We spend only 6 nights in Cambodia and will be looking into extending our itinerary for next year as it is a country with so much to offer. One of the most advanced civilisations on the planet a couple of thousand years ago, Pol Pot and his merry men dragged the entire country down kicking and screaming in only 2 years and 8 months. Taking the country back to year 0, ridding the people of pesky ideas such as science or technology, medical doctors and even machinery were just some of his initiatives. They removed all the tyres from all the cars (except of course for his) and made them into shoes so the peasants could work the fields, as was true and right, for only the uneducated were pure and absolutely no threat to Pol Pot’s political regime. Well that’s my take on it, read the books they will amaze and horrify you and all this was going on only 30-odd years ago while the world politely looked the other way.
We had 3 nights in Phnom Penh, the capital city on the edge of the Tonle Sap River.
If you are going to do one thing in this town it is a visit to the Killing fields and S-21 Museum. During the Pol Pot regime anybody who was seen as a threat was taken to one of the many killing fields or prisons around the country, tortured, made to reveal anybody else who may be a threat and then killed. S-21 which was an old high school (before school was banned) was used as a detention centre for high profile prisoners, scientist or ex members of government and the like. Entire families were incarcerated, young and old and made to reveal friends and other family members before finally being sent to the killing fields. The killing fields, of which there are many around Cambodia, were a series of mass graves. It’s not a happy tour to do, but the grainy black and white photos that line the wall in their thousands take you to the other side of the human psyche, the place that is so dark we dare not glance around us, but hopefully if you have seen this little picture of true horror it would be harder for something like this to go unnoticed again. Our local guide helped us put in it all into perspective.
A local perspective - the guide at the S-21 museum:
Harrowing images:
The killing fields:
There are a lot of not-so-depressing sides to the city, promoting cafe culture is big on the list as Cambodia becomes more cosmopolitan, but the best place to catch the mood for this town is down on the river front at the FCC. The Foreign Correspondents Club has played a major part through nearly all the troubles and was a place journalist met to swap stories. Now a very trendy bar with great river views we all met up on the 3rd night for cocktails. “Odyssey Blues” were shaken up as we announced the winners of the blog competition...
And the winners are... Paul’s and Monica’s blog came first and last or last and first but either way were the only two up to date. Louise’s blog was close in the running with her humorous account of Bamberg now only 4 months and a couple of weeks back, while Amy tried to fool the judges with a snappy shot of Vietnam. Tee and Le have only just had their blog linked; we suspect foul play from the CIA. Paul and David will be enjoying a couple of dives in Malaysia on the Odyssey account while Monica will spend a day at the local beauty salon pampering herself back to perfection. Thanks for all your effort guys; a lot of people have been enjoying the read.
Another fun thing to do is go for a bit of a shoot up. The army offers up the opportunity to fire numerous guns all in the name of a good cause and at paper targets, good fun for a couple of minutes, I think Louise may be a natural...
So after the antics of the capital we head for Battambang, a sleepy little place slightly off the tourist track. The main reason we headed this way was to make another boat trip possible. These countries have had rivers for years and highways only recently and as such the rivers form a major part of the infrastructure and introduce us to a different way of life. The boat left early the next morning taking some 6 hours to get to Siem Reap, passing through floating villages and jungle. Everybody who went seemed to really enjoy the experience, with the floating pig sties being nearly as big on Denis’ list as the logistics of on-board pool table was on Paul’s.
Siem Reap has moved on leaps and bounds in the last little while, the gate way to the incredible Angkor Wat complex of temples it is rapidly becoming a tourist mecca. We were happily staying just outside of town at a rather posh lodge, only a five minute transfer from the centre but quite and idyllic as you floated around the pool or enjoyed drinks at the bar. With a restaurant serving up yummy food it was a hard push to leave but the bright lights lured most of us for a drink and a party or bit of an explore in the backpacker vibey centre.
A bit of rain...
But Angkor Wat is what we came here for. Not the most popular decision ever made by the Odyssey crew, we sent the group off to see sunrise at the temples followed by a tour of the surrounding Wats. Rated as one of the best sunrises in the world I’m sure it would have been if it was not pouring with rain and only a dull grey glow slowly lighting up the still incredible ruins. Anyway, the group managed to bribe the tuk-tuk drivers to bring them back for the buffet breakfast. After filling up on eggs and ham they all headed back out to finish the tour which everybody who was still talking to me seemed to have enjoyed.
What Angkor Wat would look like if the sun had been shining...
Sunrise over a slightly soggy Angkor Wat:
The incredible temples:
Three nights in Siem Reap gave the group a day for the temples and then another to explore the town. We also gave the truck the biggest clean since the start of the trip kindly helped by the friendly staff at our lodge. Everything was shiny and new once more and we were ready to hit the road.
Next to Thailand, Lady Boys, Ping Pong, Tigers, Graffiti and the Odysseyers finally getting their big TV break…
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