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Published: September 2nd 2007
We arrived in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, on the bus from Saigon, after an insane border crossing involving bribing officials. It wasn’t quite the easy experience that this had been in Vietnam because the hostels were spread out over a bigger area and there was less of a backpacker vibe to the place. Still, we were able to scare up a nice room for five dollars in a nice part of town and it wasn’t long before we were settled in on the balcony with an Angkor beer.
We were immediately struck by how affluent Vietnam was in comparison to Cambodia. As I’m sure you know, Cambodia has a very tragic past with the Khmer Rouge rule in the seventies still fresh in the memory. The next day we took a visit to two sites which really brought home the horrors that must have occurred in the country. The first was the Killing Fields which contained a stupa with over twenty thousand human skulls that were found in the surrounding area. These were people who had been murdered by the regime and it was an incredibly chilling place to spend time. We next went to a museum on
Battambang, Cambodia
These 2 girls acted as our 'guides' around the ruins.the site of one of the prisons that were used to detain people during the four year rule. Again, the effect this place had on us was profound and we left with a strong sense of sorrow yet more understanding at what happened.
It wasn’t long before we were on our way again, this time to a place called Battambang, over in the west of the country. We used this town as a base to explore the surrounding countryside on the back of motorbikes, which contained temples, beautiful scenery and more chilling war scenes. From Battambang we took a boat to Siem Reap and it was here that we based ourselves to visit the magnificent Angkor Wat. This is one situation were pictures are better than words so I will let you look at the pictures to see what a stunning place Angkor Wat is. Suffice to say it was a special place and we really enjoyed our visit here. Oh, and Tomb Raider was filmed here!
Where next? Ban Lung, in Ratanakiri province, via Kampong Cham. We decided to take a 9 hour bus journey on our wedding anniversary (which ended up being 12 hours as the
bus broke down!) which, combined with Jenny’s stomach pains (*I had severe traveller's sh!ts, seriously like nothing before!*), made for a slightly less than romantic day, but it was definitely memorable. Ban Lung was really cool with lots of waterfalls to visit and we also swam in the most perfect volcanic lake in the morning. It was the best spot we had ever been for a swim and it really made it a special day. Jenny was still feeling quite ill so we spent a fair bit of time here just chilling in the room, watching Star Movies and eating in the attached restaurant. I recommend it.
Then, that was Cambodia finished as well. The various countries seem to be passing by so quickly, but we really feel like we are seeing and experiencing some amazing things along the way. The next stop, via bus, boat and bus was to head into Laos for a week. We couldn’t wait…
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Lesa Rodgers
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Well you pair, the trip just continues to sound amazing. I was so excited to read this blog entry... it's a country that I am really keen to visit. I've read so much about the regime - I bet it has had a really profound effect on you both. Keep the blogs coming, I love to hear where you're at and what I'm missing out on! Travel safe, lots of love from back here in Manchester xox