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Published: September 29th 2009
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When I Last wrote I was just about to embark on my last night in Nha Trang before heading to Chau Doc in the morning in order to get a boat up the Mekong River to Phnom Penh. Oh how much has happened since then....
Nha Trang being the fun place that it was, Tom and myself decided to give it an appropriate send off, and that night we partied into the early hours of the morning, meeting many nice fellow students from all over the world. How we would later massively regret this decision... Up at 7.30 in the morning we embarked on our "hard sleeper" train to Ho Chi Minh City in order to get our interconnecting bus to Chau Doc where we inteded on getting a boat up the Mekong River to Phnom Penh. The term "hard sleeper" was supposedly in refernce to the type of mattress on the train - however Tom and myself have a different opinion, thinking it would be more appropriately named "hard to sleep" train. Essentially the only difference between a "soft sleeper" cabin - which we had the luxury of travelling in up til now - and a "hard sleeper" is that
somehow they manage to fit two more beds into a smaller area. Tom and myself are not on the short side, and add on top of that the huge amount of stuff we have got with us, the situation did not prove ideal. Yet what proved more annoying was that we were sharing our small environment with four women who insisted on shrieking at each other in an incredibly high tone despite sitting a couple of feet away from each other. Having managed to acquire a sizeable hangover, the 9 hour journey did not prove the most enjoyable. Yet this was only the beginning. As the sun was setting in Ho Chi Minh we made our way to the bus station, and by chance we managed to find one company who still had available seats on a bus to Chau Doc that evening. They also happened to be available at a very reasonable price. Thus following out student instincts, we snapped up the tickets. As we headed to our bus, which was actually more of a glorifed minivan, the heavens decided to open, and we were caught in the most torrential rain of our trip yet, which turned the bus
depot car park into a small lake. However as we entered the bus it was difficult to decide whether it was more wet outside or inside. With giant holes in the ceilings and cracks in the windows, it was tempting to stand out in the rain to keep dry. Yet this was only the beginning. Still slightly suffering from our hangovers and suffering from lack of sleep, the sounds of the shrieking women on the train were replaced with the sound system on the bus blaring out the same five vietnamese pop tunes over and over again. Once again the vehicle was not designed for people of Tom and my stature, and in a bus with a capacity of at most 18, somehow 30 people managed to squeeze on, so leg room was not one of its redeeming factors. Wedged in between a mother and her screaming baby and possibly the heaviest smoker in the world, it would be fair to say that the 6 hour trip to Chau Doc did not fly by. However the bus' stuttering engine defied all odds and brought us sfely to our destination, where Tom and myself elected to spend a day to recover
rather than getting the early morning boat.
After that experience we decided to treat ourselves a bit and we took the express boat up the Mekong River to Phnom Penh. And oh how we appreciated the comfort. Whilst I was not overawed by the Mekong itself, i did have very high expectations, but the simple size of the river was impressive. However the ease, comfort and speed of the journey made it entirely worth while, arriving in Phnom Penh at 1pm.
As we left the boat we were met with the usual crowd of men who were desperate to get you take their taxi/moto/cyclo to your intended destination. Bracing ourselves to walk through the swathes of people who do not take "no" for an answer, we were surprised to find in Cambodia that the phrase "no thank you" actually held some meaning. When we did get in a tuk tuk (these are everywhere in Phnom Penh and are basicaly motorised rickshaws) we got on with our driver so well that he agreed to pretty much take us anywhere we wanted to the following day for the whole day for 8 dollars! And he stayed true to his word! Even better
Photo 6
The Tuk Tuk driver loved it! was that, knowing i was a spurs fan, he turned up the next day wearing a spurs shirt and was saying how it was going to be our year this year, he totally knew how to win me over!
In truth I did not know what to expect about Phnom Penh, but the friendliness of the people, the pride they have for the history and their heritage, and the actual beauty of much of the city has totally amazed me. We spent the afternoon yesterday walking around the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, and the beauty and opulance of the architecture, gardens and statues was unbelievable. The Silver Pagoda was probably the most impressive, the entire floor made with tonnes of silver, and in the middle stood a giant solid gold Buddah decorated with over two thousand 25 carat diamonds! We then walked along the river front, and it was here that I tried my most exotic food to date - cockroaches, beetles, bugs and a tarantula! All were barbecued but nonethless was pretty scary eating them, particularly the tarantula as i do have quite a fear of spiders, but it was probably the tastiest of the lot!
If
yesterday was experiencing all that was great about Cambodian culture and heritage, then today was the complete opposite. Outside the town we vistied the Choung Ek Killing fields, where over 8000 cambodians were savagely murdered by the Khmer Rouge. In the Middle of the fields is a giant Stupa, containing hundreds of the skulls of the dead. As you walk around the fields there are still human bones lying in the dirt, and they show you the trees where children and babies were tragically killed. Straight after this we headed to the Tuol Sleng Detention Center, which was a converted school and where the prisoners were kept before heading to the killing fields. If anything this place was more harrowing, with much of the Center kept exactly as it was found in 1979. There was also a superb, but exceptionally sad, moving and emotional exhibition there, showing the effect of the Khmer rouge campaign from many angles - foreign, khmer party members, civilians and more. Perhaps what was most saddening is that the pain endured today, as most of the party member have still not gone to trial as Cambodia searches for true justice. Today was one of the most
moving experiences of my life, and I feel the reality of the Cambodian situation in the past forty years is something that westerners should become more aware of. Both these places, although terrifying, are a must when one visits Cambodia, as it shows you a dark side of human nature, personally I feel that is on a par with the Holocaust Tragedy.
My experiences of Cambodia thus far are only positive, and i'm hoping that this will continue as we head to Seam Reap tommorow in anticipation of the Angkor Wat Temples. Thank you for all your comments and replies so far, its most appreciated! Also i must apologise for the lack of photos in this installment as this computer forbids me from putting them up, i will try to add them soon!
Love to you all
xxx
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Iris
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Hi
Hi you two, Vow, what an entry, I was laughing so hard at some of your situations that you have made my day. This blog is proving to be very addictive. Your writing skill is highly amusing. Keep it coming. You have now also established a fanbase in Northern Ireland. Take care, from all of us here in Crouch End. xxx