Cambodia:The Good,The Bad and the Darn Right Ugly

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We have seen and done so much since our last blog, it's hard to know where to start. Cambodia was a nice surprise for us. Unfortunately the people there are still some of the poorest in the world, but they still manage the biggest smiles. The country seems to be a place of many contrasts, from the magnificent Temples of Angkor to the poor victims of the many land mines set throughout the countries war times. We saw some amazing things, and also some very sad things whilst there.

There are so many NGOs working right across the country in all areas of Public Health, Education, Construction, Sanitation and Infrastructure and everywhere you can see the benefit of their great work. The World Bank are also pumping lots of money into Cambodia tying to improve the lives of so many.

After leaving the southern coastal areas, we took the bus up to the capital Phnom Penh, a short 4 hour trip in probably the most uncomfortable bus we have ever been on, but for $3.00 who's complaining. Scot the guy who manages the Jasmin Retreat in Kep had recommended a Hotel to us and although a little away from the main drag it was good value with A/Con and hot water at $8.00 a night.

That afternoon we strolled down to the river and the contrasts of the city became apparent. The Royal Palace and the surrounding buildings are magnificent, the architecture is very similar to Thai, with great shaped roofs. The main tourist places are located along the Riverfront with the usual travel agents, bars and restaurants offering all types of food. That afternoon we were able to organise our visas for Laos, which meant that we would not have to double back to Phnom Penh after Siem Reap. That night we went back to the river and had a drink in the old Foreign Correspondents Club, what a great place, brought back memories of being in the Continental Hotel Saigon or the Raffles hotel in Singapore. We had dinner along the stretch and unfortunately that's when you see what I think is the bad side to the city. Lots and lots of kids some about 5 years old selling things ( I hope that their mums were near by) also children asking for food. Some of the kids had only shirts on, nothing else. There are lots of written signs everywhere, about protecting the children of Cambodia, but unfortunately we heard stories of children just about selling their soles. Very, very sad. There are also lots and lots of land mine victims asking for help. On the way back to the hotel, more signs of the poverty with many people sleeping in the streets. I found Phnom Penh quite expensive compared to other Asian cities. Dean & I visited the local supermarket to stock up on the essentials and the prices there where very similar to what we pay in Perth for things, apples $4.00 a kilo, toothpaste $2.00, and as everything is in US dollars it soon adds up, and although I know that the locals would not pay that much, it seems that a lot of people are doing things very, very hard.

While in Phnom Penh we also visited the S21 museum, what a horrendous place. The school where some of the war atrocities took place is now a museum and you can feel the horror that took place there as soon as you walk through the gates. The Khmer Rouge photographed their victims and some just babies. The number of victims are not documented but thought to be about 20,000. After a couple of hours there, we decided that we had seen enough and decided against visiting the Killing Fields.

After another couple of days in Phnom Penh and after picking up our Laos visas we headed for a small town in the west called Battambang. We thought we had been very cleaver and booked a very posh bus a couple of days earlier, requesting the front seats for a 6.30am pick up, only to find that our you beaut 'state of the art' bus had been cancelled and we were to wait until 9.30am for a bus that looked nothing like the picture, o well. Battambang is a sleepy town, but whilst there we hired a tuk tuk for the day and visited the Bamboo train. What a fun thing. The single line is left over from the French and runs through the countryside. The carriages are made up of two sets of train wheels and a bamboo platform that's sits on the top, its all connected to a small motor and off you go. The only problem, is if you met someone coming in the opposite direction the one with the least amount of people on has to dismantle their carriage, let the others pass, put your carriage back together and off you go again. The whole process only takes a couple of minutes. The little carriages go a quite a speed whizzing through the beautiful countryside. From there across broken tarmac and along dirt roads we saw Wat Banan, a old temple dated back to 1050AD, there are 358 steps to the top ( we know this because we counted every last one of them). The view from the top was amazing. From there, after a much easier trip down the stairs, we headed along the country roads to another hill top temple Phnom Sampeou. We decided on the easy way up this time and hopped on two motorbikes to take us up a very steep concrete road. The bikes have to go flat out to make it to the top, and Dean made the comment that he much prefers to be in control of the bike than be a passenger, he was hanging on. The temple was lovely, but near by there is a cave which is called the Killing cave, another place used by the Khmer Rouge, this time pushing people through a hole in the roof of the cave, it is believes that some died from the fall, but most starved to death. In the cave is a beautiful Buddha and the harsh reminder of the poor victims with skulls and bones placed at the altar.

From Battambang, we headed by boat to Siem Reap. When we brought the tickets, there was an amazing picture of a boat that looked something like the Rottnest Ferry, Dean was quiet disappointed, he had hoped for something a lot less flash, he need not have worried. The boat turned out to be exactly what he had hoped for. Never, never believe the pictures! Like most things in Asia we had been told several different things about the boat journey, like whether we could get through to Siem Reap due to the water level and how long the journey would take, anything from 5 to 9 hours. As it turned out we did get through, it ended up taking 10 hours, we did get stuck three times, and had to be rescued by a passing boat, at once stage. It turned out to be a very long day.

The journey along the river was amazing, we saw some beautiful Kingfisher birds, and monkeys but the conditions that the people live is very, very poor. There where so many naked kids playing along the banks, and everyone was waving. Before arriving in Siem reap you enter a huge lake with more floating villages. Thankfully we booked ahead, and had a pick up organised, so after a hot shower we fell into bed at 6.00pm and didn't know another thing until the morning.

We really enjoyed Siem Reap, it had a really nice feel to it. Some nice restaurants, and a great night market. We decided on a day trip to the temples, and had a 5.00am tuk tuk pick up to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. What an amazing place. We spent a few hours there before heading to another great temple, Bayon and the last one we visited was Ta Prohm, where the jungle has taken over. The whole area is really beautiful, very well kept, with manicured lawns and huge trees, much like a national park.

From Siem Reap after another early pick up 4.45am!! we headed for Kratie in the north. Another case or not believing everything that you see. This bus was something else. The driver couldn't get it in gear, so for the first 10kms we crawled along, even the bicycles where going faster! He did eventually stop, and wake a guy up who was asleep under a mozzie net at the front of a workshop. After some humming and aahing, they decided that pouring oil straight down the gear stick would fix the problem. After about another half a hour off we when again, it did fix the problem for a little while, but after about 5 kls the options where down to either first or top gear, so for the next 4 hours, we either crawled along or went flat out. Anyway the driver was a real funny guy, and we had a good laugh.

Kratie is another quiet place on the River, but breaks the long journey to Laos from Siem Reap. We stayed at a great guest house which had a huge balcony overlooking the Mekong and the sunsets were wonderful. We met some great people there, and after 10 days are still travelling with an English guy called Dominic. There is not much to do in Kratie, so caught up on some washing and had a bit of a lazy time. After a couple of days there, we headed for the Laos border and the area called the 4000 Islands. Fantastic.

The journey continues..........

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