A history lesson and the new Lara Croft in Cambodia

Jum-reap soo-a (Khmer),

This is Sam. 

In cambodia, i have received a very educating history lesson. It has been the most interesting and cultured country i have ever visited. 

The people here are so calm and generous, they seem to love westerners but i got the feeling they are still emotionally damaged from their past. The aesthetics of the country has wiped away the past and phom penh looks modern, cambodia has roads, night clubs, shopping malls and luxury resorts and even beer, which apparently is quite a recent change. Although Cambodia's population is very young, its still very common to bump into someone who was alive in the khmer rouge period, but you don't know what role they played. Many peasants from the past, soldiers from the khmer rouge and prison victims are walking about. Most people were just children though. It's difficult to ask the khmer people openly about that time as they find it very emotional and hard to talk about it. Its  

actually quite strange, the country shares their story very well, in it's rawest form, they haven't sugar coated their past for us tourists and there is something from the khmer rouge in every place we visited. whether it was a killing field, museum, remembrance place, prison or just the people, it was very openly seen in every place we visited but talking about that past is something nobody did. cambodia actually felt quite eerie and emotional overall. 

We started in pnom penh, the evening we arrived we bumped into our dutch friend from vietnam. He asked us to join him on the tour the next day as its cheaper to have a group of 4 people in a tuk tuk. So, without really seeing any of Cambodia yet, our first day was a tour to the palace, the killing fields, S21 prison and then the russian market. Our history lesson started right away. 

The killing fields is a really sad place. The mass graves, skulls and the killing tree were horrible to see. But It was visiting the S21 prison that really sent shivers down my spine. I couldnt physically bring myself to walk into and see the prison cells and the torture rooms. It was as if there was a pull of some force that wouldnt allow me to enter. My teeth felt itchy and my stomach actually felt quite sick whilst being in the prison. There was still blood stains everywhere, nail scratch marks on the walls and it was strangely very easy to imagine the helpless prisoners in the very place i was standing. This was probably because you could relate the graphic pictures of the torture to the rooms and areas we could see. 

After pnom penh we went south to Silhouville. A small beach town that has a tacky commercial part and a nice quiet part. We decided to stay in a place called mushroom point on the nice beach, it looked nice and had straw bungalows. Instead we ended up at the tacky side called serendipity beach due to our tuk tuk driver conning us $5 and dropping us off at the nearest beach. In the end this wasnt too bad as it rained the whole time so we wanted to keep these few days cheap as we couldnt really get the most out of the beach anyway, so instead we stayed in a dirt cheap hostel and i was the unlucky one who was next to the snorer.

Next was Kampot, i loved it here as we stayed in a hippy hostel called bodhi villa. It was cool straw huts on the river. Full of mozzy's so i got bitten to bits but experiencing accommodation with the wild lofe was cool. We shared Our bathroom with a giant snail (size of a tennins ball). We went to a make shift cinema in the town and watched 'the killing fields' which was interesting. We did a tour to Bokor mountain and sunset river boat. On top of The mountain was creepy ruins of an old casino and a church from the war with Vietnam and a brand new huge casino, it was bazar considering this is a national park.

We then got a 3 hour bus to kampong cham, a more rural place that didnt see many tourists. Our hotel was pretty empty amd the place  shuts everywhere by 11pm. This place wasnt that built up as there were no street lamps, bars and the hotels were very basic. It was here where we celebrated our 1 year and rented a moped. We visited the french tower, man an and woman hill temple where there were monkeys everywhere. The moped was fun and Cj did pretty good driving it for his first time.

Siem reap was next. A big city full of backpackers. Our hotel was good value as it was cheap and nice. I really liked Siem reap, it was a fun place. Our hotel was close to pub street so it was a good location. We went to loads of markets and 1 night out which was good. I challenged one of the cambodian locals dancing on pub street with a trick/dance off and i actually won by doing the moon walk and getting my cheer scorp out. 

We only managed 1 night out here because the 2 full on days we spent in Angkor wat (UNESCO world heritage site) were knackering. So much walking and climbing and we hired a tuk tuk tour guide for the 2 days, we were thinking to cycle and i am so glad we didn't. The temples are huge and the dotted around the acres of land everywhere. On the first day we got up at 4:30 am to see the sunrise which was actually really amazing. Then the 2nd day we saw the sunset. After Cambodia, i am definitely 'templed out' we must have visited about 10 temples including the one from tomb raider. 

Now, i am sitting in our hostel in our new destination Chiang Mai.

Scooters in Kampot Cham

We arrived in the afternoon at our next town along the Mekong river. Kampot Cham is the third largest city in Cambodia. However I wouldn't class this as a city. The area is off the tourist route and so has little to offer In terms of infrastructure. We loved this. It felt like a proper Cambodian town with cows roaming the streets and local markets and shops selling to the locals. It was definately cheaper here, as we found out when  buying fruit and petrol off the locals.

On our first day we arrived and we're starving. After checking into our hotel on the rivers edge, which has a huge balcony overlooking the river and sun set, we hit up one of the only restaurants open on the river front.

Here we met some of the nicest Cambodian people on our trip so far. They told us all the local places to go and how to get around including a hand written map. They even offered to rent us a scooter at a discounted rate. We spent £3 renting the scooter for the day. The owner even showed me how to ride it. With map in hand a my scooter skills being better than expected, we headed out into the Cambodian countryside.

The road rules are a little different here than what I'm used to. For a start everything is on the opposite side of the road. Always need to remember to have the road on my right and side! However this isn't always the case as the locals will drive on the left if it is quicker for them to do so! The general rule is to give way to bigger vehicles.  With buses ruling the roads. There arn't many cars to worry about and the scooters allow for easy movement between other traffic. The saving grace here is that the speed limits are so slow that you struggle to get over 25kph. Traffic is fun as it comes to a standstill when multiple people are heading in different directions, so roundabouts and cross roads are done at a snails pace with no indicators! I go with the local
rule that I'm heading in this direction and others will move around me. Suprisingly this organised chaos works very well, and we have yet to see any road incidents in Asia.

Once out of the city we head out to the countryside to see some mountains, temples and killing fields. Our first stop is an old watch tower looking over the city. Situated on the rivers edge it looks across the city and stands tall over the hand built houses below. Inside the tower is a near vertical staircase that takes you to the top. With only one bannister I was starting to get a bit of vertigo having only gone up the first set of stairs. Safe to say we didn't make it to the top, especially when the see through gaps in the stairs got bigger!

After taking a few photos we hit up a few temples in between two mountains, locally named man and women hill. The temple hosted loads of monkeys that were scrapping over food and causing mischief.  We could see the mountains on either side which hosted the killing fields for the local area. Covered in deep forest and mines we decided not to treck through.

We still had the scooter for the rest of the afternoon so drove along the rivers edge and out into the countryside. The houses got smaller and looked more rustic in the way they were built with local materials. We passed a few local schools and temples. The locals were very friendly as we drove through their villages, they waved and smiled and asked where we were from.

As the afternoon came to an end the petrol tank drained empty and the rain came down. We decided to head back and hand the scooter into our restaurant where we grabbed some dinner. We are packing our bags tonight as we heading on to our final stretch and destinantion in Cambodia. We are getting a bus to Siam Reap tomorrow and will be spending two days in the famous Angkor Wat temples.

Along the Mekong in Kampot

After a short 2 hour bus journey we found ourselves in the quaint river town of Kampot. We decided to do something different with our accommodation here and instead of the usual hostels we hit up a hippy set of bungalows on the rivers edge.

We had a garden bungalow that consisted of a bed, a thatched roof and a huge mosquito net. Our bed was above a pond and set amongst plants and trees. The bar and common area was afloat on the river and was super chilled all day and into the evening. There was a much older crowd here, with a lot of people having a mid life crisis as apposed to my quarter. The drugs on use here was pretty visible with everyone taking chilling out to the max! I even felt a bit over dressed with my western brands so changed into my hippy vest tops and embraced the growing of my beard over the next few days.

With time being so short in Cambodia we are having to cram a lot into two weeks. We had one and a half days to explore the town and local area. In the first afternoon we hit up the small town centre. Not a lot going on here other than fishing on the river. A lady at our hostel told us to hit up a cinema that shows Cambodian films and documentaries on its tragic past.  We booked ourself in to see the killing fields film, based on the true stories of two journalists, its worth a watch.

Our second day started early with breakfast on the river. We then caught a tour around the local Bankor mountain. We visited some old buildings up in the mountain where fighting took place between the Khemer Rouge and the Vietnamese.  Up in the mountainous building's clouds would roll in and cover the land so you couldn't see more than 30 ft in front of you. 

