Colourful Cambodia

Admittedly, I only had limited time to discover the 'newest' country in SE Asia, but it was seven sweat-saturated days filled with heartache, history and hangovers. In many ways, Cambodia is similar to Vietnam - a bit like its little brother - a sibling fighting its way out of troubled childhood. Like Vietnam it presents a happy face sitting on a heavy heart. In contrast to the physical remnants of the country's recent past, there was very little in the people to remind you of it. Full of hope and entrepreneurial spirit, seemingly sponsored by the Honda motorbike - people were helpful, friendly and spoke surprisingly good English. Maybe its their way of dealing with the almost 3 million deaths that came from the Khmer Rouge regime.

After a short 6 hour ride from Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh beckoned and I had flashback visions of Vientiane in my head and as such, had devised some plans for keeping myself busy for two days with blog writing and photo editing. Most gratefully I was surprised. It's a small, but vibrant young capital city, chock-a-block with stunning temples and pagodas. Its easy to grab a beer, some street food and even a haircut (yes, it was somewhat overdue). I even found a group of dancing locals in the evening on the river front (see new videos on the blog soon), which was… well, better see it for yourself!

So despite the dazzling allure of the Silver Pagoda and the Royal Palace, I had to ration my short time here. That meant I was heading for the reminders of the Khmer Rouge's tyranny, fully aware that I would have a truly awful day. And it didn't disappoint. After literally five whole minutes cruising around on my shiny (pink!) rented scooter, I was pulled over by Cambodia's finest and informed that I was to pay a US$50 fine for not having a local license. After (a LOT) of argui.. er, discussion and me offering my arms for handcuffs and imprisonment, I relented and coughed up US$5 for a "some water" for the boys in blue on a mesmerizingly hot day. Later in the day, I also spent about an hour sitting around two most beautifully architected petrol stations waiting for a torrential downpour to dissipate - cultural experience, as they say.

And those were my problems , the rest of the day belonged to the problems of the Cambodians. I started at the S21 "prison", a truly ghastly place filled with haunting portrait photos of all those poor souls that spent time there, not knowing when death would finally come. In fact, the S21 prison looked so normal, so much like my old school, it reminded me of some of my own nightmares - none of which were as bad as the reality here. Countless people tortured and disposed of (at the Killing Fields), for such treachery as literacy, wearing glasses, or speaking other languages. It saddened me to the extent where I lost faith in the nature of human beings - no amount of abuse as a child could have contrived this.

Things didn't get much better in the afternoon with a trip out to Choeung Ek (the infamous Killing Fields). I haven't been to the Nazi concentration camps in Europe, but on all accounts there is a similar chill to the site. It hangs with death. Its eerie and in true Cambodian style, its in your face. You start out by visiting the Buddhist stupa erected there as a memorial, filled with the remains of some 5000 human beings, their clothes strewn across the bottom floor and skulls on the shelves above. All in all it's a harrowing experience, but educational in ways you can't imagine without having been there. Im no activist or politician, but that can simply never happen again.

On a more exciting note, I couldn't actually leave the site, since the nice people at the motorbike rental place gave me the wrong key for my giant padlock that I studiously clamped to the brake pad of the front wheel. After an hour, 3 security guards, 4 tuk-tuk drivers, one mechanic, 2 hack saw blades and numerous random children, I was free to ride the wind back to the cocoon of the 21st century and peace.

And with a huge sigh of relief and weight off my shoulders I headed to Siem Reap - on the LOUDEST karaoke bus of all time. No matter, at the end of the line was a hostel awaiting, with indoor pool, bar, cinema screen and air-con. I don't know why I keep mentioning air-con, since every single minute of every day I was in SE Asia, I was pouring with sweat…

Siem Reap was a very different and very enjoyable experience. It was filled with friends, good times, serious touristing, photography and a not-inconsiderable amount of Cambodian beer. See, it seems like a good idea to travel with a friend, but that means its always "beer?" time - thanks Harro! Now totalling a whopping 9 countries we have been in together, it was good to be with someone I knew, and knew me just as well! We weren't left to our own devices however, it was a convenient place to bump into "the German" (who I now know is called Matt, whom I had bumped into on numerous occasions throughout Vietnam and Cambodia), his friend and Susan on her frightenly whirlwind tour of the country. Plus, lets not forget the (seemed like) unlimited foreign volunteers at Temple Bar and Angkor What - I blame them and the 50c beer for all my Cambodian hangovers.

But, we were all really there for one reason only. Well, that one reason turned out to be two reasons - judging by the sheer number of people at the sunset and sunrise spots at Angkor Wat, you would wonder if there is anyone who hasn't actually been there yet. Angkor is a sprawling complex of temples, currently being eaten by the jungle for afternoon tea. Luckily for us, we had a trusty guide named Leng to show us around, fill us with "cold water" and keep trying to invite us to a cultural dinner. It was no playground though: days filled with eternal sunshine hovering around 40°C, walking for hours, scaling unclimable staircases, fending off "cold water" sellers, hanging around for sunset, getting up at 4.45am for sunrise, and waiting for Japanese tourists to b***** off so you can finally get that shot. What makes Angkor truly magnificent is the fact that at every turn, on these daunting and long days, you will find inspiration to fascinate you and keep you going. I think its different for everyone, but each person will find something in the architecture, the history, the legend and myth, the postcard views and jungle to make it a memorable experience. For me, it was the synergy of crumbling buildings and crawling jungle - how the best (Angkor was one of the largest urban settlements in the world at the time) of human endeavour is eventually eaten up by nature, consumed back into its belly for eternity. How glad I am that we had the chance to see this place in its glorious state of change.