Travelling Each Other Mad

Rupert writes
Cambodia is probably what Thailand used to look like twenty years ago, only without the landmines. This is real Asia and in comparison to what we’ve just left behind things are, as the locals enjoy quoting, “same, same but different”. Take buses for example; unlike the -what I at last can identify as- VIP coaches in Thailand locals far out weigh foreigners on board, which suits me as now I get that authentic ride I’ve been searching for, but that’s not where the authenticity of our trip ends. Throw in the pot-holed dirt tracks that make up much of Cambodia’s roads bar a few highways, and then add a measure of, say, four hours breaking down in the blistering heat with air-con working hard but accomplishing nothing but a desperately light breeze that you suck at like your life depends on it (because it does), the drivers’ got the engine cover off and that’s at the back of the bus, which is where your sat, adding another fifty degrees of heat to battle against the air-con-my-arse, and we’re getting there.

So what have we been up to, apart from cooking ourselves? We first headed to Sihanoukville in the south of Cambodia to enjoy the white beaches we’ve heard a lot about. But before that we had to cross the border.

A tip to anyone who plans to cross into Cambodia on land; do it in day light. We found ourselves crossing the border at dusk, about the least likable time of day to enter a country we have never been to, and thus know very little about. We got out of the bus that had dropped us off and before we had unloaded our bags we had a tout running over. After being overcharged for our visa and with no intention to argue (despite wishing up hopeful arguments before we arrived. The big General didn’t look like he was in a good mood) we walked out of the office and into a sea of taxi drivers. We thought the Thais were persistent; these guys followed us for a kilometer before giving up, and that was with paying one of them off (who had apparently earned it for picking up our passports and giving them to the immigration officer. Go figure). At one point we did agree to get in a taxi for a fair price of a hundred and fifty Baht, but dodged that idea when we saw that the taxi was not a taxi after all, but a run-down Toyota Camry – not a taxi sign in sight.

After asking two hotels to book us a taxi and both wanting to charge us ungodly amounts we gave in after accepting fifteen kilometers was too far to walk in pitch black. We headed back to the last hotel we had tried and paid an embarrassing fifteen dollars for them to call a taxi. It’s embarrassing because when the “taxi” that pulled up was none other than our first friend we had avoided at the border. Later an American man we met on the boat to Sihanoukville confirmed that there are no taxi’s as we know and recognise them, only cars and motto’s who offer you a ride for a couple of dollars. This is how we learnt what Cambodia’s like – the expensive way.

Then started our epic of a journey through the backstreets of Koh Kong (Lonely Planet describe this town filled with “gamblers, gangs and street crime”. Glad I read that after we had safely left the town far behind; never to return). We had to cross a toll bridge, and this is where I recognised yet another error in our hopeless plan of attack; no local currency. We had dollars and the book says everywhere accepts them as much as Riel, but try telling that to the driver and his friend (why he was coming for the ride was beyond us, but it didn’t make us feel any better about the situation) who wanted paying in Riel because he likely profited from driving us to a house to exchange our remaining Baht. We first stopped at a roadside market stall, but the vendor wasn’t prepared to exchange anything less than three thousand Baht, and I only had two thousand, so we were then taken into darker streets in deeper suburbs. We pulled up to this house and I got out with the drivers friend and walked into the family house. With the sight of kids I started feeling a bit more relaxed about going into a strangers house in a strange country. Finally we were dropped off at a guest house; all part of the plan. It was dark, we were tired, and the room didn’t look that bad anyway, so we gave in and had a restless sleep.

LEFT: The beach our guest house was above. Not one of the nicest but it did have… RIGHT: Bouls (is that spelt right?). A noticable French influence and community in this part of Cambodia.

Our five days in Sihanoukville were mainly spent doing little but watching cable TV; a luxury we guilelessly indulged in. We did take a boat trip through Ream National Park.

LEFT: Our boat. RIGHT: Someone elses boat.

We thought we’d signed up for a boat trip; what’s all this walking about? Actually, the boat trip itself was fairly boring and a walk through thick jungle was a pleasant break for our numb bums.

LEFT: After a trek through the jungle we arrived at beautiful beach with white sands. Time for a swim! RIGHT: A small village within the National Park has just thirty familes residing there. This cool character was teaching the locals how to kick a flip-flop out of ones hands. You know, if ever the occasion arises.

Drinking the milk straight from the coconut! Now THAT is an authentic experience.

