First of all - apologies, I am a little behind on the blog entries! It has been a busy busy few weeks, what with all the moving around, battling colds and planning our next few steps! We should be back up to speed soon! Anyway, enough of my rambling...here is the next juicy instalment...

Cambodia - The journey to Phnom Penh

We depart Ho Chi Minh on board a "luxury bus", unsure of what to expect. We are pleasantly surprised, no sooner have we sat down are we presented with a food box containing 2 pastries and a bottle of water - not bad. The weather has taken a turn for the worse and by this point it is raining. As we set off on our journey, Andy and I are still amazed by the motorcycling conditions, especially with the additional hazard of rain now! It's hard to believe we didn't see anyone skidding or colliding.

Once we reach the border with Cambodia, we all have to get off the bus to arrange our exit from Vietnam. The bus attendant has all our passports and we are ushered into the immigration building. With no further directions on where to go/what to do, our bus group stands en masse, trying to understand this disorganised system. It would seem the immigration officers are calling people's names, but there seems to be no logical order? As name after name is called, we soon realise there is a system of sorts. Basically, if you have a Vietnamese passport you push to the front of all the queues, and have your visa arranged first. (Regardless of how long the other (foreign) people have been waiting). Eventually, we are left with an American family and some people from Malaysia. It certainly looks like there are some 'suspect' discussions between locals and the officials, as many people are seen reaching over into the officers' booth, and placing bundles of passports on their desks (we assume containing money also?). Of course, Andy and I are the last 2 people left standing in the waiting area. Eventually when I am called, it is fairly straight forward - I just step forward, collect my passport and have the visa checked by another officer. For Andy, they seem to be somewhat more hostile....intent on checking his passport more thoroughly and making him wait longer! Not the nicest memory of Vietnam to be left with.

The fun and games don't end there. After moving a short distance in the bus, we must disembark again to arrange our Cambodia visa. Again, there is no real organisation in the process. We stand, looking very lost until eventually we are called to a booth to be seen. Andy is luckier this time and manages to get the one friendly, smiling official. I draw the short straw this time; the guy looks at me as if I have just ruined his day! Fortunately this stage of the process is a little quicker. We simply have to fill in a health questionnaire, get zapped on the forehead with an electronic gun (do I have a barcode hidden there somewhere?) and get back on board the bus! We are relieved when the whole rigmarole is over!

Onwards to Phnom Penh! One final, brief stop at a food hut (Andy and I, along with quite a few others, remain on board the bus. The getting on/off visa process was enough for us to stretch our legs!)

On arrival at the bus stop, we are relieved to see a smiling young chap with a sign "Mr Bennett - Manor Guest House". He directs us over to his tuk tuk and off we go. Our first impressions are that it is nowhere near as chaotic as Vietnam. Yes, there are still cars and mopeds aiming directly at you when you cross the road, but it looks allot more achievable that you will make it to the other side. The guesthouse is really lovely! A beautiful garden at the front, super clean and tidy, really friendly staff and a perfect room! We think we'll be comfortable here.

We venture out in search of some food and are surprised to find that the places nearby are quite expensive (ok, in comparison to the UK it is still incredibly cheap, but relative to Vietnam and Bangkok, it is considerably more.) We settle on a Thai dinner. As we sit back and enjoy our meal, we are surprised to see a large number of westerners around. Most of them don't look like travellers, more like residents of the area. There definitely seems to be a strong ex-pat presence.

Our plan for the following day was to visit some of the sites of Phnom Penh itself. Unfortunately the weather forecast was heavy rain, but the start of the day was nice and clear. Our first stop would be the royal palace. On the way, we discover a fantastic charity shop that supports local young women, giving them the opportunity to learn arts and crafts, such as quilt making, in order to help them earn money. Such a worthwhile cause - and the items they have made are absolutely beautiful, such talent and skill is involved!
On arriving at the palace, we are disappointed to see that it will be closing in 20 mins for the lunch recess. We jump into a tuk tuk and head to the central market instead. After a brief walk around...the rain started, so we decided to grab some lunch in the hope the rain would soon ease. Stopping at the garden cafe (the first thing Andy notices - a guy in there wearing a Man City shirt!) which is decorated with a fantastic selection of old retro posters, we watched as the rain became heavier and heavier, it became apparent that there wasn't going to be any let up! We would just have to get wet.

We jumped in a tuk tuk for the very short distance to Wat Phnom (anything to try and stay a little dry) and ran up to the temple (being careful not to slip on the many steps) Looking back down we could see there was an elephant at the bottom! Quite a surreal sight. The temple was beautifully decorated, with intricate paintings on the walls and ceiling. By this time, the palace had re-opened so we made our way back over. By the time we arrived, it had turned to torrential rain! Any efforts to remain remotely dry were abandoned, we just accepted that we would be soaking wet for the rest of the day.

Once we bought our entrance tickets, we were a little disappointed at the lack of information about the palace buildings provided (In comparison to the palace visit in Bangkok) As with the other temples and palaces we have visited, we are in awe of the intricacy, detail and standard of the artwork on these buildings. It is just unfathomable how long and how much dedication was required to complete each piece. Parts of the compound actually form the residence for King Sihamoni, therefore are closed to the public. One of the most impressive buildings was the Silver Pagoda, the floor of which is covered with 5 tonnes of gleaming silver. Although most of them are covered with carpet to protect them, we are given a glimpse at the entrance, where part of the carpet has been taken up. Each tile is embossed with a design. Very impressive! Competing with the flooring, in terms of impressiveness is the life size, solid gold Buddha, weighing 90kg and adorned with 2086 diamonds (the largest one is 25 carats). Oh how I love diamonds! Unfortunately photography wasn't permitted inside this pagoda....so my written descriptions will have to suffice!

Feeling we have exhausted all the items on our agenda for the day, we return to our guesthouse for a much needed hot shower! Reluctant to head back out into the rain, we take a recommendation from the guesthouse owner for an Indian take away around the corner - and they deliver, bonus! Well, it put take-aways back home to shame. Coming in at a fraction of the cost, we would go as far as to say, it is one of the best Indian dinners we have EVER had. Not only do we receive the 2 main dishes, portions of rice and naan breads we ordered, but also, poppadoms, a selection of dips, a variety of vegetable accompaniments oh and the portions are HUGE! What a feast, an Ankor Beer finished off the meal perfectly.

Our plans for the following day were sure to be exhausting both physically and emotionally. Our guesthouse have organised a tuk tuk driver for the day - our first stop will be the Genocide Museum (Tuol Sleng Museum), situated at S-21, a former school (Tuol Svey Prey High School) that was used as a prison from 1975 onwards, under the terror regime of Pol Pot

Our time here included watching a short film about a love story that spanned the time of the regime. It is heartbreaking to listen to the accounts of what life was like at the time. Used as the largest detention and torture centre at the time, almost all the inmates held here were executed at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. The images placed around the museum are shocking and upsetting. Despite this, it is useful in understanding the terror this country has had to endure and the effect of this on its current situation. It is hard to imagine the atrocities that occurred not only at this prison, but throughout the country. To follow up on our museum visit, we were then taken to "The Killing Fields" at Choeung Ek. The journey is interesting as firstly you pass through Phnom Penh town, all dusty roads - churned up as you whizz along in the tuk tuk, you resort to grappling around for anything you can put over your mouth to filter out some of the dust (and cup your hands around the outside edges of your sunglasses to protect your eyes!), but eventually the buildings surrounding the roads lessen, becoming more wooden-shack like, interspersed with rice paddy fields. The living conditions are shockingly basic and the amount of pollution surrounding each home is unbelievable. It is safe to say the plastic bag is one of mankind's worst ever inventions. If you are in doubt of this...please just visit this area. Despite all this, and hard for us westerners to understand, every face you see looks content and happy, each child laughing and smiling.

On reaching Choeung Ek, our driver directs us to the entrance. Immediately our attention is drawn by a large memorial directly in front of us. We firstly visit the memorial rooms which illustrate the story of the Khmer Rouge regime, highlighting the key characters in this heart breaking piece of history. It is so hard to digest the information we read, especially when accompanied by unearthed clothing, including a baby's shawl, jewellery and other belongings found amongst the mass graves. Particularly difficult to read is the information regarding how these poor people were killed and the skulls which act as evidence of the methods used. We then visit the large memorial; our first sight upon entering. This white stupa (religious monument) is a memorial to the 17,000 men, women and children who were murdered here between mid 1975 and December 1978. Encased within the stupa are approximately 9000 skulls, found during excavations in the mid 1980's. Chilling to see, there is a strange serene atmosphere surrounding the stupa. You just want to wish peace upon all the traumatised souls. Walking amongst the grounds of Choeung Ek, clothing and human bones still poke out from the earth, a constant reminder of the terrible actions that took place here. On departing Choeung Ek, we are shocked to notice there is a primary school alongside the killing fields....as if portraying the past and future of the country. There is hope for the future generations. The visit to the museum is vital in understanding the killing fields (understanding is not really the right word, as I don't know how anyone can understand how humans could treat fellow humans in this way...) and puts this horrific chunk of history into context. Although it was deeply upsetting to visit these two places, we think it is important to be aware of what the country has been through, as almost everyone within the country has been affected by what happened, in the not so distant past.

Our afternoon's activity was a great deal more light-hearted - a trip to the Russian Market or rather Psar Tuol Tom Pong. (It came to be known as the Russian market in the mid 1980's when the majority of its' visitors were, you guessed it, Russian!)
When we stopped for lunch, Andy decided to try a much raved about local dish named "Amok". Well, we are no Cambodian cuisine connoisseurs, but we know a Thai green curry when we see one, and that is definitely what we got. Unsure of how to broach the subject with the restaurant "erm, hello Cambodian waitress, I as an Englishman with no experience of real Cambodian cuisine, don't think this is a real Amok" hmm...no, I don't think that will go down too well. So, Andy decided to just lump it. Never mind - it was a nice green curry!

For our final night in Phnom Penh, we recruited our lovely tuk tuk driver from earlier and had him take us to the "Boat House Noodle Restaurant" nearby. As he dropped us off, he suggested that we should call him when we finished and he would collect us. Unfortunately we don't have a Cambodian mobile sim card and tried to explain this to him. Unsure of whether he understood...we couldn't work out why he started rummaging in his bag......until he produced a mobile phone and handed it to us! "I have spare, I have spare" he exclaimed whilst beaming at us! No sooner had we taken the mobile phone, had he handed us his business card! Well, this really is first class service. Off he rode, a big smile on his face and off we trotted, an equally big smile for us!

A delicious dinner, whilst seated upon a traditional raised platform (although this served for an authentic experience, Andy and I have come to the conclusion we simply can't digest our food when seated like this!) finished off our stay in Phnom Penh wonderfully. (Oh and our tuk tuk driver collected us as promised - brilliant!)
Our stay here has been a real eye opener. We have encountered such friendly and helpful people, which seems even more amazing given what we learnt about the country's history on our final day. Tourism certainly doesn't seem to have encompassed the area fully and it is easy to stray from the well trodden tourist path...now we are curious to see how Siem Reap compares....