I've been fortunate enough to skive out of writing too many blogs, therefore its well over due that it is my turn to write a new blog for you all!
We arrived in Cambodia after day journey from Vietnam. The first part of the journey was comfortable , a excellent bus with air -con and all modern features. We were not so lucky during the second bus, it broke down and we was waiting for over an hour for it too fix. In the middle of the day, in the middle of the heat this is not something we was too happy about! Nevertheless we made it to our first destination in Cambodia Siam Reap.
We arrived in the evening, checked into our hotel, got some food and went to bed early so we could visit Angkor Wat the next morning :)
The next morning we rented a tuk-tuk to take us around to the 'best'four temples. The size of them was absolutely hugeeeee. James particularly enjoyed visiting the temple where 'Tomb Raider' starring Angelina Jolie was filmed. I on the other hand am 'Team Aniston' - therefore it was not that impressive ;) . It was fascinating to see one of the wonders of the world. It was a bit of a shame that due to the Cambodian civil war, some of the remains were left vandalised, however very impressive nonetheless!
After a long day we decided to head back to the hotel, catch some sleep and head to 'pub street' in the night. Pub street is basically what it says on the tin! Streets with pubs... a place where alcohol is cheaper than water, like a lot of South-East Asia it is far too tempting to give the alcohol a miss haha! We enjoyed a night looking around the night market and enjoying a few beverages or two!
There is not much else to do/see in Siem Reap other than the impressive temples, therefore we booked a bus to the next Town in Cambodia: Sihanoukville. We got the bus booked for 11.30pm , to save time by travelling through the night. As we had such a long wait, we decided to go the the war Museum for a few hours. We had a tour guide who had been a child soldier in the Cambodian civil war , forced to kill, and forced to watch all his family die. He was a very sad man, with a very interesting story. Although he seemed stern at the time, me and James felt like we was back at school when he was asking us questions that we did not know! He educated us to some extent on the war ,he was visibly moved by telling us his story. We felt very fortunate to be able to meet and hear his voice.
That night we bought a book for the journey to understand the war a little more. Our night bus came and we had a group of the most rudest people, I have ever come across, sitting just behind us. Loud, obnoxious and well just plain rude. I was glad when they knocked themselves out to sleep by taking Valium!
The journey was split into two buses, we had to get off at 6am and wait two hours for our next bus to arrive,which wasn't ideal, but standard for SE Asia! You can't complain too much, everyone is in the same boat!
We got to Sihanoukville during the after noon, found a reasonably cheap hotel to stay for the night. When arriving in the town, we did not expect it to be a ''party town'. Bars were everywhere and it soon became clear that this was not going to be an early night for either of us :) We went out to a bar, and in the bar stood a couple who we had met early on our travels in India! We all went out for the night and booked to go on the 'booze cruise'the following afternoon!
We went on the 'booze cruise'with the couple we had met in India and the friends that had met. All were very lovely and we all had a fun time on the boat! The weather was just right, not too hot! All in all it was a good day and we even got dinner at the end of it. Perfect after drinking for some several hours! :)
The next day was our anniversary! March 13th 2009- the day James came into my life and ruined it haha. Only joking. We decided to treat ourselves to a hotel with a pool and for dinner a bbq for 3 dollars! Very cheap and cheerful lol. We ended up renting a cinema room for a couple of hours and watching a film for only 4 dollars each! We watched 'life at 40' , a half decent film that made me laugh! We bought some pringles, cola bottles and spent the night at the cinema!
The next day, we stayed at the hotel and met a few people around the pool. We all went out for dinner & a few drinks in the evening. I feel like we have been so fortunate to meet the people we have whilst travelling. All have been welcoming and nice to us! Our final day was spent at the beach, we got a tuk tuk to it,It was a secluded beach and was very nice! There isn't much to see/do in Sihanoukville , we stayed for 5 nights, just eating and having fun! However it was time to leave and head to our final stop in Cambodia Phnom Penh!