After our visa for Vietnam was handed out in five minutes flat we took the bus (yes, the one that broke down) to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. We agreed quickly this city had a distrustful feeling, so we were glad to be there for only a day trip of morbid fascination.

Laura writes
You can learn the histories, dates, places, times, how and why it happened, but (for me) there has always been the feeling of seperation, between my world and the world of war.

Standing in front of mass burial grounds, walking on old clothes and around endless bones, not only opened my mind, but helped connect these two so different worlds.

Nearly nine thousand human skulls piled in sixteen levels of this purpose built tower.

LEFT: These local kids were being very friendly and adorable until the picture had been taken and they snapped into this drone like state, begging for money. It was an odd experience; like something out of a horror film. RIGHT: The sign on this tree informs the reader that this tree was used by the Khmer Rouge to beat children against.

LEFT: One of the many mass burial pits. They unearthed headless women and children from this one. RIGHT: Human remains left lying about. Talk about a dramatic effect.

I can’t even begin to imagine the sheer devistation of this country as war tore it to shreds; the pain, the suffering, the fear, and death.

The war may be over, but the consequences are not. It’s amazing to see Cambodia’s people opening their arms and hearts to people as the doors to their country swing open, whilst broken famlies and emence poverty still live on.

S21 (the school that was turned into a prison at the time of the Khmer Rouge) was, thinking back at it, pretty horrific. As I numbly wandered around teaching rooms converted into dark cells, saw blood stained floors (literally), barbed wire fencing covering the open balony’s to prevent desperate prisoners from commiting suicide, methods and instruments of torture and pictures of victims faces I felt disbelief. Three days after visting the prison, today, it’s starting to finally sink in what I actually did see.

I can only hope and pray that nothing like this ever happens in OUR world again.

Rupert writes
After which we headed to Siem Reap, the base for Angkor Wat. An incredible place, more to come of that soon but here’s a couple of my favourite photos we took:

Angkor Wat

One of the temples around Angkor that has been overun by massive old trees

After our day trip of Angkor Wat we watched Bach (something no Tourist should miss on their holiday in Cambodia) performed by a doctor working in a local hospital, with the aim to raise donations of money and blood. As well as perform Bach and some humorous songs of his own on the Cello, he talked about the lives of the Khmer people, particularly the children, and what they are going through. We learnt some troubling truths, including the lack of support for medical facilities at a level on par with the Western so called civilised world. Dr Beat has been able to setup three hospitals in Cambodia with facilities as good as we have at home, but even NGO organisations, the very ones who are meant to be helping poorer countries, say the equipment they have is too expensive; too good for a third world country. How anyone can make this claim is beyond me – why should they have a lesser level of care than us?

Laura writes
Today we took a Tuk-Tuk to Tonle Sap Lake. We decided against the usual tourist route, via boat as they wanted us to pay 15 dollars, which was a little out of our price range. Instead, we asked our Tuk-Tuk driver to take us a little further afield, agreeing that he would take us to the edge of the mountain for a brief look around before taking us back.

This place was a gem of a find for any seeker looking for that authentic experience. We became instantly aware that we were the only foreigners in sight and this was definitely a part of Cambodia ”uncut”. There were children playing happily along the muddy dirt track, as others were being washed and groomed free of head lice. Wicker baskets of fruit and vegetables were displayed on the dusty floor while chickens meandered their way through the hustle and bustle of the market.Stumbling across meats, poultry and fish stalls we were in full view of headless fish and counters with blood ousing off of them. At one point I even watched a dog hop up onto the wooden table, licking up blood to his hearts content. No one seemed bothered by this, in fact, I am not sure if they even noticed.

We learned a little about the lakes past and environmental issues, and the importance of the lake for the Cambodian people dating back to the Angkorian period. We even had the change to see water snakes in the Education Centre.

Rupert writes
So now we’ve done Cambodia and we’re moving on. Vietnam calls our attention. We head back to Phnom Penh tomorrow (11th) and stay one night and then take the first bus to Vietnam. We’ll post an update when we’ve settled somewhere.

One more thing: Sorry about the lack of photos. We took many more and we have some great ones of the Temples of Angkor and the Wat itself, but the internet connection here is crazy-slow and we need to catch a bus tomorrow! We’ll get them uploaded soon and update this post.

Tags: Cambodia, Travel

This entry was posted on Monday, October 10th, 2005 at 5:18 pm and is filed under Cambodia, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.