| Cambodia I am in Cambodia - it was a hellish, long uncomfy ride here. The Mekong Delta rtip wasn't that good - the only good things were seeing the floating houses and the minority Islam folks with their Mosques. We waited at the border for about 1.5hrs for folks to get visas/people to sort themselves out and various other stuff. WE then drove the last 1.5hrs to Phnom Penh. Staying at No 9 GH by the lake - which is in a great location as there is loads of backpacker type shops/restaurants here but far out of town. I was recommended this place by a girl I met in Nepal. Last nite after arriving and showering, I walked out my hotel and bumped into the German couple I was travelling with in Burma for a while...very strange! They are heading into Laos across the border which I was told is unsafe/closed - but there is 5 of them, so its maybe safer! So we chatted over dinner last nite. Food here is way more pricey than nam - more than double, about $2-3!! In my room last nite I had some furry mates you were playing up at 5am...I told them to shhh!... Must be one of the yuckiest GH I have stayed in, in Asia! This morning I went to the travel agency, but I couldn't find it. I did find all the UN offices - Unesco/UNDP/UNP and some others as well as the heavily fortified US Embassy! I eventually gave up and found the Lao Avaotion office. They had some flights for me for $150!! Way cheaper than i was told! So I dashed on a moto to the bank, only to be told that I am not me, cos my signature is different to the ones on my TC's despite them having my passport in front of them. So after it was verifired by the big man, I got my cash and booked the flight. Leaving Siem Reap on Sat 3.30pm to Vientiene Via Pakse. Leaving Vientiene on 25th for Luang Prabang. My thinking is that I will spent a day looking around Vientiene, then head up north and work my way down over 2 weeks. From Vientiene I can catch a night train to BKK. So i have only 5 days here, which given the cost, I am happy about! I wondered round town for a bit then headed to the Royal Palace. They had the swearing in ceremony of the new Govt, so there was a lot of decoration happening, plus it shut at 3pm. It was quite nice, similair to BKK. There are loads of Westerners here - its quite surprising. The UN must have loads of staff here! Meeting my mates later for some pizza, then in the morning I am heading to the killing fields. I have booked my ferry to Siem Reap for Thurs am, so its operations all go here! So today I went to the Killing fields - loads of dug up mass graves which still have bones and clothes in them. AS you walk round you are walking on bones and u end up kicking teeth that are loose on the ground. There was a 17 storey tower with skulls in the middle...not much fun! Went with the German couple which was good though, but they kept on coomparing it to the German genocide! Went to the torture chamber after, S21, is where the political enemies/intellectuals and folks wearing glasses were tortured... Nasty place, with some shocking fotos and cells... Last nite, I went out for some happy pizza. Met the guys and we chatted over some beers and delish pizza! We then went to a couple of other bars where there many hostess girls... We then headed to the heart of darkness bar that is popular with travellers. We sat down in the corner and chatted. A French guy who lives there, was telling us of moto drivers who shoot their customers if they short change them. The table next to us (was full of locals) and a heated argument was beginning. Then somebody pulled out a gun and shot one of the guys...our reactions were slow...it did not sound like a gun (in the movies!). This place is frontier land, the Wild West! So we hit the decks and stayed there for, what seemed ages, 3 secs, then headed out in the mad panic. The guy ran past me and headed for a car and sped off. We ran to a nr police station as the girls were quite distraught and we were shaking. Headed back to hostel and chatted with some girls who were also there... Glad to be leaving in the morning on the boat to Siem Reap. Meeting the guys there as well for some interesting chats! Off on Sat, and I must admit I won't be sad to leave! I was going to go to a shooting range (its the thing to do here) and shoot an AK47, but after last nite I lost interest! Sorrry if you got any mails from me, I seem to have a virus in my hotmail a/c which sent mails to diff people. The subjects say application/travel and are large emails - just dispose of! Yesterday, I went for sunrise to Ankgor Wat, and watched as the sun rose behind the temple. The sight is pretty spectacular for its sheer scale and I had great guide book which I had found but later misplaced! There were some elaborate carvings and I got some great views of the temples at daybreak. Although the crowds there were off-putting! Te Phrom (jungle temple) was superb - with huge trees growing thru/on top on temples and walls. They have left it like the it was in 1850 when it was 'discovered'. The many faces of the Bayon temple, where equally stunning if not slightly scary. By 3pm I was knackered haivng been up since 5am, so I went back to Angkor for some more fotos and to check it out again then headed home for a rest. Staying at Smiley's GH - really nice place and great food even if they are swines! Met the chaps at 8ish for some dinner and beers at Angkor What bar, which was totally jammed to the rafters! Home last nite for 1am. Today I am wasting about town as I have to be at the airport for 2ish for my 3pm flight. Reading up on Vientiene and Laos and it sounds interesting. Farwell from Siem Reap! |