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Published: August 30th 2007
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Welcome to Cambodia
And so it begins... Our trip in Bangkok has come to an end for now. We finally got our visas for Vietnam, so we headed off on our journey. First stop, Cambodia. In order to get there we took a bus to a city nearest the border, then hopped on a Tuk Tuk to the border, passed both Thai immigration and Cambodian immigration and finally hired a taxi for the remaining portion. Let's just say it was a bit of a process. We were tired after an early morning bus ride and it was smoking hot at the border. The immigration line also seemed to take forever. US passport holders can get a visa on arrival for about $20 (US). What did we end up paying? Well, let's just say it wasn't that easy. It is extremely frustrating when you know you are being taken advantage of but can't do anything about it, but we have heard of worse. The road from the Thai-Cambodian border to Siem Reap is legendary in that it is TERRIBLE. It was only about 150km, but it took 4 hours. The road, if that's what you want to call it, was more like off-roading at the desert than driving on
Angkor Wat
This place is massive! a main highway. We ended up meeting a couple on the bus from Bangkok and split a taxi to lower our costs...thanks finance degree!
Cambodia is a VERY poor country so during our jaunt it wasn't uncommon to see children without any clothes wandering about in wooden shacks. One thing, in contrast to the economic situation of the people, was that everybody we met was really nice. Sometimes a little too nice. Arriving in Siem Reap (major tourist destination) the immediate shift in the quality of the buildings was apparent. It had huge hotels being built, bars lining the main street, and great restaurants all over the place. This was our home base for exploring the temples of Angkor. Upon first seeing this mammoth complex we said, "how long did they take to build this?" Answer...40 yrs for one temple and there are hundreds of them in the complex. The entire time we felt as if we had just jumped in a pool because we were sweating so much. To give you an idea on the amount of sweating we have been doing, we have been drinking 2 liters of water a day and rarely need to go to
Ultimate Stair-Stepper
Ryan working in a little cardio on the side... the bathroom. After viewing four temples we decided to get a drink with some traveller's we met from England. Three girls backpacking for 18 months from China to Australia to be exact. It was a great time, but after sweating all day then having a couple drinks that night....the hangover was ruthless. At least for Russ. The next day our tuk-tuk driver took us to the temple of Ta Pruhm, which many have seen in the film Tomb Raider. It was amazing! There were 150 foot trees growing right out of these ancient temples. After we saw that, Russ cashed in his chips and just cruised around in the tuk-tuk buying pineapples from the locals and BSing with them (trying to) while Ryan did the journalistic work....cause that's what it was, work. Talk about a stairstepper. Our last day in Siem Reap was just spent cruising around Tonle Sap lake in a boat that we could have built. Honestly, to give it gas the driver pulled on a cable while sitting in his plastic lawn chair...I mean while sitting at the helm. Our tuk-tuk driver ended up inviting us back to have dinner with his family in his village. He
More Temples at Angkor
Standing in front of Bayon Temple. lived in a one room wooden building. It was crazy! We sat on the floor and drank some beer with his family and tried to learn the language....they thought it was hilarious when we butchered it.
The bus ride to Phnom Penh was funny because they had these music videos playing...but it wasn't normal music videos rather videos of people singing karaoke. We were waiting for the bus ride to turn into a full blown karaoke party. We have heard stories of this happening and since then have been contemplating what we are gonna rock the mic with. Ryan is torn between Ice Ice baby or Welcome to the Jungle...haha Our first day in Phnom Penh was absolutely crazy. We headed for the shooting range. I mean when else would we get the opportunity to shoot fully automatic assault rifles? The anti-aircraft guns, M-60s and RPGs were a bit out of our budget so we settled for an AK, an M16 and a couple of grenades. We suited up in our Rambo costumes and had a blast. Talk about intense! Holding a live grenade was one of the most nerveracking things we have ever experienced. But after it we
Ta Pruhm Temple
A battle against mother nature and it looks like she's winning. were on an adrenaline high.
One of the other stops on our list was a bit of a paradox. We checked out a place known as Choeung Ek, the killing fields. Nobody inside was talking and for good reason. This is one of the places where Pol Pot and his oppressive regime in the 1970's massacred the Khmer people. Pol Pot's army of children, the Khmer Rouge, often executed people by bludgeoning them with bamboo sticks or iron bars because they didn't want to waste money on bullets. It is a little sad that many people don't know about it, and it happened so recently. We walked around the mass grave sites close lipped and in awe of the horror that took place only about 30 years ago. There was a memorial where you could pay your respects that housed thousands of human skulls. After this we needed some cheering up so our tuk-tuk driver told us about an orphanage nearby. We bought a 50 kilo bag of rice and drove to the orphanage to deliver it. We got to play volleyball with the kids (they ruined us) and teach them about geography, or at least where we were
The Strangler Tree
Angelina!!! Where are you!!! We love you!!! from and where we had been. They were really excited to have some company. So the day had been been full of ups and downs.
Today we checked out the Tuol Sleng Museum which was the prison where the "enemies" of Pol Pot's regime were interogated and tortured before being "destroyed" in the killing fields. When we say the word musuem we are using it loosely as it is not like you are looking at items behind a piece of glass. We walked through the cells and torture rooms, some of which still have dried blood stains on the floor and saw the actual torture devices used. We were both in awe of the things we saw here. Honestly, it was one of the saddest places we have ever been in our lives. The craziest part is that the torture and execution was carried out many times by children between the ages of 10-15 or adults that were told they must do as instructed or face their own death. Pol Pot was supposedly trying to create the ultimate communist society and wanted to eliminate anyone that would oppose his ideas. In essence, he tried to wipe out an entire
Banteay Srei Temple
The crematory for the old Khmer Empire. generation. After the regime fell, there were 1-2 million Cambodians that had been executed and no one has suffered any consequences of their actions. The government claimed that they didn't know about what was going on and many of the people who performed the attrocities claimed that they had to because they feared for their lives. Truely sickening!
Well, Cambodia has been a land of emotional extremes. One day we would have a great time and the next we were sick to our stomachs. It has been enlightening and truely makes you appreciate the things we take for granted everyday. Tomorrow we are in for an all day bus ride and end up in Ho Chi Minh City. See ya in Nam!
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Alie
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Great Travel Blog!
Hi there, I just wanted to write and let you know that I enjoy reading your travel blog, keep up the good work. Thanks for making me laugh! Cheers, Alie http://hobosinlovemedia.com