Phnom Penh

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Hi everyone, we must start this page with apologies, because we've been accused of being racist and offensive. Obviously all who know us will know this is not true, however we don't want to come accross like this to others. So if there is anyone out there who believes this, we're sorry, at worst we can be called ignorant at best niaeve!

So onto Phnom Penh, you'll be pleased to know, yet again, we made our flight with plenty of time to spare - must be getting used to this travelling lark!

We were booked into the FCC which is the Foreign Correspondents Club (we were quite excited because it's one of the better hotels and we thought we'd treat ourselves. We were so disappointed, we were paying the astronomical price (for here) of $85 a night so expected top notch, although nice it was not top notch and we felt we were being ripped off. When we spoke to the management they said they had a cancellation policy, but after checking all our paperwork we didn't have a copy of if! In the end we agreed to stay 2 nights and cancel the next 3 at no additional cost. We moved to a cheaper room at ONLY $55 per night. Lovely brekkie though and an old colonial charm about the restaurant and bar area.

We went around the town to look for different accomodation and was really disappointed that we had to spend so much time here (our visas for Vietnam don't kick in until 27th) so we were stuck. (Tina)Found a half decent room at the Hope and Anchor but it is still 40$ a night so not much cheaper but we were moving on principle, some of the other guesthouses we looked at were quite frankly gross!! Anyway we decided to get on with doing the touristy things that we came here to do.

Killing Fields and Genocide museum - Firstly we were taken to the Tuol Sleng Museum, before the Khmer Rouge regime it was a secondary school and was transformed into a detention centre called S21, it comprises of 4 buildings which were used to house different catagories of prisoners. If the KR arrested someone they would take every member of the family as they feared reprisals, this meant tiny babies to the very old were all taken to this place, which was little more than a torture chamber. They have on show rooms and rooms of pictures taken of not only the prisoners but also the KR soldiers, these are all housed in the old prison cells, each prisoner was given a number and quite often their numbers were hung by a safety pin attached to the skin of their neck. They would be kept in this place for between four and six months for interrogation and torture before being transported out to the killing fields. I found it so shocking that this kind of thing could happen in the modern day, just 30 years ago.

Our guide said that nobody even knew what Pol-Pot's (short for Political Potential) motivation was. After he was defeated he and his two brothers were given amnesty by the government so they didn't even pay the price for their crimes, he said that he didn't do anything wrong and apparently blamed the US Secret Service. Pol-pot died in 1998 of Malaria, his middle brother is awaiting trial by the UN and she said that the third brother has recently been captured and should suffer a similar fate.

(Lynda) When the camp was liberated 14 bodies were found in the interrogation block just as they had been left by the KR. Pictures of the bodies now hang in the cells together with the bed and other stuff that were found in the rooms. These 14 prisoners are also buried that the site of the museum.

Next our driver (we'd hired a tuk tuk driver for the day, although we were under the impression that it was a taxi!) took us to Choeung Ek which is one of many killing fields found throughout Cambodia. 129 mass graves were found here together with 8,000 skulls although about 20,000 people including foreigners were executed and murdered here, in the majority of cases, cruelly, after they'd been tortured. Bullets were precious so in the main they used sticks of bamboo! Many of the skulls have been encased in the Memorial Charnel which was built here in 1988.

Walking around this site you can still see pieces of bone and items of clothing in the ground. There were two trees we saw one of which was used to throw crying children and babies against and the other where prisoners who dared to cry or speak were hung. It's a very evocative and sad place. It's note even fully excavated yet so who knows how many more graves will be found. Throughout Cambodia there were 3 million victims of the KR.

(Tina)On the way home in our Tuk Tuk we broke down, we have never seen a broken down one yet, it had to happen to us! And then lo and behold it started to rain. Our driver phoned a friend to come and get us and half an hour later we were on our way back to the Hotel again.

After showering we went out to dinner and did a few happy hours! Yeah you guessed it- more Long Islands, it is our mission to find the best one in the World and have to say that The Hideout in Dartford is by far the best so far!!

The next morning we had arranged for a tuk tuk driver to collect us at the Hotel and take us to a local orphanage, we had sought advice about what to take or whether to make a donation and were advised its best to take provisions for the children to eat. Our driver took us to the local market where we bought lots of different fruits, a stationary shop where we bought books, pencils and crayons, and we also bought a big jar of sweeties, also many thanks to Nicola, Louis and Mia for the kind donation of cuddly toys that we bought from England!!

