PHNOM PENH
We left Saigon for the 6 hour coach journey to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which again included some on and off the bus type antics at both Vietnamese and Cambodian border crossings. The first thing that struck me about Cambodia as we made our way slowly north to the capital, was just how flat the area is, the paddy fields stretching out as far as the eye can see on both sides of the road, with only the occasional palm tree or water buffalo interrupting the landscape.
Arrival in Phnom Penh was the usual manic affair, being inundated with tuk tuk / taxi drivers the second you step off of the bus, but we take our time, withdraw some cash from an ATM (which issues US dollars and charges you $4 for the privilege) before catching a ride to our hostel. Our hostel is a friendly place and the guys that work there sit and chat to us while we eat, telling us about a restaurant frequented by locals that has the best BBQ steaks and cheap beer, which we agree to go to later that evening. In the meantime we decide to go for a stroll along the riverside to take in the late afternoon sunshine.
The promenade along the river front is lined with palm trees and flags from every country and as we walk we are approached by a 7 year old girl selling books (all good photocopies). This is commonplace in SE Asia and we politely decline, before stopping to watch a movie in the process of being filmed. While we rest the young girl sits with us and starts to braid Heathers hair, while some of her friends come over and sit at our feet, all speaking English with ease. It’s heart breaking that these kids, who are not only smart, but witty with it, are not afforded a free education as they live in the city and have to sell books for a tiny commission to help their families make ends meet. Despite the warnings not to, we buy a couple of books for a couple of dollars each and head off for a cold beer at one of the many bars. As we enjoy our drink, a young boy comes up to us, again selling books, we tell him that we already have books, but he won’t take no for an answer, challenging me to a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide whether I should buy more books from him or not. When I again decline he says “you’re not a man….. you’re a ladyboy.…. like Justin Bieber” before storming off down the street while Heather and I were in fits of laughter!
Riverside – Phnom Penh
Despite having some reservations, we met Sam (not sure that was his real name) our friendly local along with an Aussie guy called Chris and headed off to the infamous restaurant. As we arrived the early signs were good, as the smell emanating from the barbeque was to die for and the place was full of locals. We ordered the filet steaks and prepared our own steak sauce using the ingredients left on the table; a salt pepper mix, lime, chilli and garlic. By the time our steaks arrived we had already consumed a large jug of beer (which would be followed by at least 3 more) and tucked into some of the best steak we have tasted on our travels. Sam explained that it was Cambodian tradition to “cheers” every time anyone took a sip of their beer with the first person to “cheers” deciding whether or not the whole glass had to be finished in one or not. The total bill for 5 filet steaks, 4 big jugs of beer and a large fruit platter, came to $17, and to think that we nearly didn’t go!
Amazing local steak and cheap beer!
Next morning, we had arranged for Sam to drive us to a couple of the main sights in Phnom Penh, those associated with the Khmer Rouge. A few years back I had read a harrowing account of life under Pol Pot, Survival in the Killing Field by Haing S Ngor, best known for his role in the movie The Killing Fields, but also a survivor of the Khmer Rouge lead genocide of the mid 1970’s, and since then I had wanted to visit the area and learn more about those dark days.
We drove 9 miles outside the city to Choeung Ek (the Killing Fields), the site of an estimated 20,000 executions by the Khmer Rouge and the location of the mass graves of almost 9,000 men, women and children. Today the area is a memorial and is marked by a Buddhist Stupa, containing 5,000 skulls as well as the rest of the remains found on the site. The area is surprisingly peaceful, but as you walk around the area littered with shallow graves, you are reminded of the horrors that once took place as teeth, bone and remains of cloth still appear on the surface after heavy rain.
I won’t write about the full horrors that took place here as this is our travel blog, not a history lesson, but should you wish to read more on the Killing Fields & the Khmer Rouge, please click here
Stupa at the centre of Choeung Ek
Glass case inside the Buddhist Stupa containing the remains of 5,000 people
Teeth and bone fragments on the surface after recent heavy rain
After leaving Choeung Ek, both Heather and I were both quiet, reflecting on what we had just seen. It really does make you look at the older Cambodian people in a different light, knowing the hardship that they had been through, yet continuing to live with a smile on their face. Our next stop on the tour was Toul Sleng Prison or S.21 as it is more commonly known. S21 was formerly a high school, before being converted into a prison / torture chamber by the Pol Pot regime. In one of the blocks, the classrooms had been left as they were found, as “interrogation chambers” each on containing an iron bed, some shackles and a black and white photo of the the torture that was carried out there, Most of the prisoners from S.21 were taken to Choeung Ek for execution after confessing (correctly or incorrectly) to crimes against the Khmer Rouge, ranging from being members of the previous administration to being doctors or other educated persons. Truly harrowing stuff.
