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Published: December 7th 2009
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one of a few tuk tuk's we used, this one was to the killing fields.. Day 8 n 9 Dec 6/7
We are now back in Phnom Penh which is the capital of Cambodia, as you know if you have been reading my previous blogs that this is where
we first set off from, once again had an early start as left Siem Reap at 7am, so happy we took the VIP mini bus as it took us only 4hrs.
We thought the bus would drop us off back at the hotel here but instead it was at their bus station and thankfully the owner of our hotel was
there waiting for us to take us to the hotel, really appreciated, he is a really nice man and very helpful. On getting here this time they
offered us a room with a balcony, its on the top floor but much better than the last room we had here, but one thing I have to say about
Fancy Guesthouse and thats its cleanliness, it is spotless, its just a shame the surrounding area is so run down and dirty, but then its only a
short walk to the river front, but it doesn't really matter where you walk around here there is poverty all around you,
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a sad, sad sight... hard to see..
So, on arriving here we got ourselves settled in and decided to head for the Russian Market we had read about, decided to try a local tuk tuk
did a bit of bartering and got him to take us for $2 instead of the $4 he first asked for, good old Stan... Had a good look around here and did a mental shopping list
as are going back there the day we leave. Its really cheap there and a good shopping opportunity, you can buy anything, also had a noodle dish while
there. Time was getting on so we headed back, had a shower and had a good walk around the area we are staying, again we notice here there are some
expensive restaurants etc but all the time with beggers outside. For a change didn't bother eating tonight as did not feel hungry at all, so decided
to have a drink at a bar opposite hotel and went to bed.
Today we head for the Killing Fields, this is where Pol Pot and his movement executed thousands of Khmer people and also some foreigners, its a very sad
place and hard to believe that
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this should never of happened in our lifetime.. it only happened 30 yrs ago. We took a tuk tuk once again out there, it was a very long drive in one of those but we have
decided we love riding in them you get to see so much, and we managed to get there for $10 dollars, again we bartered for this, but it can be done. The
entrance fee into the museum is only $2 that surprised us as expected a lot more. As expected it was a very sad place to visit and I did get chocked up
when reading some of the information they have there, we also watched a short movie.Very interesting place and worth a visit, be it a sad one. After here most people go onto visiting the S.21
we think this is where the people who were killed were kept first before execution but we decided not to do this due to how we felt after visiting the Killing Fields. We decided
on the return to go back to the Russian Market as knew we would have to pass it on the return plus we leave here tomorrow and didn't want to be rushing on our
last day here. Surprisingly we
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crushing the sugar cane to make a very tasty drink... did some shopping, got ourselves some new sunglasses, and also bought ourselves a smiling Buddha to put outside our flat, he's really cute.
Before leaving the market we once again had some more noodles and also tried a drink we've watched being made a few times, what is it made from? sugar cane,
and I mean the cane itself, its put through a press several times and the juice is squeezed out of it, then its poured onto ice, we expected it to taste really sweet
but it had more of an orange flavour, was very nice, worth trying.
Have had a nice walk along the Mekong River this afternoon, and tomorrow we head back to Thailand.. For anyone thinking how much time they may need for a visit here
I would say maximum 2 days in Phnom Penh as there isn't that much to do and it really is a dirty city, and 3 days in Siem Reap as there are far more interesting places to visit, but on the other hand interesting to see the way life goes on here..
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