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Published: September 10th 2008
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From Phou Quoc I traveled by an old converted fishing boat, moto and pickup to the beach town of Sihnoukville in Cambodia. It was great chilling out in the brilliant beaches, but I made the mistake of staying in the sleazy part of town - where hordes of whores surround dirty old sex tourists in all the bars and guesthouses… I quickly left for Phnom Penh.
I went to the Tuol Sleng torture camp and the killing fields where I learned about the grotesque atrocities of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge - who committed an horrific regime of torture, genocide and brainwashing children in an attempt to start society again - from a so called 'year zero'. I also went to the shooting range where I got to fire an AK47, and could have fired dozens of weapons - even shooting a rocket launcher at a cow if i was sadistic enough! However, I felt uncomfortable firing weapons after visiting the killing fields, and left before I ended up spending all my money.
From Phnom Penh I went to the 'Wild East' of Ratanakuri and Mondulkuri. They were only accessible only by pick up truck, where they would
strange hippy man
an interesting crazy bloke. a product of the LSD generation. cram tons of supplies and luggage, leaving 15 people to climb on and hold on for dear life on the pot holed dirt roads! (We passed round a bottle of whiskey which made the 8 hour journey go faster...but probably more dangerous!). We swam in a beautiful crater lake, and many breathtaking deserted waterfalls in the area.
I did another challenging 3 day jungle trek in Ban Lung. I have always been amazed by the diversity and beauty of the insects in the jungle - from giant spiders, brightly coloured snakes and enormous poisonous caterpillars. However, much of this admiration has been paved way for caution after camping in the jungle on the second night. I got out of my hammock in the dead of night when I felt a strange sensation on my bare feet. I went to feel what it was with my hand when all of a sudden there was a really sharp pain, followed by an excruciating pain (the most pain I have ever felt in my life) that spread all over my body. A pain I can only describe as being dragged through barbed wire, with thousands of spikes punchering me all over. I
ran back to camp shouting, and when someone shone a torch I saw the whole floor was black and moving. I was being swarmed by giant ants, who were crawling under my clothes and biting at will (which reminded my of the ant scene from Indiana Jones 4). I washed most off and jumped back into my hammock. It took me 2 hours to kill all the ants around me, who seemed to enjoy biting me in the worst imaginable places. I few days later I was bitten on the toe by a hornet. My whole foot was in pain for 2 days, and I could almost not walk after it had swelled to a humorous size.
I have had some of my most enjoyable moments here in Cambodia, and have made some great friends on the way. I can see myself spending longer here.
I am now relaxing in the small town of Kampot by the river, deciding what to do for the next year....
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