When we pulled up at the Orphanage centre we were immediately surrounded by all these children, asking our names and where we were from, all speaking in English, they were very tactile and kept cuddling us and stroking our arms and hair. So sweet. We had our pictures taken with the gifts we'd bought and all the children, the carers like to keep a record of their visitors, also we were asked to fill in a guest book. After a little time chatting and playing with the children we were sat down and told that the children were going to entertain us with some traditional dance. There were about 5 or 6, and featured the children of all ages, each one telling a different story. All in all, the kids were great, very happy and polite kids who obviously enjoy visiting travellers. So if there are any out there who are debating (as we did) whether this was a good thing to do, it is, as we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I'm sure so did the children. At about 11am all the children started to get ready for school, some go in the morning and others in the afternoon. The carers started dishing up there lunch so we thought it was our cue to leave.

Before we left we bought a couple of bracelets from their little collection, got lots of kisses and hugs from all the children and went away amid lots of cheering and waving. It really was the most memorable morning.

In the afternoon we thought we would wander down to the Royal Palace, however when we arrived we could not go in as we had shorts and vest tops on and even though we have both bought wraps for occasions like this, you guessed it, neither of us had them on us! You lot must be thinking how unorganised we are!! Got a tuk tuk back to hotel, had a beer (happy hour) then went and got showered. Lyndas choice for dinner tonight, she picked the restaurant that is attached to a pucker hotel here, when I say it was posh, it was, anyhow we looked at the menu and it wasn't too expensive. Lynda had Salmon Penne Pasta, I had Fettucine Carbonara, shared Garlic Bread and a Nicoise salad, two long Islands and the bill was 26$ (13 quid), one of our more expensive meal!!!

Called into our local Bojangles bar on the way home for nightcaps. Now this isn't supposed to be the rainy season here but for the last two nights its hammered down, so we probably stayed out later than anticipated cos we were waiting for the rain to ease off (Never heard that one before!!) One of the girls in the bar told us that they get taught massage in school. She gave us both a little neck and head rub and then started to braid my hair. (Lynda) Needless to say Tina loved all this fussing - Carrie and Paul will testify to that). However in the night her head hurt so she took them out - don't know how we will face her tonight after all her hard work!!

Tina's written most of this because I got waylaid answering e-mails- so have to take my turn next time. I'm sure reading between the lines that its fair to say that this is not our favourite place but we've done some really memorable stuff that I'm sure we'll never forget.

So, until we speak again, farewell. I've been wanting to say this ...........next stop is Vietnam ............

xxxxxL&T xxxxx

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Photos

Tuol Sleng - S21 Genocide Museum
Block A where diplomats and government officials were held while being interrogated

Cell in Block A
These rooms left as found after liberation. Blood can still be seen on floor and ceiling

Photos of Victims
This was one of many displays of victims. There were also photos of KR staff.

Skulls at Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre
Over 800 skulls were found at this killing field although 20,000 victims were slaughtered here.

The Memorial Charnel
This "stupa"commemorates those found here and the 3 million victims throughout the country.

Call the AA
No not Alchoholics Anonymous! Our broken down Tuk Tuk. Get the feeling that we don't travel well!

Group Hug
All the children, staff, gifts and, of course, us.

Beautiful Dancer
One of the older ones, but they all danced beautifully with such pride, grace and elegance.

All Ready for School
Every afternoon they go to school where they learn English, all speak really well.

Tina being fussed
And Lynda thought they were just going for a drink!

Comments

[carrie]

oh my god
i cannot beleive wat i have just read it is completely shocking to think people had to endure all that pain and suffering and probably still are somewhere in the world isnt it disgusting. well i am really glad you have found a nicer hotel and are starting to enjoy cambodia a bit more because just think if you hadnt gone there you would not have seen all the interesting stuff that has happened there and you wouldnt have seen those beautiful kids everything happens for a reason. keep the blogs coming we are all learning from it. love you lots carrie xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Dazzle]

Apologies... my ar$e!
Suesday Mae (and Auntie), First off, ignore all those who have been sending you negative comments about your blogs. I take it they're from people you don't even know? If those people are reading this then fcuk off and read someone elses blog if you don't like it.... losers. I must say that it's not been the most enjoyable entry so far, but then again it's not suppose to be. It was quite hard reading it so heaven knows what it must of been like for you two actually being there. Well done. Liked the braids auntie, but I was hoping for you both to come back with dreadlocks. Enjoy the rest of your stay there the best you can, I'm sure a few more cocktails and beers will help and I'll speak to you both when you're in Vietnam. Knyom sraw-line ne-uh nah xx (that's a little bit of Cambodian in there if you're a bit confused Ginger x)

[JulieP]