Once the clouds disappeared you are left with a fantastic view of the town and sorounding forest area, where gorilla fighting and mine plantation took place up until 1998.

That evening we took a sun set cruise up the Mekong river. We saw the local fishing boats come in as the sun disappeared behind the mountainous landscape. With another early start tomorrow we chilled by the river with a few beers as the communal air thickened with the taste of green smoke.

Coastal life in Cambodia

After leaving the capital early this morning we have arrived at the southern coastal town of Sihanoukville  bus only took 5 hours with only a few hair raising moments with local traffic. All part of the experience I guess.

Unfortunately we seemed to have hit a monsoon today, as it has not stopped raining since we awoke in the capital. As you can imagen the beach isn't the best place to be in the rain. The waves were choppy but we still ventured in to take a wave battering from the sea.

Along with the rain, our journey from the bus station to our beach resulted in us being dropped off at the wrong place. With no hostel and reluctant to get another tuk tuk we picked a local dorm near to where we dropped off. It's a shame as we had decided to stay on Otres beach, which is the nicer of those on offer. Still our accommodation was cheap and only a short walk to the bars and restaurants on the beach front.

In the evening the rain stopped so we had dinner and drinks on the beach as we watched locals and tourists set off fireworks and lanterns into the sea and nights sky.

The next day, not being deterred by yesterday's failure to get to the beach, we rented bikes and cycled a few miles down the road to Otres beach. After getting lost and doing a complete circle in the mangrove swamps we managed to find the beach. Here it is less crowded with no fireworks and hardly any people trying to flog sun glasses and braclets. The sun showed it's face in between showers so it made the day worthwhile as we enjoyed a few beers in the sun.

The evening consisted of dinner and drinks on the beach as we packed to head off to our third destination in 5 days.

Welcome to Cambodia

As our bus crossed the border we touched down in Cambodia. The landscape looks the same with broken roads and lush green fields as far as the eye could see. However as our journey continued we began to see that Cambodia was considerably poorer than its neighbour Vietnam. Dirt roads and abandoned half built buildings cut across the farming landscape.

As we approched the capital Phon Phem things started to look better. Tarmac on the roads and multi storey buildings became the norm. Our journey had begun as we checked into our hostel Mad Monkeys.

For those unaware of Cambodias past, it is an unforgiving mixture of mass genocide, deadily and unrealistic societical views wrapped up in a war torn region with wide spread poverty and political instability. 

To find out about Cambodias tragic past we visited a number of chilling museums. Our first stop was the killing fields. As we drove a tuk tuk out of the capital the roads became bumpy and the dust cloud grew stronger. As we emerged we could see the gates and entrance to the mass genocide ground. This was the final resting spot to thousands of Cambodia people. The leader at the time was killing off anyone who imposed his regime, had western influences, or simply lived in a city.

As we walked around the killing fields we were presented with mass graves where the rags, teeth and bones of men, women and children were left after their execution at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.

The audio guide told of the terrible ways in which innocent people were killed using farming instruments or even just battered against trees. In total 3 million died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. That's 1 in 4 of the population at the time...

As we left left the fields in silence we headed over to the notorious S21 prison.  This used to be a school but had been turned into a prison and torture chamber. As we walked through the school gates the prison is how it was left 30 or so years ago. Barb wire and blood on the walls and floor. The prison showcased very graphic photos of the torture that went on within these walls. In the individual cells you could see the blood stains on the walls and floor. You could sense the torture and pain that went on in these rooms. Only 7 people survived the torment that went on inside S21.

An emotional day to say the least. And to know this only happened a few decades ago makes it all the more real. With anyone over 30 in Cambodia having some direct involvement in the tragic yars under the Khmer Rouge rule. 

Despite the tragic past Cambodia has grown stronger and built itself up from its knees. With this we visited the Kings Palace, pogoda and markets to see how life was being rebuilt. The streets are busy and there is a definate city buzz as tuk tuks and scooters zig zag you across the city. The city is dirty and polluted, however the people and culture make this place an interesting and great place to stay. Down on the river by the night markets we ate with Cambodia families sampling some of their home cooked cuisine. 

Safe to say it's been an eye opener, but has only enthralled my desire to learn more about the past and explore this great country. Our next stop is by bus to the coastal town of Sihanoukville.