Phnom Penh, Capital of Cambodia, start of November!!!!

All righty then!

Think we left you with tales of our relaxing time spent drinking 'Angkor' beer - named after the infamous Angkor Wat city of ruins - in hammocks and watching dvds in the common bean bag area with fellow backpackers at our new favourite hostel by the lake! Arrived late thurs night and hooked up with our friends from the mekong trip, Emily, 29 from London been travelling on her home for 50 weeks and is due home soon, and Erran from America, our age, and got rather drunk! Was rather nice to have female company for a change, and not having to listen to bloody football chats with Chris and other the lads (the same speil; hiya mate who do u support? oh yeh, were doing really well at the mo! what, when's that match happened?!) Chris didn't mind either though.

Rooms are cheap, 2 quid for the pair of us, but are revolting!!!! Beds are okay, but really dark rooms with a bathroom that's partitioned off with a foot gap near the ceiling. Toilet would definately lose in a competition against a local cambodian squatting loo! After the 1st night we moved rooms - awoke early with a hangover and the pungent smell of sewer floating around our heads!! Even the hostels air freshener (obv. a popular complaint) only musked it for 5mins after using a full can. We then realised that the loo wasn't even piped in, was just sat over a hole in the floor. Quite wobbly if sat on when drunk I found, but forgot about by the next morning when sober. The next room was better, still cold shower...........but hey, were in Cambodia!

Enough about the accomodation! WE'RE HAVING A BALL!!!!! Absolutely thoroughly adore Cambodia!!!! The people are great, really happy and smiley, and speak really good English which is suprising! All the local kids wave and say hello like ur famous, and u dont get haggled over money like in Vietnam which is nice. The place is still quite untouched which is great, a real natural back packing trip! Despite the pizza and chips n gravy u can eat at the hostel! I know! We couldn't believe it either!

ANYWAY!!! After a days rest (well deserved after the three 6am get ups with the mighty mekong trip) we set out after brekkie at 10.30am and headed with our new found female friends to visit the Killing Fields. Didn't bother with an organised trip, was easier, quicker and cheaper to get a tuk tuk (OH YES - THE TUK TUK'S ARE BACK!!!) and paid just $3 each return (a quid 50) for the 20min journey out of town. Was a really hot day and quite sad too - we paid for an english-speaking guide to take us around the killing fields and explain everything. It's only a small place, I've seen the film with me dad and kinda expected it to be like that with loadsa fields not just one...but that's probably a good thing cos if it was any bigger then the death toll would out-do Hitler's genecide if it hasn't already. Gunna pass u to Chris now cos he's better at this stuff! No, I do listen....just cant remember as well as he does (the geek).

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Chris here now. Hello everyone....... Was a really informative day however the history of Cambodia is bloody horrible! When the Khmer Rouge took over - lead by Pol Pot (see, Chris IS a loser! As if he even remembers the incy wincy bits of info that I dont even recall the guide mentioning! It was too sunny for me I think) - he decided to torture and then kill all the intellects of the country, as he felt threatened by all those who were educated and feared a revolution! The particular killing field we visited was the largest in Cambodia, with up to 8000 bodies found and still more around the area, but there are hundreds of smaller fields around the country! The bodies of those found were preserved in a tall building just outside the field itself and was treat with the same respect as temples we have visited to ensure respects are given to those who died! When we walked around the killing fields themselves the guide explained about the different graves, including the largest which originally contained over 850 bodies!! The prisoners were mostly executed using clubs and sharp bamboo leaves for beheading, as bullets were too expensive to use, and infants and children were swung against trees!! As it says in the monument, Cambodia's history includes some of the darkest moments known in human history!!!

Chris can quote that because he remembers it all. Sorry - this is serious stuff I know!

After lunch, all 4 of us took our tuk tuk back to the city centre to visit the prison which people were taken to before they were eventually executed at the killing fields. The prison was originally a school, but was transformed when the Khmer Rouge took over in order to detain and interrogate those captured for information on the whereabouts of friends and family! This really was a horrible place, the cells were pretty much intact - and were tiny, and in the other building there were photo's and instruments used during torture (mostly comprised of farming tools)! Again this place had an eerie feel to it as it was used for horrific means, so we had a look around and got out quickly, as although its interesting, it's not too pleasant being stood where people have suffered!!

Once we had left the museum of Phnom Penh we headed to the local market - known as the Russian market as Russian soldiers shopped there when they were here - to pick up some bits and bobs. I REALLY didn't know that Chris! I just called it that cos u did. As if! Debs, ur a nightmare! How do u do it?! You're just stumbling urself around the world aren't u! Anyway.... Absolutely crazy place, it was heaving and we got pulled this way and that. Managed to pick up some new cheap t-shirts and stuff and then headed back to the hotel for a nap and then a few beverages!! Ended up being another big night as its impossible not to get chatting at this hostel. Got up the next day and literally did nothing but play pool, watch films and generally slob with a hangover for the full day and got an early night as we were heading to Ban Lung in the Rattankiri province the next day and we were up at 5am!!!!

Catch u later!!!

Lots of Love, Us

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