.Phnom Penh
I was so moved by your visit to the Killing Fields and uplifted by the visit to the orphanage. One question? Who has accused you of being racist and offensive - obviously someone who doesn't know you at all!! Making observations about other cultures does not mean you are critising! Looking forward to hearing the next blog from Vietnam.... please say hallo to Country Joe and The Fish won't you? Love Joolsxxx

[carrie]

hola mama y tia
hi just at anne and johns and showing them the blog emma arrived on friday and we all went to miguels for dinner will blog again later love you xxxxxxx

[Eva]

Gob-smacked!!!!
Girls! Finally got round to having a look and read through your blog and can safely say that I'm in total awe and so, so jealous - what a fantastic experience ....!!! Will now make sure I log on regularly for the next instalment. Was really upset that I couldn't join you for your evening out before you left but the old back was still terrible and had also gone down with the flu (not the best of times!). Anyway, will look forward to catching up with you when you're back! Keep up the good work with entertaining us with your experiences - fabulous! Lots of love to you both. Eva xxxxxxxx

[Paul]

Hi Girls
Read with great interest your visit to Cambodia but one huge question remains unanswered, DID JIMMY TURN UP TO FIX SUSIES BOILER ? back to Cambodia it looked a dreadfull place but the kids looked great . Glad your now in Vietnam (skcollob ) bit of Vietnamese for you dazzle x (read it backwards son ) If Des Lynham is on blog quick question for you, why havent you mentioned the palaces two great wins over the past week to place them in the top five and pushing for the premiership ? You girls keep up the good work , love reading the blog , take care xx

[kev]

how you doing,
just a quick message before i go to bed, i spoke to you ealier and you both sounded like you were having an amazing time, altough obvously seeing a few things that are hard to take, i guess we have it so easy when you think of things like that, but still, dont go giving them any of our money, because they wont know what to do with it or even worse they will just waste it, ok keep the good work up and i will catch up with you soon, all my love proud of you both xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[david]

traffic
Hey togas, next time you login check out the stats, admittedly one was from a complete d*ckhead who thought that saying that you were visiting a poor combodian was a racist comment. Perhaps you should sell advertising on the web pages to recompense the kids for all their inheritance going on long island ice teas. Still no horror stories about toilets, we wanted to hear about 3 foot lizards in the toilet, whole animal communities living in vats of turds under the seat, or rats swimming around the U-bend and biting Tinas bum. Can we have at least one horrible toilet picture, just to give Suzie nightmares.

[Benjy]

Still on this Settee!!
Big Respect out to the Toga's - still doing us proud. Keep up the good work, its fantastic to hear your stories....... Well you’re not going to believe this............... You are missing so much here!! It snowed last Thursday; we had 2 meters of the stuff! All roads and offices have been closed so everyone was sledging and ski-ing down the roads, it was so romantic. We all went up to Barn End Lane and were all ski-ing down the hill. Louis and Mia looked fantastic and took to it like they had been doing it for years. Then (and your not going to believe this) Tom Jones was doing a one off charity performance at The Orchard Theatre, obviously no one could get there so it was cancelled. As we were making our way back up to the top of Barn End Lane for another shoosh down the hill we bumped into Tom, he was in all his ski-ing gear and was staying at Rowhill! We spent the whole afternoon with him, he was a fantastic skier. He then came back to our house and I put the under floor heating on in the conservatory (obviously it was a special occasion) and we played sing-star until about 4am in the morning. Guess what his favorite drink is? yep - sobrano and coke!! We explained that you were both big fans and he remembers Lynda from the time she had to be escorted from his house! he was gutted that you could not have been here but we have loads of pictures for you. We have had some more good news - Donna and Darren went for another scan the other day, everything is fine but we have a bonus! she is having triplets - what fantastic news. The final point you WILL NOT believe, this is a big one. Are you ready for it…….. Are you sitting down……. Well Nicky has not been to Bluewater for at least 4 days, 12 hours and 37 minutes. She decided she needed to cut down because the staff in Topshop and New look had started to think she worked in the stores. She went in last Wednesday and the Manager at Topshop pulled her into the office and gave her an almighty telling off. She asked why she had not been into work for two days and more importantly why she had not called in sick. Nicky explained the situation and tried to explain she did not work in the shop but she spent lots and lots of time in their store so it must just seem as though she works there. In the end we had to get proof from our bank that Topshop had not paid her and they finally agreed she did not work there. What a mix-up! Anyway, I would like to stick up for Jimmy, the house is very tidy and very much near completion. The sauna, steam room and outside Jacuzzi are now all in place. His water-bed arrived yesterday and his pool table, fruit machine, beer dispenser and dancing pole will be fitted at the weekend. It looks great Lynda, The house has been painted in the west ham colors, I told him not to do it but now he has it looks fantastic, I am thinking of doing the same on mine. As you know all of the above is total rubbish, I am STILL sitting in the same place on my settee, drinking far too much, watching the same programmes, having the same mood swings, reading your fantastic blogs. The kids are truly amazing, Nicky still has plenty of retail therapy and we are all so proud of you. GO GIRLS AND CONTINUE TO DO US PROUD. You are missing nothing! Make it count, do as much as you can and continue to live the dream! Lynda Loo, hurry up back so I have a drinking partner again!! All my love Ben "The Bull Sh1t correspondent"

