Cambodia

So we were in Bangkok ready for the border crossing to cambodia which we had heard really bad things about, including the conspiracy that Bangkok airways were paying the Cambodian government to keep the road to Siem Reap unsealed to encourage people to fly!! But when we saw the flights were $150 for only a 50 min flight we realised flying wasn't an option!



It was an early start at 6:30am we jumped on a minibus and were on there for about 4 hours. We stopped at a small place which included a resturant and were asked to fill out forms for our Cambodian visa. And also hand over our passports and money for the visas!! Obviously being weary of everyone in Asia we were a little reluctant but everyone was doing it we didn't have much choice! So after some fried rice with vegetables for lunch we headed for the border! Luckily when we got there we were handed our passports with the visas inside and were thankfully chaparoned through the very hectic crossing! At one point we had to stop and something was held to my head which I swear looked like the shape of a gun but it turned out to only be a thermometer to check you for swine flu! So I felt very stupid when I was trying to dodge it afterwards! Many passport checks later we were at the otherside and realised all the other travellers we wearing a sticker which meant they would get a taxi to siem reap which took 2 hours instead of the 4 on the bus!! We enquired and being that money solves all problems in asia before we knew it we were in a taxi!!





During the taxi ride we managed to get stopped by the police!! Not really sure why as the driver didn't speak a word of english but he seemed a bit worried when he had to get out and speak to the police but luckily it seemed to be no problem and we were on our way! We reached what seemed like a dirt track and soon realised this was where the canadian girls we were sharing the taxi with were staying!! At $15 a night it was pushing our now cheap budget so got on a tuk tuk to another hotel we'd heard of!! We got to a point on the tuk tuk where the driver got stuck and turned out we were stuck in the road made of sand!! So he asked us nicely (in his limited english) to step off the tuk tuk so he could push it through the sand!! So it was an eventful journey to a very nice guesthouse!!





After the daily standard nap we headed into town to have some dinner. We got another Tuk Tuk into town and were asked by the tuk tuk driver what time did we want picking up so told him the time!!We walked around and eventually found a mexican restaurant who were selling tacos for a dollar and beer at 50 cent so that sold it to us!! A couple of 50 cent beers later we were picked up by our tuk tuk driver and headed home!!





The following day we were introduced to another tuk tuk driver who would take us round for the day. He asked us if we wanted to go to a war musuem so we said yes not really having a lot of choice as he was already on the way. We turned up to what was not our idea of a musuem being that it was just a field with tanks etc in it. We didn't really know what to expect but we were introduced to a guide who showed us round. He talked to us more about the war but also his story in that he had lost all of his family when he was four, along with 3 fingers and still had shrapnell in his face from a land mine. Extremely shocked by his story we were very quiet for the rest of the tour and when asked if we wanted to take photos of the guns used in the war we declined!

After a very emotional but informative morning we headed back to town for lunch and then onto the market. Yet another shock was the street children trying to sell you things like postcards. It broke my heart when a little girl of only about 7 or 8 kept following me trying to get me to buy her postcards. But we were told not to give the street children money as it would encourage their parents to keep sending them out to work. Other children would come up to us and ask us where we were from and once we said UK they would reel off lots of facts about the UK including the population and the prime ministers going all the way back to Margaret Thatcher ( i think they knew more than me!)



After buying a couple of items in the market including a North Face rucksack for Nic.Later that day we headed to Angkor Wat at around 6 to to see the sunset. After about an hour we were shued from the temples and unfortunately didn't get to see the sunset because of the cloud cover. That evening we headed for dinner but felt the $1 tacos were too good to resist so went back to the same mexican restaurant as the night before!! We then enjoyed some 50 cent beers with the Candian girls we shared the taxi with from Bangkok. Then to our surprise they were showing cricket on the tv and it turned out to be the last test of the ashes. So we sat down and the candidan girls were a little confused as to what the game was and the importance of it but luckily as it got late we headed back and watched england win the ashes in the comfort of our hotel room.



Our Tuk tuk driver was trying to persuade to go to Angkor Wat for sunrise but knowing how both Nic and I liked our sleep we declined his offer!! We were still at the temples by 8:30am and even then it was in the sweltering heat and it can be safe to say that we sweated all day long!! The temples were very impressive and Lara Croft Tomb Raider was filmed in one of the temples we visited. After a tasy fried rice and vegetables and yet another spicy meal for Nic we headed back for another standard nap!! That evening was the last night in Siem Reap and we enjoyed yet some more 50 cent beers and it's embarressing to say but we did go back to the same mexican restaurant but luckily there was two so we didn't look stupid to the staff and in our defence we hadn't had mexican food in a long time! We had another evening with our candian friends before saying goodbye!

The following morning we got on a bus to Phom Penn the capital of Cambodia. Cambodians definately don't pay road tax as it was a very bumpy journey. The Michael Jackson craze has even hit South East Asia and we were treated to a concert of his on the tv on the bus!!

Once again we arrived in Phom Penn not having a clue where we were in the city but having checked the map we took off walking to look for a hotel. All the hotels quoted us a lot more than we hoped and after being following for about 15 mins by a tuk tuk driver we caved in and jumped on the back and he took us to the backpacker area. We arrived and were shown to a guesthouse which was described as having lakeside views! They were right that we could see the lake but the lake was muddy and full of rubbish and definately not one of the best views we've seen. We were shown to a room and at first glance it seemed ok but later that night we realised why it was only $5 as there was holes in the floor, the fan barely worked properly and the toilet didn't have a flush! We only stayed there one night before moving to another guesthouse which probably wasn't much better but had to do. The next day we went to yet another market and purchased lots of really cheap dvd's and we also spent another day visiting the killing fields and having watched the film the night before I understood about the war in Cambodia a lot more. The killing fields was yet another emotional experience so we didn't do much more that day.

On a lighter note our tuk tuk driver asked if we wanted to go visit S21 a musuem further about the cambodian war but I misheard him and when he asked "do you now want to go to S21" my reply was "oh no I'm 22!" Nic found this hilarious at the time and insisted on telling everyone we met about my mix up!!

After a couple of days in Phom Penn it was again time to move on. Next stop was Vietnam!!

Hope all is well!

Lots of love

Jen and Nic

xxxxxxx