Toul Sleng Prison
Interrogation chamber
SIEM REAP
Another day, another 6 hour bus ride, this time to Siem Reap, the town closest to the great temples and city of Angkor.
After a quick walk around to get lunch and our bearings, we discover that Richard O’Dwyer, a friend from work, was staying in the same hotel as us! We had known that we would be in Siem Reap and had pre-arranged to meet for drinks that evening, but to find him sitting in the reception of our hotel was a little bit surreal to say the least! That evening we headed out for dinner with Richard and his friends Danny, Hayley & Lucy and carried on with a jug of Cuba Libre and the infamous Angkor What? bar. It was great to catch up with Richard but we had to call it a night relatively early as we had some serious sightseeing to do the next day.
Drinks with Richard
We had declined our tuk tuk drivers offer of a 5am collection to see the sun rise at Angkor Wat and settled for the much more Heather friendly time of 9:30am, stopping off at the ticket office before heading to the first stop on the days itinerary, Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat is a Hindu / Buddhist temple complex, built in the early 1100’s by Suryavarman II as the state temple and capital of the Khmer empire, it is also the worlds largest religious building, the perimeter walls measuring in at 1.5km x 1.3km. As you approach the temple, you have to cross the 200m wide moat that surrounds the complex, but its not until pass inside the outer walls that you get your first glimpse of that iconic Cambodian image. It’s incredibly difficult to put into words the sheer scale of the place, the walk from the outer wall to the central temple takes a good 5 minutes in the searing tropical sunshine and the shade, when you reach it, is most welcome. Surrounding the central temple are 800m of stone bas-relief friezes, depicting Hindu epics Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These carving stretch the full perimeter of the inner temple walls and it takes a good hour or so just to take these in.
I climb to the the top of the inner temple (Heather isn’t allowed as she can’t cover her knees) and from here it is easy to see, that after the decline of the Khmer empire in the 16th century, how the surrounding jungle completely reclaimed the area until its rediscovery in the mid 1800’s.
The long walk from the perimeter walls to the central temple complex
Stone carvings in the hallways
Central Temple at Angkor Wat
Bas-relief friezes surrounding the walls of the inner temple
Close up of the bas-relief
From Angkor Wat, our tuk tuk takes us over to the walled city of Angkor Thom, the Khmer capital from the late 1100’s which, while London was home to a mere 50,000 people, Angkor Thom was inhabited by approximately one million. The main temple inside this ancient city is Bayon, The main feature of Bayon are the 54 towers each decorated with four enormous faces of Avalokiteshvara which apparently bare a resemblance to the king who ordered its construction. The temple itself is a sprawling maze of corridors along with more huge bas-relief friezes that depict everyday life in 12th Century Cambodia.
Giant faces at Bayon
One of the many buildings inside the city walls of Angkor Thom
Our final stop of the day was at Ta Prohm, a Buddhist Temple complex that has been left exactly as it was found by European explorers in the 19th Century. The jungle had completely reclaimed the area, huge trees grow on top of thick walls, with their huge roots engulfing the masonry, walls crumbling and vegetation growing through the bulging cracks in the ceilings of huge halls. It feels as if you have walked right onto the set of Indiana Jones (in fact a scene from Tomb Raider was filmed here).
Heather exploring the ruins of Ta Prohm
Awesome power of the jungle
After the previous days exhausting temple schedule, we spent our final day in Siem Reap relaxing. The highlight of the day was without doubt the “fish massage”. We had heard about this before we had left on our travels and Heather was keen to try it, so we paid our $3 for 15 minutes (which also included a free beer) and sank our feet into the large tank of small fish. As soon as your feet hit the water the fish are onto them, nibbling away at the dead skin cells and it tickles like hell, but after a few minutes you get used to the sensation and it becomes extremely relaxing. There was another tank with larger fish (about 3 inches long) but after a trial run of putting my hand in the tank, I decided I’d stick with what I had!
Most unusual foot massage
The little suckers get right in between your toes!
Cambodia is somewhere that we hadn’t originally planned to visit and then, as an after thought, added a week to our itinerary to see the major sights. In hindsight this was nowhere near enough time for this beautiful country and its even more beautiful people, but it gives us even more reason to return and explore some more.
- Mark “all templed out” Cleverly
No comments:
Post a Comment