Advertisement
Published: September 28th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Cambodia - the land of smiles
We flew into Bangkok and after some quick sight seeing and an overnight snooze we were on a bus to the Cambodian border. Once we got to Cambodia it became obvious (from having had been in Thailand) that a corrupt government and a blood-filled recent history has held back development. We were greeted by what the locals call a dancing road from the border to Siem Reap; it took four hours to drive about 130Km over a really rough road - 'free massage included' as noted by our guide in good Cambodian humour.
We think Cambodia is a place of amazing people and interesting sights. Tourism is a relatively recent phenomenon, which adds to the hospitality and friendliness of the locals. While in Cambodia we travelled with an Intrepid group of 13 people and a local guide. This was a really nice change for us as it took all the organisation stuff out of the trip, and we could just cruise along for the ride. We met (and in one case, randomly re-met) some lovely people, and had a really good local guide who filled the culture gap.
Siem
More temples
The Bayan temple Reap
We started our Cambodia trip in Siem Reap. Siem Reap is a really cool city, with some nice bars and very cool markets. We spent one full day (4.30am until 6pm) checking out the temples, and only just scraped the surface!!
We started the day bright and early in the hope of a beautiful sunrise over the Angkor Wat temple, and finished late in the day hoping to see the sun set from the top of a hill overlooking the temples and the jungle. Unfortunately it was raining in the morning and evening! But the weather didn't detract from the stunning temples and surrounding landscape. We spent the whole day learning the history from a really entertaining local guide, and visited temples, temples and more temples. To say that we were templed out is an understatement :o) However, the temples of Angkor Wat are truly amazing and could take a lifetime to fully appreciate. We were really impressed by the scale and symmetry of the temples and the re-growth of the surrounding jungle. Hopefully our photos give you a bit of an idea of what it is like.
Kampong Cham & Takao
After Siem Reap we got on a bus - and travelled on a slightly less bumpy road - to Kampong Cham. Kampong Cham is a town located on the Mekong River. Although it is the third largest city in Cambodia, there isn't too much in Kampong Cham itself, but we enjoyed a day cycling around an island in the Mekong River, visiting the locals and enjoying the scenery.
From Kampong Cham we headed to Takao where we stayed in the country at a home stay. This was a very cool experience, and we both managed to learn the Cambodian names of several farm animals :o) We played volley ball and had dinner with some locals, and then learnt some Cambodian dance moves around the fire (which went better for Sam then wedding dancing...)
Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville is Cambodia's number one beach destination. It is a really cool place to visit, with some lovely beaches and bars. We were staying in a part of town really set up for backpackers, with bars lining the beach. However, a short tuk tuk ride or longish walk took us to a remoter part of the beach where we enjoyed a
bit of piece and quite and a bit too much sun...
Whilst in Sihanoukville went out for a day on the water, for a bit of diving and snorkeling. This was good fun, but to be honest not the best tropical diving around. However, it was a good chance to see some of the islands and enjoy some more beaches!
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is big city Cambodia. It seems that there is a bit of a backpacker and expat community there, and some good night life and eating out to be had. It is also the place to be to find out of bit about the uglier side of Cambodia's recent history.
In Phnom Penh we visited S-21, which is the main Khmer Rouge interrogation centre, and the nearby killing fields. S-21, which is a former secondary school that was converted to a prison and torture facility, provided a harrowing presentation of imprisonment and death under the Khmer Rouge regime (7 of the estimated 18,000 prisoners lived to tell the tale).
The nearby killing fields also showed the brutality of the Mao Communist inspired Khmer Rouge. As a vivid reminder of this
Still more temples...
Ta Prohm temple - the set for the movie Tomb Raider recent past, the Cambodians have built memorials at many of the killing fields containing the skulls of the deceased. At the field we visited the monument contains an estimated 8000 skulls, from the estimated 20,000 people within the mass graves. The mass grave site is literally littered with bone fragments, teeth and shreds of clothing, which are a poignant reminder of how recently this all occurred.
Prior to visiting the killing fields and S-21 we visited the royal palace and silver pagoda. This provided a true contradiction to the Cambodia we had seen over the previous week, as the royal family lives a very comfortable life, most probably at the expense of many Cambodians. However, the Silver Pagoda was an interesting site, the main feature of which is a silver plated floor and a 90Kg golden Buddha encrusted with 2086 diamonds, one of which is whooping 25 carats (but not quite as whooping at the 85 carrots we saw in Turkey!).
Soon after this we were back on the bus and on our way to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, where we are writing this blog. Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be
working our way north to Hanoi, then hopefully Sapa at the Chinese border... so watch this space!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.127s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0426s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
guess who?
non-member comment
U 2 look great...lots of sun. Soundz like a land of extreme contrasts. In Vietnam (somewhere), there are some expats living there on the invitation of the govt, as a "thank u" for the sacriface they gave during the war.... And Yes I recognise the entrance to the temle of Doooommm!! Amazing! Must be quite eerie and really is full of snakes..thenk God for Buddha..the recently reincarnate version. Look forward to the next blog