[fletch]

toga wishing it was three
Hi ya, It might look like I dont send you any messages but I send private ones, not that Iv got anything to hide, But tina sends to me and I reply. As I said in my private message ha ha IGNORE the stupid Bastard that says you are racist, or let him contact one of us, me if he wants. silly f*****. Any way as others have said we are so proud of you both and I wish I was with you. Take care love to you both fletch xxxxxxxxxxxx

[mark]

THE BOILERS FIXED!!!
YIPPEE GOOD NEWS Jimmy has done the boiler, and we are now the proud owners of a swimming pool where our kitchen used to be! Luckily the boiler still works so it's heated as well! For god's sake Lynda please come home, Sue keeps making me put on womens clothes and wearing a curly wig, oh , errrr, dont rush back, anyway its really cool keeping up with your travels i can't believe the things you've done in so little time. Sue asked about adopting and i said ok as long as it fits in my golf bag and can carry 4 crates of stella. Ignore those idiots who have nothing better to do than trawl through other peoples blog and complain , we know you they don't.GET A LIFE! looking forward to the next blog.....................

[Maureen]

BEN'S SETTEE
Wow girls I've heard of magic carpets, but Ben has a fantasy settee. I Love the story, do you know I actually got up to look out the window to see if I had 6 foot of snow and was Tom Jones out there. I even contemplated going upstairs to dig out my MOON BOOTS. (Ooooh do you remember them from the 60's) I still have mine!!!!. What I saw out of my window was a very cold looking postmas and I could barely see him through the fog. When you get back home you've got to nag him to write a book he might do even better than J. Rowling? Then Nicky could chuck her job in at Top Shop and go and work in Harrods. Those lovely children must look forward to daddy's bedtime stories. Brilliant Stuff. The only truthful bit was your not missing a thing here. Tina I spoke to son up in the mountain. He's fine all he wanted to talk about was Palace, so I gave the phone to his father. The're both talking about Palace going to the premiership!!! HAVE THEY BOTH BEEN SITTING ON BEN'S FANTASY SETTEE??? (Sorry son.. Up the palace). x x P.S. I saw a blog from Kev there somewhere.. How are you my lovely adonis... keep the goals coming. X X X

[Fago]

Fagin's minions
I hope you checked your pockets after all the hugs from the kids. Classic manouvre that one... I'm so glad I've finally got the link to the blog. Now I'm at work, I need something to do to pass the time. Please don't hesitate to post a few photos of speedo-clad men, erm I mean bikini-clad babes from the beach. I've got massive news myself. After many years thinking about it, being pressured into it and many opportunities and even half-hearted attempts at it, I finally made one of the biggest decisions of my life to date - I've also had my hair braided.

[Jim]

Brothers of Pol Pot
Hey there! A few points need clarifying about the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. Firstly, "Pol Pot" was not short for "Political Potential": think about it, why would he choose an English abbreviation when he didn't speak English at all? The name doesn't mean anything; it's just a name and was chosen to conceal his real identity - his name was actually Saloth Sar - in order tgo confuse and mislead his enemies. Secondly, the figure of 3 million dead is a huge exaggeration. No one claims that figure these days. The generally accepted figure is 1.7 million, and even that will be challenged by the defence in the forthcoming UN-backed trials of the surviving leaders. Thirdly, when your guide talked about Pol Pot's brothers he didn't actually mean brothers in the literal sense, he meant brothers as in "comrades". Like many revolutionary organisations the Khmer Rouge believed in strict secrecy, so Pol Pot was also known as Brother Number One; his deputies therefore were Brother Number two, Brother Number Three etc. So it was the deputies (men like Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary) to whom your guide was referring. Pol Pot did have brothers in the biological sense, but they were totally unconnected with the Khmer Rouge and didn't even know he was the leader of the regime until well after they had seized power. I hope you realise I'm not getting at you! After all, you only know what you're told, right?! I just think that if you were interested enough to go to see the monuments, you deserve to know the facts about what you're seeing. Safe trip!