Cambodia
Phnom Phen
Our first experience of a border crossing into Cambodia was decieptively reasonable compared to what was later in store for us...
We eventually arrived after a 8 hour backbreaking journey at 70mph over unpaved roads filled with potholes stretching for miles.
After attempting to nourish ourselves with KFC that as it happens is NOT THE SAME across the world! (Lets just say there isn't a boneless banquet option.) We thought our bodies would be better repaired and rejuvenated with a $5 massage.
So..with our friend Joe, Tim and I entered the barbershop/massage parlour. This didn't arise any suspicions for us. HOWEVER 5 minutes later when (in the same room) we heard Joe asking for his boxers back and being laughed at by the women, we realised the situation we had unwittingly placed ourselves in and IT WAS HILLARIOUS! Especially as we didnt leave so for the next hour Joe was taunted by the women for not having a girlfriend and being so red- out of embaressment at the situation.
We took a cyclo-tour around the city navigated by rural villagers who travelled into the city for work. They took us on a "scenic" tour of the city, in rush hour traffic. We soon realised that closing our eyes would not stop any collision that might and will happen while playing chicken with 4x4's. We didn't see much.
But interestingly we did see a monk and some premature babies on bikes.
It was mourning period in Siem Reap when we arrived, the King of Cambodia had died. The locals and widespread news coverage in Cambodia beleved they could see the King's face in the moon. We weren't so sure.
S21
We visited the school that during the Khmer Rouge rule had been turned into a torture camp for anyone with a trade or education at that time in Cambodia.
After fourteen-thousand people were tortured and held at S21 only seven survived. We met the two still alive today, we bought this survivors book and we had a picture with him. We both smiled as he was suprisingly upbeat but Tim maintained a sombre expression. He later said he didn't know what else to do.
The Killing Fields
I don't know what kind of people they are expecting at the killings fields, but they're not the kind of people I want to know.
Siem Reap
We visited Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples, which were amazing! We also made friends with a monkey. This monkey. He looked like he'd seen some things...
During our time in Siem Reap we visited many temples. The three main ones were Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider temple) and Bayon. Unfortunately the amazement and novelty wore off after two days and we were left looking at old stones in 30 degree heat. As in the film, the remains of the temple had been overrun with tree roots. Amazing some would say, others would argue it's a health and safety risk.
The temples complex had a monastery on sight and we managed to get this idyllic picture of a little boy monk.We asked him of course, after playing hide and seek with him. At first Tim didn't believe he was real.
We had planned to get up at 4am to go Angkor Wat and watch the sunrise. The hotel we had in Siem Reap was everything we had hoped for; nice pool, breakfast, cable tv. Which made it all the more devastating that the very same night when we were to be leaving at 4am I was awoken by Tim standing on his bed at 11pm pointing, "I think there's a mouse". At first through my delirious half asleep state I considered going back to sleep. But then it scrabbled up the curtain next to my bed to my head level causing me to jump onto Tim's bed leaving us gripping each other stuck! After quick deliberations we headed down to reception, the night manager offered the man sat next to him as a solution so all three of us headed back up to the room and the kind Cambodian man set out barehanded to catch a mouse. No equipment or tools. After that inevitably failed, despite his valid efforts, we returned to reception and slept in a different room for the remaining 4 hours. Only to find that at 3.30am when we cautiously returned to the room to retrieve some clothes the lights wouldn't switch on, which turned into a panicked dash in darkness to avoid the lurking mouse.
Still! The sunrise was beautiful and amazing experience!
Wherever you are in Cambodia, there will be child trying to sell you something for "One Dollaaaarrr" which happens to be the first word most Cambodian children learn. They are all expert salesmen and could think a lot faster than we could.
We also had an amazing opportunity to go into a charity run Cambodian School teaching children and teenagers. We were able to meet the children and sit in on their English class where the teacher then let Tim and I take over and divided the class between us so they could practice their english. It was great, they are the cutest people and they were so keen to learn. The purpose of the school was to stop adults sending children to work in the fields before they had an education as many were far behind for their ages. The charity paid the families who were the poorest in the area according to their need to allow their children to come to school to learn.
And then! We took ATV's throughout the rural villages, paddy fields and homes of the Water Buffalo's! Tim drove. We stopped every now and then to say hello to the young children that came out of their huts to greet us and shake our hands. It was such a wonderful day!
Also we took a lot of videos of the children playfully chasing after us along the dirt roads and as beautiful as they are we managed to capture something even more spectacular on film. Terrifying may be a better description.
We approached a crossroads and Tim told me not to look, as he thought he had seen a dead 6ft long pig bound at his front and back trotters strapped on the back of a moped. To our deafening horror the undead pig let out a scream! Screaming ourselves and with the pig chasing us we tried to get away, it was tense.
