Blogs from Phnom Penh, South, Cambodia, Asia - page 231

Well it's just short of two weeks since I left Oz, and I've just spent a week of that on the coast of Cambodia swimming, relaxing and generally enjoying life. However, I am starting to realise how poor Cambodia is, how corrupt the government is and how inept many of the NGOs are at making real change here. The killing of innocent Cambodians - mainly squatters or poor families whose land is sought after - by police is quite common. Today I had a life-altering experience. I met up with Lee, a Canadian woman with whom I visited an orphanage the last time I was here, and she invited me to go with her and a handful of other Westerners to Phnom Penh's garbage dump. Marcel, a German guy, described it as kindergarten compared to the ... read more

My trip to Pheon Phem went fairly well, and the road was much better than my previous bus trip. I visited the Kings Palace and saw a life size Golden Buddha worth trillions of dollars, the National Museum and the S-21 prison/museum where the Khmer Rouge carried out mass killings and other distasteful acts, and this was a mentally tuff place to visit because of the severity of everything and how it affected so many people. I was pretty much done with the city quite quickly as it was also hard to see how so many people were living in poverity, yet there is so much wealth, or should I say corruption there too. I decided to take a trip to the south of Cambodia and this is where things got a little uncomfortable for me. ... read more

6AM wake up. Tarantula anyone? Ot te awkhun, de! Today we had a five hour bus ride from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. So that meant having to endure some bumpy, dusty roads. We did have a few stops along the way. Most notable would have to be in the town of Skuon. This town is known for its famous deep fried tarantulas. All for only 500 Riel (that's about 12.5 cents US). We pull up and there were at least 6 or 7 ladies with huge platters of deep fried taratulas that were just dripping in oil and garlic. I handed over my 500 Riel and started to dig in. I must admit I only ate the legs...couldn't bring myself to munch on the body. Plus I heard afterwards that the body is full of ... read more

Another day, another exciting bus ride, this time to the capital, Phnom Phenh, a city with an interesting and tragic past. Our time in Phenom Phen was pretty intense, it’s really difficult to get away from the weighty history and you do feel like you should pay your respects in a place that has suffered so much. We visited the S21 Museum, or Tuol Sleng, the former High School that the Khmer Rouge had used as a prison and torture chambers. The Killing Fields, just outside the town, was another part of the city;s history we needed to see. The road out to the fields was a horrific rock and dirt track, made even worse by the suffocating heat. We had been advised to go by motorcycle rather than tuk tuk, and this was a tip ... read more

Before today, I always considered the bus ride between Chile and Argentina to be the most dramatic border crossing. The Andes Mountains themselves seem to echo the message that you have arrived in another way of life. The journey made in Chile's first-rate buses, however, could never compare to the transm experienced by entering the Kingdom of Cambodia. A relatively uneventful ride through the Vietnamese countryside ended in a dusty parking lot, where we were told to collect our bags. A 300 meter stretch of dusty road under construction was all that separated us from the border, and our bus guide instructed us that a shabbier bus and worse roads would be awaiting us on the other side. True to his word, we emerged on the other side to board the bus of a driver who ... read more