We only had enough time to stay in Phnom Penh for just two nights, as we have a flight booked for Bangkok in the morning! (Can;t wait to head to all the beautiful Thai Islands)
Everyone comes to Phnom Penh to visit the killing fields and the war prison s-21. We have just come back from a all day visit to see both attractions '. S-21 was a old high school converted into a prison where they kept humans in such poor conditions and often beating and starving them to death. Out of some few thousands only 7 survived the harsh conditions. As the war only ended in the late 70s, you can still see blood stains from victims. You can walk around their cells and see the torture instruments they use to use on them to kill them. Human remains are still present at the site. It was a very moving place to visit. How anyone can inflict such misery on other humans is beyond me. Such a sad place to visit, yet a poignant memory to those who tragically lost their lives. The next stop was visiting the killing fields, this is the place the Cambodians use to take 'traitors'' too, to ultimately die. Anyone who was educated, a lawyer, teacher, soft hands, wore glasses and the disabled were instantly killed without a second thought. Those who had degrees, who had studied medicine were seen as a threat to the ÁNGKOR and were tortured to death. Many lied and said they were poor to avoid death, however almost a third of the entire population was murdered by their own government. Cambodians killing Cambodians, makes no sense at all too me! You take an audio tour around the killing fields , you see mass graves'; where the victims were killed then all hurdled together in a pit to rot to death. One thing that stood out to me was the 'killing tree' - a tree where they would hold a baby by his/her feet and whack them against it until they died. Absolutely horrific. No words can explain nor do these two places justice. It is something that you have to visit to comprehend yourself. Because the war is so recent, you can see bones lying on the ground with teeth coming out the mass graves. So sad to see, yet so interesting! Anyone wishing to visit Cambodia , should and must see this to understand the history, struggle and pain of the Cambodian people!
We are heading to back Bangkok tomorrow morning and have a flight booked for 8.45am. We are both looking forward to heading to the Thai islands for the 'full moon party' .
Cambodia has been a very special place to visit/see , however we are both looking forward to our next adventure!
Georgia and James
xxxx
We arrived in Cambodia after day journey from Vietnam. The first part of the journey was comfortable , a excellent bus with air -con and all modern features. We were not so lucky during the second bus, it broke down and we was waiting for over an hour for it too fix. In the middle of the day, in the middle of the heat this is not something we was too happy about! Nevertheless we made it to our first destination in Cambodia Siam Reap.
We arrived in the evening, checked into our hotel, got some food and went to bed early so we could visit Angkor Wat the next morning :)
The next morning we rented a tuk-tuk to take us around to the 'best'four temples. The size of them was absolutely hugeeeee. James particularly enjoyed visiting the temple where 'Tomb Raider' starring Angelina Jolie was filmed. I on the other hand am 'Team Aniston' - therefore it was not that impressive ;) . It was fascinating to see one of the wonders of the world. It was a bit of a shame that due to the Cambodian civil war, some of the remains were left vandalised, however very impressive nonetheless!
After a long day we decided to head back to the hotel, catch some sleep and head to 'pub street' in the night. Pub street is basically what it says on the tin! Streets with pubs... a place where alcohol is cheaper than water, like a lot of South-East Asia it is far too tempting to give the alcohol a miss haha! We enjoyed a night looking around the night market and enjoying a few beverages or two!There is not much else to do/see in Siem Reap other than the impressive temples, therefore we booked a bus to the next Town in Cambodia: Sihanoukville. We got the bus booked for 11.30pm , to save time by travelling through the night. As we had such a long wait, we decided to go the the war Museum for a few hours. We had a tour guide who had been a child soldier in the Cambodian civil war , forced to kill, and forced to watch all his family die. He was a very sad man, with a very interesting story. Although he seemed stern at the time, me and James felt like we was back at school when he was asking us questions that we did not know! He educated us to some extent on the war ,he was visibly moved by telling us his story. We felt very fortunate to be able to meet and hear his voice.
That night we bought a book for the journey to understand the war a little more. Our night bus came and we had a group of the most rudest people, I have ever come across, sitting just behind us. Loud, obnoxious and well just plain rude. I was glad when they knocked themselves out to sleep by taking Valium!
The journey was split into two buses, we had to get off at 6am and wait two hours for our next bus to arrive,which wasn't ideal, but standard for SE Asia! You can't complain too much, everyone is in the same boat!
We got to Sihanoukville during the after noon, found a reasonably cheap hotel to stay for the night. When arriving in the town, we did not expect it to be a ''party town'. Bars were everywhere and it soon became clear that this was not going to be an early night for either of us :) We went out to a bar, and in the bar stood a couple who we had met early on our travels in India! We all went out for the night and booked to go on the 'booze cruise'the following afternoon!
We went on the 'booze cruise'with the couple we had met in India and the friends that had met. All were very lovely and we all had a fun time on the boat! The weather was just right, not too hot! All in all it was a good day and we even got dinner at the end of it. Perfect after drinking for some several hours! :)
The next day was our anniversary! March 13th 2009- the day James came into my life and ruined it haha. Only joking. We decided to treat ourselves to a hotel with a pool and for dinner a bbq for 3 dollars! Very cheap and cheerful lol. We ended up renting a cinema room for a couple of hours and watching a film for only 4 dollars each! We watched 'life at 40' , a half decent film that made me laugh! We bought some pringles, cola bottles and spent the night at the cinema!
The next day, we stayed at the hotel and met a few people around the pool. We all went out for dinner & a few drinks in the evening. I feel like we have been so fortunate to meet the people we have whilst travelling. All have been welcoming and nice to us! Our final day was spent at the beach, we got a tuk tuk to it,It was a secluded beach and was very nice! There isn't much to see/do in Sihanoukville , we stayed for 5 nights, just eating and having fun! However it was time to leave and head to our final stop in Cambodia Phnom Penh!
We only had enough time to stay in Phnom Penh for just two nights, as we have a flight booked for Bangkok in the morning! (Can;t wait to head to all the beautiful Thai Islands)
Everyone comes to Phnom Penh to visit the killing fields and the war prison s-21. We have just come back from a all day visit to see both attractions '. S-21 was a old high school converted into a prison where they kept humans in such poor conditions and often beating and starving them to death. Out of some few thousands only 7 survived the harsh conditions. As the war only ended in the late 70s, you can still see blood stains from victims. You can walk around their cells and see the torture instruments they use to use on them to kill them. Human remains are still present at the site. It was a very moving place to visit. How anyone can inflict such misery on other humans is beyond me. Such a sad place to visit, yet a poignant memory to those who tragically lost their lives. The next stop was visiting the killing fields, this is the place the Cambodians use to take 'traitors'' too, to ultimately die. Anyone who was educated, a lawyer, teacher, soft hands, wore glasses and the disabled were instantly killed without a second thought. Those who had degrees, who had studied medicine were seen as a threat to the ÁNGKOR and were tortured to death. Many lied and said they were poor to avoid death, however almost a third of the entire population was murdered by their own government. Cambodians killing Cambodians, makes no sense at all too me! You take an audio tour around the killing fields , you see mass graves'; where the victims were killed then all hurdled together in a pit to rot to death. One thing that stood out to me was the 'killing tree' - a tree where they would hold a baby by his/her feet and whack them against it until they died. Absolutely horrific. No words can explain nor do these two places justice. It is something that you have to visit to comprehend yourself. Because the war is so recent, you can see bones lying on the ground with teeth coming out the mass graves. So sad to see, yet so interesting! Anyone wishing to visit Cambodia , should and must see this to understand the history, struggle and pain of the Cambodian people!
We are heading to back Bangkok tomorrow morning and have a flight booked for 8.45am. We are both looking forward to heading to the Thai islands for the 'full moon party' .
Cambodia has been a very special place to visit/see , however we are both looking forward to our next adventure!
Georgia and James
xxxx
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