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Published: March 28th 2009
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So after the quick tour of Vietnam, I was off for the most intense and amazing trips I have been on up to this point. This was probably the most extreme trips I had been on because each day was packed with things to do plus a quick flight. It was also pretty draining because late nights plus early mornings equals me being really tired. But it was also one of the coolest and emotional trips because of the amount of things I was able to see. It started off with a hour flight to Phnom Phen, the capital of Cambodia. After are arrival, our group was whisked off to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. This was pretty cool because we actually arrived at the palace at the same time as a royal meeting was happening. While I was not able to see the king, I got to see his entourage of servants and monks. After the palace, we headed to the Silver Pagoda, which was a large silver structure (imagine that) that housed the treasures of Cambodia and the royal family. No pictures were allowed inside the pagoda, but there were several different types of Buddha, including an
National Museum
It was a really cool museum emerald one, plus several other artifacts. Afterwards we crossed the street to the National Museum, which was my favorite museum to date, mostly because of the building and the garden in the middle. After a quick tour, some of my friends on the trip left to talk to the kids playing soccer and badminton outside. After watching them destroy one of my friends in soccer and play a game that I can only assume was called jump on each other until we fall down, we headed back to the bus. We then headed to the river to take a sunset tour of the Mekong River. The tour was basically a ride to the other side and back, but it did allow us to see the house boat village, which made me again appreciate my cushy life in the US. One funny thing from this trip was the spotting the Texas flag among several other country flags. Guess they have not got the memo that Texas is a state now (it was probably just another countries flag, but it was still kind of funny). The sunset over the city was stupendous and the boat ride was a great way to experience
Kids Playing
These are the ones that just jumped on each other until they fell down it. After the boat ride, we headed to the Palm Tree Orphanage. This was one of the saddest and most entertaining times of my life. After getting beat pretty bad in soccer (my excuse is that it was night and we could not see the goal), we let the kids borrow some of our cameras and mess with them. One child was especially attached to Ben, Connor, and me, and followed us around with Ben’s camera taking ridiculous pictures of us. After about fifteen minutes of modeling for the camera, it was time to go. The kids followed us out to the bus and we said our goodbyes. This was the first of many emotional moments on this trip. We headed to the hotel and celebrated my birthday a little, but exhausted and knowing we were in for a long day, turned in early. I woke up the next morning at seven and headed to the Toul Sleng Museum. This museum was about the detainment (read: torture) camp that was set up to question and exterminate the educated people in Cambodia from 1975-1979. The camp was set up in an old elementary school and each room had several examples of
My Buddy at Palm Tree Orphanage
He really liked the group of guys I was with the people, the living conditions, and the activities that went on in the camp. It was by far the most horrendous and sad things I have ever seen. After an hour at this museum, we went to the Killing Fields. This was the place in Phnom Phen where they took prisoners and other unwanted people to get rid of them. I had no idea what to expect and the entire area hit me very hard. They had a large monument in the middle of the field that was filled with human skulls to show just some of the casualties from just this one mass grave. Walking along the paths, I saw several signs explaining the types of corpses found in the area such as if it were men, women, or children. There were several areas where bones could still be seen poking out of the ground. It was a truly horrific place to witness but it showed me the craziness of the world in a new way. I must say that the entire area was truly haunting and it gave me a real idea of the atrocities that people can commit. After this sad monument, we boarded a plane to
Having a Good Time
This was a lot of fun too Siam Reap where we finally got to see the highlight of the trip: the temples of Angkor Wat. We arrived just in time to see the sunset shadows on Angkor Wat. This temple, in my opinion, was far more remarkable than the Taj Mahal. It was like walking into a picture. After this quick stop, we headed to the hotel for dinner and bed. The next day, I woke up at five to see the sunrise behind Angkor Wat. This was one of the coolest sunrises I have ever seen. The sun comes up right behind the temples and makes for some really great pictures. After sunrise was over, we went to Ta Prohm Temple. This was a really fun place because the trees were growing through the ruins and we were able to really explore the area. After exploring old corridors, climbing to the top of broken building roofs, and generally having a great time exploring the ruins fully, we headed to the other side to meet up with our tour group. We headed back to Angkor Wat for a full tour of the inside of the temple. This, while not as free as Ta Prohm, was truly amazing
Killing Fields Monument
This is the monument that was filled to the top with skulls. It was truly moving. because we were able to get up close to the temple’s towers and see the size of the inside compound. After exploring every nook and cranny of Angkor Wat, we said goodbye to the monument and proceeded to Angkor Thom. This was once one of the largest cities in the world and it had several different areas to show us. After exploring this area, we walked to the South Gate, stopping to see some monkeys on the side of the road. After this last area, it was off to the airport to head back to Vietnam and the ship. When we finally arrived back at the ship, we all breathed a sigh of relief. While the trip had been amazing, it was extremely taxing, mentally, physically, and on our sleeping time. I probably only got a total of ten hours (maybe) over the three days. It was one of the nicest feelings to see the ship. After going through security and boarding, I went to my room and slept for fourteen hours (can not remember the last time I did that). Cambodia was truly an amazing trip with several ups and downs. It might have been one of my favorite
countries to date and I suggest anyone who is going to be in the area, to definitely add it to your destination list.
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