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Published: February 4th 2018
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Our first trip to Cambodia was in 2004, but we only visited Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat. So we thought it was about time that we revisited and saw the rest of the country.
Mention Cambodia and most people will associate the country with Pol Pot and the Killing Fields. Pol Pot was a political leader whose communist Khmer Rouge government led Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. During that time, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians died of starvation, execution, disease or overwork.
It seemed fitting that after arriving in the capital of Phnom Penh we went to the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek. In just this one small area outside of the capital it was almost unthinkable to imagine that to date nearly 9,000 corpses have been exhumed. Scattered everywhere about the site were teeth, bones and old clothing - apparently after each heavy rainfall these all begin to surface as the earth is washed away. As a memorial a tower of skulls and bones stands at the centre of the area. It was all very humbling & sad, to say the least.
It was then onto
Skull Memorial Tower
Killing Fields, Choeung Ek Tuol Sleng Prison Museum (known as S21) in the centre of Phnom Penh. This prison centre was so notorious that only seven of the roughly 20,000 people imprisoned there are known to have survived.
Well, that's enough of the serious stuff. On a lighter note we moved on to Cambodia's second-largest city, Battambang, which is a pretty riverside town of French elegance, friendly Khmer people and preserved colonial architecture.
After arriving we went on a bumpy tuk-tuk ride into the countryside (most enjoyable despite all the dust & flies). It was then all aboard the
bamboo train (or nori) - essentially a bamboo flatbed on wheels, which is powered by a small motorcycle or tractor engine that runs along old train tracks. A bit uncomfortable but great fun hurtling through the countryside at nearly 40 km/hour.
Just before dusk we carried on to the Phnom Sampeou caves where millions (literally millions) of small bats come bursting out of the mountain in several directions. They form a steady stream toward the countryside, where they spend the evening stuffing themselves with insects. A spectacular sight.
The next day we set off
on a morning bike ride through the villages surrounding Battambang. It was a fascinating insight into local life that probably hasn't changed in a hundred years. We visited small cottage industries producing rice paper (used for spring rolls), banana chips (delicious), rice wine (2 litres for just $1, and not so delicious), fish paste (incredibly smelly) and bamboo sticky rice (an acquired taste).
The bike ride ended with a small ferry ride across the river, into the murky waters of which one of our group dropped her iPhone. Incredibly, after about an hour of diving into the dark, dirty waters one of the locals managed to retrieve it. Guess what? It still worked perfectly!
As we had a free afternoon we decided to partake in a Cambodian cooking class. We all chose what dishes we would like to prepare and cook and then set off to the local market to buy the ingredients. Apart from the market being a riot of smells and colours it was interesting to see barbecued rats for sale. We couldn't bring ourselves to try one though.
The dishes we chose were chicken amok, chicken with lemongrass
Traditional Khmer Dancers
Angkor Wat Temple Complex & basil plus stir-fried ginger & chicken. Everything was absolutely delicious, despite the fact that we were somewhat distracted by the restaurant owner's 6 year old cute nephew zooming around everywhere in a Spiderman costume.
Our next destination was Siem Reap, but rather than travelling by road we embarked on a very pleasant six hour boat journey along the Sangker River and Tonle Sap Lake taking in the views, the scattering of fishermen and local people living atop their floating villages. As well as all the expected sights we saw a bloated pig and dead crocodile floating by plus a small boat full of Buddhist monks.
We then spent a full day temple-hopping with a local guide called 'Johnny Rat'. Apparently his actual name was Rath, but as the Cambodians do not pronounce the 'h' he is called Rat. Make of that what you will, but he did actually look a bit rat-like.
The world-famous Angkor complex was built between the 9
th and 13
th centuries. The ruins are scattered over an area of some 160 square kilometres, but the main sights included Angkor Wat, the Bayon and the jungle-covered Ta Prohm
Novice Buddhist Monk
Waiting to offer blessings (where the movie 'Tomb Raider' was filmed). All of which were suitably impressive.
