Advertisement
This is the capital of Cambodia....our only other stop here besides Siem Reap. The bus from Siem Reap was relatively painless apart from Heidi feeling a little sick. We arrived at the bus station and there were as usual plenty of tuk-tuks looking for business. We jumped in one and drove to a hotel we had chosen based on the review in the book and the price. Everything in the capital is notably more expensive....so we went with a mid-range, it was a little out of town but we only planned to stay two nights so weren't being too fussy. The traffic here is nuts....I've said it before and I will say it again. I don't know how there aren't accidents on every crossroad. There was visibly a lot more traffic in the capital as well. We made plans to meet the same tuk-tuk driver the next morning to go see the killing fields and S21 museum. The hotel room was fine, basic but adequate....by now I've gotten quite fond of cable TV so I was pleased to see a TV!!
Set out that night to explore....and it took us about 20 minutes to cross a couple of roads.....we were
getting nowhere fast. Grabbed a tuk-tuk instead and headed towards the river and the touristy part of town. There was a lot going on here....locals dancing in large groups to music on the promenade. Kids selling books.....and papers. Loads of restaurants and tuk-tuk drivers. We walked a little way and found a restaurant we'd read about in the book. Neither of us had really got our appetites back but we tucked in to our noodles and pizza. Ashamedly so I've gotten a little bored of Asian food so any chance to grab some Western food and I normally snap it up. Food was good.....lively place.....nice night. Tired from traveling again we headed home.....it's amazing how sitting on a bus for 7 hours is the most draining thing I've done since we left blighty.
The next morning was going to be a sad day.....with visits to a prison and the killing fields. Ordered pancakes for brekkie and got an enormous plate full....I don't we could have finished one plate between us. Anyway stomachs filled we were ready, by now our driver was ready and waiting. We jumped in and he decided for us that the Killing Fields would be our
first destination. I can honestly say I hadn't head much about this place....and the history surrounding it. It's all very overwhelming to imagine the horrors that went on here....and the video really opens your eyes to it. I found the visit to be very interesting and could not believe I knew nothing of the events that unfolded prior t coming here (should have paid more attention in school). It's hard to believe it happened as little as 30 years ago roughly. I'm glad I went and would say it's a must do for anybody visiting the capital. Next up was the prison where people were interrogated prior to going to the killing fields. They'd done a good job of turning it in to a tourist attraction with really interesting photo exhibits and first hand accounts of what happened. You could walk from cell to cell and see blood splatters on the walls and ceiling. Again it's very hard to imagine how this all happened under the nose of most of the world! It was a really informative and eye opening day....something very different to what we have done so far.
Tomorrow we cross in to Vietnam....which I'm very much
looking forward to. Cambodia is a nice country but I haven't enjoyed my time here as much as the other countries so far. The poverty here is much more in your face and although it's not a problem it's harder to take. Maybe we didn't give Cambodia a fair chance and given that we've both been ill whilst here it's probably not a fair assessment, who knows. Anyway onwards.....to Saigon!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.108s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0453s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb