of the prison finally went on trial for crimes against humanity. There were orange clad monks everywhere in Pnomh Penh but I later found out that being a monk in Cambodia isn't for life but rather all Cambodian
boys are required to be a monk for as little or as long as they want - sometimes only for a couple of weeks.
Sihanoukville
I next went to Sihanoukville, which is a seaside resort on the west coast of Cambodia, stopping in a place called Kampot for a couple of days en route. Of course, I'm now at the stage where I'm bumping into people I met earlier in my travels and after meeting Omri (one of the Israeli's I spent Christmas with in Hanoi) in Pnomh Penh we arranged to meet up again in Sihanoukville. A few days later, Shane, the Irish friend I met in Yangshou in China turned up and we all chilled in Sihanoukville for 10 days or so. The place was pretty relaxed and is as yet undeveloped but that's all about to change as many of the off-shore islands have been purchased in their entirety by private enterprises. Our accomodation was about 10 yards fron the beach and though basic was costing about 3 euros per night which was great while beers ranged in price from 50 cents to 1 euro. Food was the only drawback to the whole place as
Pnomh Penh
Former school that served as the notorious S21 prison of the 6 of us hanging around together, the grand total of 5 came down with various forms of tummy bugs while we were there although I can't complain too much as it was the first time I'd been ill in 8 months of travelling and where better to recuperate than by the beach!
Koh Kong
It was time for some more adventures and so I went to Koh Kong which is just north of Sihanoukville. From there I visited the Pream Krasop wildlife sanctuary which is basically a mangrove swamp that due to its remoteness has been largely untouched by mankind. I than went on a tour with a German guide to the Cardamon mountains which involved driving motorbikes over some very rough terrain to a waterfall where we cooked our grub (German sausages no less!) over a campfire and slept in Hammocks overnight. Of course all of this sounds very idyllic but it rained in the evening so we were a little disappointed with that but thankfully it had stopped by the time we hit the hay. It was while we were feeling a little damp in our ponchos while staring into the fire that I
Pnomh Penh
Monks at Wat Ounalom felt some slithery feet on the inside of my leg. I gave a roar and jumped up while dropping my pants in the process. It was almost definately a small lizard but I couldn't find it so the scene if anyone had come by at that time was of me with my pants down with Frank the German on his knees shining the torch in the direction of my crotch!
Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor
My next stop was Siem Reap which is the main town beside the Temples of Angkor, the most famous being Angkor Wat. The heat was almost unbearable and I spent a very tiring but very rewarding 3 days visiting the numerous sites. I was also very lucky in that at the end of my first day while riding my bike back to my accomodation I met a local Cambodian who offered to bring me to the further out temples over the next couple of days on condition that I give him English lessons and pay for petrol. it was a no-brainer and so I got to see many of the places that I did not plan on going to see. We also
ended up at a monastery one day where as is almost inevitable I ended up giving English lessons again - this time to a couple of monks. Do they not know that I can't speak a word!
Battambang
I than took a bus to Battambang to see the Killing Caves nearby as well as the bamboo train. My main reason for going there however was to take a boat trip from Battambang back to Siem Reap as I had been told that it was one of the most scenic journeys in Cambodia. It didn't disappoint in any way as hopefully some of the pictures will show. About half way through I got off and stayed at a floating village called Chong Kneas which was a great experience as everytime a boat went by the house I was staying in moved with the current created by the passing boats. The family (and their four dogs) were also very nice and ensured I was well fed despite the usual language difficulties - my meals consisting of freshly caught fish from the small fish farm attached to the house. It was great to be there at night and see people going about
Pnomh Penh - Royal Palace
Mural depicting the Hindu epic The Ramayana their daily lives especially the small boats that would pull up to the house selling various groceries etc. The following afternoon I caught the boat back to Sien Reap and from there caught another bus back to Pnomh Penh to arrange my visa for Laos. It was back in Pnomh Penh where I celebrated St. Patricks Day.
Kratie
From Pnomh Penh I than went North once again to the town of Kratie to view the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin. It is believed that there are only 75 of them left in existence although quite a number of them were out when I went out to see them. Unfortunately, they don't do any flipper style jumps so all you could see was brief glimpses of them when they came up for air.
Ban Lung
From Kratie I went further north to Ratanakiri and the red dust filled town of Ban Lung. I spent a day walking to and swimming in a volcanic crater and than myself and a couple of Germans I'd met went on a trek into the forest nearby for two days and a night. The trek was great and the food that was served up even more
Pnomh Penh - Royal Palace
Worshipping the sacred bull so although it took a bit of courage for me to eat the frogs that one of the guides had caught for "desert" - tastes a bit like fish but with the texture of chicken. That night we slept in hammocks and in the morning woke to the sound of a Gibbon in the trees. From Ban Lung I than caught a bus and small boat to Laos and the area known as the Four Thousand Islands.
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