All the guide books say that you shouldn't miss Angkor Wat at sunrise and/or sunset. Personally we'd have preferred the sunset option, but despite that we still woke at 5am the following morning and duly joined the other throngs of tourists (mostly noisy Chinese) to watch the sun slowly rise over the ancient Khmer temple.
Later that day (after such an early start) we decided to reward ourselves with a fish spa followed by a gin & tonic (or two). A nice way to wind down after all that temple-hopping.
After the comfort of Siem Reap we headed to Sambor Prei Kukfor a one night homestay. It was described as 'a fantastic opportunity to experience everyday life in rural Cambodia'. Indeed the ox-cart ride through the village and surrounding area was very interesting and the sunset over a small lake was spectacular.
It wasn't really something that we were particularly looking forward to, due to the fact that all the twelve people in our tour group were to share one large room. As if that
Bayon Temple
Mysterious Smiling Faces wasn't bad enough we slept on a thin mattress on the floor with just a sheet, pillow and mosquito net for company. Luckily any snoring was drowned out by the sounds of cockerels crowing, cows mooing and countless dogs barking!
Heading back to normality we went to Kampot, where we spent a very pleasant few days. Some of the highlights included visiting a pepper plantation, Cambodia's only salt-field, a limestone cave that had a small 7th century temple inside it and the crab market at Kep.
Our final stop was at Sihanoukville, named after the Cambodian royal family. The town is billed a having miles of lovely beaches and warm, welcoming people. It's also a jumping-off point to many beautiful islands. However, the reality is a bit different: a dirty beach and mass budget tourism (plus a bit of sex tourism thrown in for good measure).
We had a day out on a boat snorkelling and relaxing on a lovely beach on the island of Koh Ta Kiev. It felt a world away from the littered beach and Chinese filled casinos in Sihanoukville.
In the evening we enjoyed
a number of $1 happy hour cocktails on the beach (served by a Cambodian ladyboy who did very little work but was most entertaining) and having a wonderful massage by a real character called Nani. You had to “pinky promise” that you would only have a massage with Nani but her expert manipulation of our aching bodies was well worth it. We all gave her a huge hug on our last night there; she worked so hard for her family you felt very humbled.
Our group tour ended back in Phnom Penh and people headed back to Australia, America and the UK. For us, our final few nights in the country were spent at a comfortable hotel back in Phnom Penh. It's the only hotel we have stayed at where the entire first floor was given over to a dental practice. In fact, there was an ad in the lift that stated if you spent over $600 on dental treatment you could get a free night in the hotel! What more incentive could you need to get your teeth looked at?
We also took the opportunity to visit a small arts cinema that seated
Koh Ta Kiev.
Our mode of transport for the day about 30 people on low-lying sun beds and extremely uncomfortable rattan sofas. In addition, the doorman kept interrupting the film with food orders (pizza anyone?). It is the only cinema we have been to where you could hear people walking about upstairs. Thankfully it was a great movie (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri).
Choum reap lear (goodbye) to Cambodia!
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Greg & June
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What will be your next magic trick?
The Lads never cease to amaze! Just checking in Lads. Greg retires for good on March 30th. I will send you a separate email in case you don't monitor this as often. But we are taking a page out of the Lads play book (so to speak) and it's time for some travel. No, we are not selling our flat. And for one simple reason. We don't have flats in the States. But we are on a website called home exchange.com. Check it out. homeexchange.com If you bring up the website it will ask you where you want to go. Type in Solvang, CA and you will see our photo. We are the only home in Solvang, at least right now on this website. We are heading to Hilton Head, South Carolina for three weeks in April. One month in Malaga, Spain in mid July to Mid August, then on to Munich for three weeks before coming home. We tried to make an exchange in London, but apparently, so far, no one wants to be stuck in beautiful California weather. Greg even pleaded with people in Hamburg, Germany because he is in such need of a Beatles fix! So off we go starting in April, and if the Lads are galavanting and cavorting about in any of these areas where we will be, then we should make a point to meet up or pop in for a jolly good time! We miss the Lads! Greg & June